Monday, November 15, 2010

she's linus

Auntie Yoli bought it for her as a Christening gift. One of the corners is embroidered with Maya's name and the date Auntie Yoli became Maya's Godmother. It's been well documented that Maya as a baby was a terrible sleeper and I read every book I could get my hands on in my quest to get her and me some much needed sleep.

2008-05-08 027


Many of the books suggested introducing a "Lovey" so for many of the endless hours Maya spent in my arms as I tried in vain to get her to sleep I would tuck that little pink blanket into her hand or lay it against her cheek and eventually after what seemed like forever and a day Maya was sleeping through the night with her trusty blankey tucked under her cheek.

July066


Maya has also taken a while to find her stride in social situations. So when we were going to be somewhere with a lot of commotion or where she would be meeting new people we'd bring blankey along in hopes that it would help her feel more secure and maybe she'd let go of my skirts for 30 seconds.

3071_79925091217_731731217_2218579_1017109_n


And it's taken a very long while, but we made it. She still has her moments, but they are getting fewer and farther between. Just this past week I've noticed that blankey doesn't make it upstairs to bed with her every night anymore. I find it tucked under a cushion in the toyroom or abandoned behind the chair in the living room or discarded on the floor by my desk. I'm not going to lie to you, it was a little bit heart breaking to realize she's outgrowing blankey.

Just last night I tucked her into bed tucking blankey in beside her.....

Me: Is blankey your best friend?
Maya: Yep.
Me: Why do you love blankey so much?
Maya: Because he's so soft.
Me: Is blankey a boy or a girl?
Maya: He's a girl.
Me: *He's* a girl?
Maya: Yep.
Me: Why is he a girl?
Maya: Because he's pink.

Do you have a special lovey in your family?

5 comments:

Pam said...

Adorable. I'm big on having a snuggle thing for the kids. Heck, I still have my childhood blanket "pinky" around here somewhere and a sheep that still keeps me company when hubby is away. Luckily I've stopped taking them with me places. My daughter has lots of snuggle things too.

Bibliomama said...

OH yes. God help us if we end up anywhere overnight without Fuzzy. And thank-you for the post idea. Sweet pictures.

Julie said...

we got blanky as a shower gift. it went into the jb's crib when we brought him hope and it hasn't elft his side for every nap and night. correction, i forgot it when we went camping. he was none too impressed. i love that he has a blanky. it makes a great super hero cap too!

Betsy Hart said...

we have a blanky too. =) We also have a "my first easter" duck that follows us everywhere!

Leah said...

Emily has a stuffed lamb, which I purchased for her two weeks before she was born (I found it at Target; Dan told me we'd bought enough stuffed animals already; for some reason I was devastated and cried; we bought the stuffed lamb) and it became her very best and most prized posession around 17 months old. Jared has a polar bear named Snowy that was purchased by his daddy the day he found out I was pregnant. J attached to it by about a year old (he also had about 5 other animals and blankets that were must-haves, but the Snowy the polar was top of the list). Connor didn't care what he had in his bed, as long as he had a sippy cup of water. During potty training we had to remove the sippy cup because he was having too many night-time accidents. He still doesn't have a single prized lovey, but he's a collector of all things "soffy" (soft) and has a large stash of stuffed animals and baby-sized blankets he likes to have close at hand, but one will work as well as the next.

I know what you mean about being sad when the attachment to the lovies fades. Em still sleeps with her lamb AT HOME, but Lambie doesn't go on sleepovers anymore. Snowy doesn't have to ride in the car or sit at the table any longer... *cry*

and I have to comment in regards to Pam's comment, I had a blanket named Pinky when I was a kid as well! Pinky was my lovey, but it was soooo loved (and trashed) that at some point my mom felt the need to get rid of it.