A FICKLE TODDLER AND HER LOVEY

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When my daughter was first born many of my mommy friends already had toddlers (or even bigger kids) and would talk about their lovey. Apparently “the lovey” is any toy, blanket or other inseparable attachment that helps sooth kids in this big scary world (sort of a child’s version of your nightly glass of wine). I was fully prepared for my daughter to one day become attached to a blankie or stuffed animal. But was I really?

The day came when she was about 3 months old. She fell head over heels in love with this little stuffed lamb. I have no idea where it came from – I’m sure it was among the many cute little baby toys that were given to us at her baby shower (thanks whoever that was!). She loved this lamb and had to sleep with it every night and wanted to hold it all day. If we brought her down in the morning without lambie, she would scream her little baby head off. In her mind it was gone forever and ever and how could she possibly go on without it. When she started to “talk,” she would scream “ambie! ambie!” until we retrieved him from whatever dark corner he ended up in. This had become THE lovey. Afraid that lambie would some day be lost for real or get ruined by an overzealous slobbery mutt (*cough* stinky the dog *cough*), we searched and searched online until we found an exact replica. We dubbed them original lambie and lambie 2 (clearly logic defies us). But, as I said, she is a fickle little girl.

One cold, rainy day in September of last year, we met up with my parents and another couple (my husband’s lifelong friend and his wife who actually had their first baby 3 hours after we had the diva, in the same hospital, right down the hall from us) at the local Whoopie Pie Festival (the northeast is weird, y’all). The little gift shop had tons of books and toys and little trinkets that your hyped-up-on-sugar-laced-whoopie-pie kids would beg and whine for until they broke you down. Pretty sweet marketing right there!

Anyway, after we ate dinner and while buckling the diva in her car seat, Grammy pulled this little white stuffed kitten out of a brown paper bag and handed it to the diva. That moment marked the end of the love affair with Lambie. As with Lambie, Kitty was a part of our everyday routine. She slept with Kitty. Ate with Kitty. If Kitty disappeared, she’d scream “teeteeee!” until we found her. But don’t forget, this kid of ours is a fickle little girl.

This past Easter, I wanted to get the diva some jumbo blocks – every kid needs blocks that the parents feet can find when trudging to the kitchen in the middle of the night, right? I got her this Little People Horse and Carriage. It comes with a bunch of blocks in the carriage and 2 little dolls that “drive” the horse. She couldn’t care less about the horse and buggy. Yeah she’ll play with it sometimes, but the 2 little dolls…OH THE DOLLS! These dolls (that she affectionately dubbed “the babies”) must eat with her, sleep with her, bathe with her, go on walks with her, go to the pool with her. If we dare attempt to go anywhere without the babies, God help us! She screams bloody murder. The poor neighbors even 3 blocks away probably hear it in their sleep: “baa bee! baaaa beeeee!” Just yesterday she chanted “Where baaa beee go?!”as I frantically searched for their dumb little plastic asses them.

I could understand lambie and kitty. They are soft and cute and cuddly. But I was not prepared for her to be so attached to two little plastic dolls, or the incredible amount of angst that they bring to my life. What is so special about these 2 little plastic dolls? What does she finds so fascinating? We will probably never know. One thing I do know is that someday very, very soon, they will be replaced by a newer, younger lovey. Because after all, she is a fickle little girl.

Does (or did) your child have a lovey? Do they go ballistic if they can’t find it?

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Comments

  1. My sons “lovey” is currently a giant mixing spoon “oooon”. It was his sneakers before and then a little Thomas the Train bath toy.

  2. I have five kids who are 13 and up now. They each had different things they liked. Some were more attached than others. You’re lucky if she gives one up when she moves on. Things get tricky when your kid adds a new one but keeps the old one. When they need every one of them in order to sleep it starts to be difficult to find room for them in the bed.

    Well told story. Thanks for sharing. Stopping by from SITS.

  3. My MIL got my son a “lovie” the day we had him from the hospital gift shop. Its a small blanket that has a small giraffe head. From day one he had it with him. He is 5 and still has it. There has never been a night without the lovie. We found a second one just in case he ever lost the first one (knock on wood!!) and he will carry both but when it comes down to it he wants to orignal! They look the same but he can tell a difference in the touch! My sister has twins and the little girl has a kitty she has to sleep with. The little boy has something similiar to my sons but its a pig and he actually lost his when we did a photo shoot. She tried other things because the store no longer sold his. She ended up having to buy one off ebay and although it was double the orignial price she said the look on his face when he saw it was priceless and she would of pay any amount to have him as happy as he was again! My sister and I both still have our baby blankets as well. I would rather my son have his lovie then have stuck with the paci. Thankfully that was not an issue to give up! Not sure how hard its going to be for him to go to school come august without his “G” with him!

  4. I LOVE your parallel of the lovey to Mommy’s glass of wine 😉 And thanks for making me smile about the rest. I’m just sitting here, cringing at the thought of poor you should one of these beloved babies every get “misplaced”! Argh! We go through loveys (most of them some version of Mickey Mouse) like water…

  5. My kids went through that. We couldn’t go anywhere without their favorite toy.

  6. Our daughter had a stuffed puppy she grabbed at BB&B and wouldn’t let go of. It was ridiculously priced at $20 but we bought it, and she had it for 6 years before we finally separated her from it.

    • Momma on the Rocks Momma on the Rocks says:

      Oh no! I hate when my daughter spies something in the store and throws the biggest fit because I won’t get it for her. That’s the worst!

  7. Oh yesssss – the loveys. All 4 of mine have them and they are old, worn out, patched over and over, but they still sleep with them every night.

  8. That is hilarious. The things that kids get excited about! My daughter doesn’t really have a lovey that she is particularly attached to, but her favourite “toy” is this frog that is basically a flat piece of material (like bathing suit type material) that came with her infant bathtub as like a seat cover or something. It’s not even really a toy but she LOVES it. By the way, your daughter is super adorable! How old is she? Found your post on Finding the Funny.

    • Momma on the Rocks Momma on the Rocks says:

      Thanks, Laura! She just turned 2! It is really strange what kids pick as their lovey. My daughter is now focused on this bear that she has had FOREVER and never played with. Now she carries it everywhere!

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