Meet Teddy. This is Bailey’s bear that he’s had, probably since before he was even born. He’s been through a lot! He’s needed many stitches, and is currently sporting two Band-Aids on his butt, awaiting more stitches. Doctors been busy! Teddy is sitting on Bailey’s baby blanket. The blanket is more for me. >< It’s always on my bed. It’s still beautiful, bright, and soft. He’s never been really attached to either of them, even as a toddler. I’ve kept the blanket, because it was his main blanket when he was a baby. The bear. He’s thrown that thing thousands of times. He isn’t gentle with it by any means, but heaven forbid I even speak of throwing it out! So, doctor keeps stitching him up!
Now I have Lilly. She’ll be 4 this August. I’ve taken care of her since she was 6 weeks old. 🙂 This is her is her blanket.
It’s nasty! See that corner? It’s stained that way. That’s her corner, that has to be in her hands while sucking her thumb. No, no…she does not do that at my house, because I don’t allow it. The second her mom walks in the door to pick her up, thumb goes in the mouth with corner in hand! She won’t “let” anyone else but me wash it. If her mom tries, she screams her head off. So, when it needs washing, which is often, I do it. I know it’s normal for kids to have attachments to certain toys, blankets, etc. I think hers is a little out of hand, but I also think her mom encourages the whole “thumb sucking, blankie baby” thing. Not much I can do about it, other than not allow it in my house.
When you were a child did you have an attachment to a special toy, stuffed animal, or blanket? Do you still have it? If you have kids, do they? I never did, and Bailey did to point but it was never an issue when he didn’t have his blanket or Teddy.
Us Girls..Our Views 
You think that’s bad?? You should have seen Toby’s. The little teenytiny piece he had left is around here somewhere! LOL!! Who does that surprise?? He had 2 that he went through. Jason didn’t really attach to anything nor did he suck his thumb. But Toby, that was another story. I didn’t let him take in on the bus when he started school though. I don’t think it hurt anything. He just had it at home. He’s also the one that didn’t need braces so the whole “it’s bad for you teeth” thing I don’t think applies. I think your teeth are hereditary.
Each child is different. Some need that security and then others don’t. Why does it bother you if Lily wants hers?
It doesn’t bother me that she has a blanket. I just don’t think it needs to go everywhere with her, outside the house. I don’t like thumb sucking, and she doesn’t do it at my house. Her dad agrees with me, and doesn’t allow her to do it all the time either. If she’s laying on the couch watching a movie, and she has her blanket and her thumb in her mouth, I don’t say anything. It’s more in public, I don’t like it.
She always has her blanket with her, here at the house. I don’t care about that. Her parents will have issues with her, when she starts preschool next year though. They’ve talked to her about it, and she doesn’t understand. That’s going to be a hard transition for her.
Yes. I get that.
Hunter has a train blanket and his favorite pillow cases that he loves. The train blanket a friend of ours, Heather made it for Hunter. He’s not that obsessed with it like Lilly is, but when its time to wash it and when he hears that buzzer sound from the dryer he goes running back there immediately to get the stuff out. He used to cry when I had to wash it, but I replaced it quickly with a new pillowcase and a different train blanket. He was fine with that. But they had to go away once his favorite things were done drying. He’s not a thumb sucker either. I’m glad he doesn’t do any of that.
Our seven year old son has a couple of ticks. US Girls know his story since you read all about it four years ago when he came to us.
Any way, he didn’t even have pampers when we got him. We gave him a little stuffed fox that he still has but he doesn’t carry it around any more. HOWEVER, he self soothes by sucking his right thumb and twirling his hair on the top back of his hair. It looks much like an upside down tornado!
Josh is 8. He still twirls his hair, too, when he’s really tired, or very sad/upset. Sometimes, if I’m hugging him, he’ll twirl my hair. My mom said that I did it, when I was younger.
My kids have their loveys. Miss E loves this sweet little fuzzy doll (“Doll”) who was in her crib when she arrived home from Central America. Once I saw her getting attached to it, I bought two more in case it ever got messed up. So now she has all three of them, and she does sleep with one at school (they still do naps) and at least one at home. It’s such a cute doll, I don’t even want to see it put away. Miss E seems to be losing her “need” for Doll, but she still likes having her around.
Miss A has a soft polar bear (“Bear”) who is her lovey. She just loves anything soft and furry, especially if it’s white. So Bear was a hit (he was a $5 special at Borders). Luckily, a friend bought us two additional Bears by coincidence, so she too has 3 identical loveys. Ever since she was in foster care, the feeling of fur on her skin has prompted her to suck. She usually sucks her tongue at such times, which makes her look less than intellectual, but at least she doesn’t do it all the time. Recently, she has started sucking on one bear’s leg, and pulling out the fur little by little, when she goes to sleep at night. She refers to him as her “sucking bear” and insists on having him at bedtime. I figure, it’s not hurting anything in the privacy of her own bedroom. Neither of my kids ever had the habit of sucking their fingers or pacifiers. Miss E used to suck her lip, of all things. Not much I can do about the tongue or lip, so I just let it go.
My kids seem to delight in the idea of their loveys being dirty, but they don’t put up a major fuss when I “give them a bath.” I’m just thankful they are machine washable.
Blankies – my kids never were that attached to them, that I recall. I donated the baby ones to my sister’s kids when my kids got more grown-up ones.
Loveys is such a nice word. I “lovey” it. I don’t think it hurts anything either as long as it’s mostly done in private.
Both of my girls had special little pillows that they were attached to. I had to take my oldest daughter’s pillow away because it was beyond repair and it stunk! She was crushed. My youngest’s pillow is at that same state and I keep trying to make her put it up but she won’t and it will probably end the same as her sisters.
My kid sister had her feather pillow (which was handed down from the older siblings). She peed on it multiple times. My mom kept making new pillow covers for it, but the feathers were not washable. Not sure when she stopped “needing” that stinky pillow.
Josh has Moose. He’s made by Gund, named “Cocoa”, and unfortunately, I believe he’s long since discontinued. We only have the one, so ol’ Moose has to hold up. Fortunately, he spends most of his time in Josh’s bed, snuggled between the covers. Josh has lots of stuffies, and they generally rotate through his bed. Right now, he’s attached to five of them – Moose (of course), Horse (a paint, also a Gund, I think), Snoopy (a large one), a Beanie Baby Penguin, and some old kind of hard stuffed penguin from somewhere. He sleeps with them all. And Cruiser. It gets rather crowded when I join the menagerie in bed for reading time…
But Moose is the only one who goes with when we go on campouts and whatnot. And he’s the go-to guy when there are injuries, hurt feelings, or anger.
Oh, and whenever I get hurt, or upset to the point of tears (I’m very emotional….), josh will disappear for a few minutes, and return with a stuffed animal. Even if he’s the one who pissed me off *that* bad, before he goes to his punishment, he comes back with comfort for me. It blows my mind.
Aww, that’s sweet that he can be compassionate when he’s in trouble. A very good sign, I say.