Posts: 3936
6/23/09 4:14 P

ATM I'm just doing my best to stay consistent with the rule of baby staying in the crib, sure isn't easy when I know if I just gave it to her she would settle down, but so far so good. I will definitely try the lovey going night night. I'm just shocked that Cassidy went from no attachment to this toy that she hardly ever saw... So strange how they choose what they HAVE to have... I just hope this coming weekend I will be around to enforce leaving the baby in the crib. We are visiting family and if they won't clean Cassidy's bum properly because she's crying, what makes me think that they will make sure she doesn't have baby at all times? And I don't want to regress and I also don't want that darn toy getting filthy as we are camping, so if she is not sleeping she is outside.

Posts: 1223
6/23/09 10:31 A

Maddie's bunny and Izzie's white teddy have to stay in their cribs too. (Maddie's bunny is TOO fragile to carry around)

Here's what I do. I tell the girls it's time for their loveys to go "Night Night" so that they will be ready to watch over them when it's their turn to go night night. You'd be surprised they started understanding this when they were 12 mo old. Now, I just have to tell them, Maddie give Bunny a kiss night night and she puts him up. Some days is harder than others. I ask her if she needs help from Mommy. Then I take her blanky and cover bunny up and give bunny her paci to have. I think when SHE is the one to put him night night things are SO much better! you might try that!

Posts: 3936
6/23/09 10:20 A

ug, this weekend Cassidy suddenly HAD to have a certain doll. I won't let her have it outside of her crib, so every time I get her up she freaks out when I take it from her to leave it in her crib. I have to put it out of her reach in the crib, otherwise she reaches through and tries to pull it through the slats. I have no idea why she has chosen this doll - it was a basement toy, and we don't go down there that often and she never really played with it before. I was out on Saturday afternoon/evening and she didn't want to go to bed so dh was cuddling with her and she started screaming "da.da.da.da" (for her that means that)while pointing, dh just started grabbing things and she would shove them away until he offered her this doll. Then she smiled, hugged the doll and said "baaaaaby." She then went to bed no problem and the next morning when we went in to her she was holding baby for dear life... I let her do the diaper change after sleeping, but then we put baby back in her crib and she freaks out each time... I can't believe how attached she is to this doll basically overnight - not even!

Posts: 1781
6/23/09 8:51 A

I guess Claire is not nearly as attached to her lovey as most the kiddo's here are. She likes to sleep with this giraffe lovely/small blanket with a giraffe head and also a very specific baby doll. She doesn't need them all day long, she just likes to cuddle them at night when she falls asleep. Neither of my kids ever formed a strong attachment to anything besides me. Neither of them really did binkies either. They just never cared.

Posts: 6040
6/22/09 8:23 P

No lovies here. I have no issue with them but mine just doesn't care. Like Beth said, mine don't take pacifiers, and so far Bella doesn't care about any single item that much. She does cuddle her blankie at bed time (naps and night) but doesn't care to have it all day. I wonder why some like these things and some don't! I'd love it if Sawyer took a binkie right now, that's for sure.

Posts: 741
6/22/09 9:33 A

I am forever grateful for JJs lovey. DH found it in babies r us when she was 6 months old and she picked it out. Whenever she cries or is upset, I just pick her up and she stops. At bedtime I snuggle her up in it and her thumb goes into her mouth and she falls asleep on my shoulder. She now has three lovies, one for her crib, one for the car, and the other in our living room. I have recently bought a matching pillow made of the same fabric. I am going to post a picture in my gallery :).

Posts: 618
6/22/09 1:54 A

Emalyn is attached to a blanket. She was always swaddled in it in the beginning and then around 5-6 months she wouldn't fall asleep without it. Bought a 2nd just in case!

She's like Linus from Peanuts. She sucks her middle 2 fingers and wraps her blanket around her index finger on the same hand so she can inhale it! So funny, yet weird.

My other 3 didn't have any attachments at all. However, it's SO NICE for naps and bedtime, especially when we're not at home to sleep. She only gets it when she sleeps, so that helps with wear & tear.

She has started asking for it now that she's older, but it's usually when she's still groggy after waking up or if she's seen it out. I remind her it's just for sleep (she'll get upset) then I distract her with books or other activities.

Posts: 1223
6/16/09 10:15 A

I don't like an excessive amount of stuffys, but like others said, as long as they are being used and loved, I don't mind. I figured they would get attached the the stuffys I threw in their crib, I never knew they would form an attachment to one of the ones laying around downstairs. She hardly played with them, until one day and it was instant love.

Posts: 3936
6/16/09 2:05 A

ki - I wish I had done that too. We have so many stuffed animal wars between our two kids. Most of the animals that we have were gifts from dh's family and Vanessa loves playing dress up with them instead of dolls. Cassidy is starting to be more partial to dolls (likely because the stuffed animals seem "taken" grrrr...). I'm pretty sure we have at least 20, if not more. Luckily we have 3 floors to our house and thus have them spread out. I have tried taking a few away, but Vanessa normally notices right away when they disappear, and loves setting them up for tea parties, etc. I figure as long as they are being used and loved, oh well. I have 2 storage bins, and I hope I won't be forced to pare them down, as that will be hard.

Posts: 452
6/16/09 1:05 A

I had a lovey bear when I was a kid and a blanket (more attached to the blanket actually. If my mum needed to wash it, I would go and stand underneath it while it dried and rub it with my fingers. Then the same bear I had (which was probably mended and patched a thousand times), was adopted by my brother who got VERY attached to it. My parents accidentally left it behind on a holiday and my brother got so upset he wouldnt stop crying all the way back.We had to force the captain of the cruise ship to call the hotel manager and ask if anyone could search the hotel room where we had stayed to see if they could find it and send it back. They never did. No other stuffed animal my parents tried could do the trick. I will never forget how hurt my brother looked at the time and I have been wary of stuffed animals ever since.

My LO will grab his stufed animals, hold them tightly and scream out with joy, but the next minute, they are ..out the window! He does seem genuinely happy to see them, but then probably thinks a warm greeting is enough! LOL..

Posts: 710
6/15/09 10:44 P

Olivia actually has three loveys: A Curious George stuffed monkey (which by the way is NOT machine washable..argg), a smaller beanie monkey that is washable and a small taggie blanket my mom made her. While sleeping she always cuddles with her blankie but plays with her monkeys while trying to fall asleep or when she wakes up. They basically stay in her crib; evere once in a while she'll grab them and bring them downstairs with her, but unless we are going somewhere overnight, we never travel with them. I dont' mind them because she doesn't always have to have them. I know my niece has had multiple loveys in her 1 1/2 years...she is always finding a new attachment.

Posts: 5310
6/15/09 10:23 P

Hmm my kid must be weird ;) He stopped using his paci at 11 months by himself, has never liked a stuffed animal or blankie enough to get attached to it...but I am ok with that...I am so not very good at sewing or anything so I hope none of my kiddos in the future have one either! My niece and nephew had a blankie that they could not live without when they were little and by the time they got older there was only about a square left of it...which I think their mom still has!

Posts: 1329
6/15/09 7:59 P

AJ doesn't have a lovey but he does have his binky. He gets very cranky through out the day with out it, but very soon we'll work on just for night night time.

Three of my brothers had loveys. Two were their baby blankets and one was a cowboy pillow. Those things got so disgusting but I guess my mom's thought was that as soon as it falls apart then it's gone and they'll have to deal with it. It worked for the older two, but the younger one carried around rags for a while, and eventually just left it in his bed. I think that if it hadn't gotten "lost" in a move he would still have it to this day... and he's 16.

Posts: 1688
6/15/09 7:34 P

Our Lovie is a blanket that my sister made for Dominic and he loves that thing. He also has a paci. We are at the point that both are for nap/betime only and they stay in the crib. Unless he is not feeling well and then I give in a little. Like right now he is getting his molars and the paci is just helping. But I do have to say he knows to put it "back" in the crib. He had the paci this morning and would not give it up (normally I don't let him leave his room with it) but I let him since he was not quite himself and within 5 minutes he took it out and said "back" and we walked to his bedroom and he put it back in his crib. Not sure how I accomplished that one but it works.

Posts: 7203
6/15/09 6:41 P

like d_an_lo, I bought the same pig for both boys. I just buy an extra one. I told myself that it WILL be their sleep doll or whatever. I just tossed it in their crib and always just told them piggy was there. both boys now cling to their piggy but it's only a sleep thing, which as mentioned ...reduces wear and any obsession to take it anywhere. The third child will have a pink pig (instead of the peach-ish color the boys have).

Other than a few military bears I got from husband and are ONLY decor (put in 1 themed basket).... I throw away any stuffed animals given to them by anyone. Sorry, but I hate stuffed animals. Think they're a waste of space.

Posts: 3936
6/15/09 4:31 P

bethbo - I just tossed the same toys in bed with Vanessa and Cassidy and they have grown to like one toy. I don't push it other than making sure they have something to play with. I do notice that Vanessa cycles through her stuffed animals, but always seems to come back to kitty. Neither girl actually cuddles their stuffy to go to sleep, the stuffy just has to be there for them to sleep...

Posts: 8407
6/15/09 4:22 P

D_AN_LO...ROFL! "cheaper than therapy ;)"

How do you ladies get your kids to adopt loveys? None of my kids ever got seriously attached to any toy (or pacifier, for that matter). I sometimes wish they did for bedtime comfort.

Posts: 3936
6/15/09 4:14 P

oth my girls have lovies, Vanessa finally picked one, but I still have 3 for Cassidy. I actually like having them for the most part. I too only have the lovies for bed time. I didn't want to deal with them getting really lost or dirty. We also have a bin of stuffed animals that they can play with during the day, and Cassidy has her favorite and Vanessa has her favorite for the day. I let them choose a stuffed animal for the car, but I tell them while they get in that the stuffy stays in the car.My other rule at home is stuffies are not allowed in the kitchen unless they are in arms or on their play table. SO far so good with both girls. I didn't think my girls were tha attached to their lovies, so left them behind for one trip to Gramma and Grampa's. Vanessa was fine because she has lovies at G& G (and Nana's too), however Cassidy hardly slept that weekend. The following weekend we happen to be back at the inlaws, so I brought her lovey and she was fine. Neither girl hugs her stuffy when they sleep, but apparently need to know that their "friend" is with them. If you are having problems during the day with the second bear, maybe instead of trying to find something for Maddie during the day, take away Izzie's second bear. Sorry the one is turning into a patch work! that would get annoying!

Posts: 1223
6/15/09 2:53 P

I wish I could buy 10 of those purple bunnies, then I'd let her play with them all day long. LOL... but my MIL bought it to put in Maddie's 1st Easter Basket last year and has no idea where she got it. This past easter, I had everyone in the entire family looking for a match, but nothing came up. I bought about 8 different "similar" bunnies, but none were good enough. So, I patch, and sew up this bunny over and over. :)

Posts: 2263
6/15/09 1:23 P

Brown bear is her lovey and once she attached to that I bought 2 more and they are hiding in my drawer. I just rotate them out when one needs a bath so they all get equal wear. It doesn't bother me because I figure she obviously has a need for it and it will be cheaper than therapy ;) It will be something that she grows out of in the future so until then she has a really good buddy.

Posts: 1223
6/15/09 12:24 P

Where do you stand on Lovies? My girls each have one. At first it was just Maddie. She got attached to a Purple Bunny. It is a cheap easter bunny that I've already had to sew/patch 3 or 4 times now. Because it is so fragile, I adopted the rule it is for the crib only. Which was working fine until Izzie got attached to a White Bear. The White Bear has been in her crib forever, but she just started sleeping with it cuddled up.

The problems started because there is a matching Brown Bear downstairs. So, she claimed THAT bear as her day time lovey. Which left Maddie with a lovey upstairs. Not fair in HER opinion. So, I've been trying to encourage her to play with a Big Beany Baby Bunny when she is downstairs, but it isn't the same.

One thing I hate about the lovies is that they are holding them all day, and so they only have one other hand to play with toys, etc. I make them put the lovies up at meals.

This morning Maddie wanted her Purple Bunny when Izzie started playing with Brown Bear. She stood at the foot of the stairs and cried for 20 minutes, until we left to go to the store.

I also, don't want lovies coming with us when we go places and so far they've been cool with that.

SO... for those with lovies (or without) What is your philosophy, annoyances, gripes, or do you actually like them?? (I thought I would, until I have to deal with it!)