Ethan's Loveys

As a new mom, I started receiving promotional and informational emails about the different stages in my child's life, from infancy through toddler-hood-- and maybe beyond. Some are from major players like Gerber, and others are from various websites I joined to get more insight into pregnancy and parenting: What To Expect, BabyCenter, and so on. I remember getting an email at one point which discussed "lovey" toys or blankets that a child will attach to and use for comfort and self-soothing. At the time, Ethan was just going to bed on his own, no problem. I was putting a floppy, curly-"haired" stuffed dog that my mom bought in the crib with him, but he didn't seem to be too interested for quite awhile. I also started giving him the same blanket-- a pale blue one made especially for him by our friend Vy-- when he was getting ready for bed, or when he was feeling especially needy. Bingo! We found his first lovey.

Unfortunately for blanket, which he calls "ken-ken," Ethan is a very devoted lovey-lover, and has just about loved it to death just one month shy of his second birthday. He likes to wind his fingers in and around the little loops of the blanket, and has pulled out threads all over and opened up a pretty extensive hole right in the center. I have fears for ken-ken's life expectancy, at the rate this kid goes. Just a couple of months ago, Ethan discovered a small, embroidered, square cushion that looks vaguely Moroccan or Indian and has bits of shiny mirrors entwined with the colored thread. Instant love affair, and now he can't go to bed-- or get up in the morning, sometimes-- without his "pelo-pelo" in his arms. It's sort of like this one, but more of a reddish-orange color...

It, too, is starting to undergo the same treatment as ken-ken, and I'm beginning to see the beautiful embroidery fall victim to his twining and winding little fingers. But at least it is smallish. His latest lovey is almost too big to even be considered a lovey. I should probably be sent to bad-mom rehab for even letting him bring it into his crib, but there you have it-- I'm a pushover. He has two large stuffed bears in his room right now. One is a HUGE brown bear with a plaid bowtie, and he is called either Angus or Big Bear, depending on the day. The other bear is smaller, but definitely not small, and resembles one of those Coke polar bears, except sans coke bottle... He calls it, of course, "ber."

His bedtime routine used to be coming into the room, sitting with mom and having his bottle of milk, falling asleep while drinking, and then going to sleep in his crib. Now, we finish our last liquids at least half an hour before bed, brush our teeth, and then go to the room to do one last diaper change before sitting together and singing a song or two. The minute we enter the room for bedtime, he starts asking for his loveys: "Ber? Ber? Pelo-pelo? Ken-ken?" And that will pretty much continue until all three are sitting on my lap along with Ethan, who clutches at them while I sing/hum our lullaby songs. After a few minutes, I tell him it's time to go to sleep, he grabs all three loveys, and I put him in his crib. (Soon to come: The Toddler Bed.) I just hope he doesn't suddenly develop a deep attachment to anything else, because this lap doesn't have any more room on it for additional passengers!