Security blanket

I'm not quite sure when it happened. When you live with someone 24/7 you don't always notice these things right away. Sometime in the past couple weeks my baby son has turned into Linus van Pelt. You know, the thumb sucking, security blanket carrying, wisdom spouting friend of Charlie Brown in the Peanuts comic strip. Being not quite 2, Connor is not spouting any wisdom yet (that I can understand, anyway) but he has caused quite a few awww! moments lately. (If you're a parent those are the moments that send you running for the camera.)

This is a fascinating experiment in human behavioral development for me. Our oldest son, Christopher, never carried a "lovey" (what all the parenting books call a child's favorite object that he carries everywhere.) Being the first child, he was given tons of stuffed animals. We practically begged him to attach to one when he was upset. Here, please accept this fuzzy tiger and calm down, please, pretty please. Whether it was (what we later learned) the mild autism which caused this or just his very independent personality we'll never know. But I'll tell you those animals just sat around getting dusty until his little sister came along. Chris liked to gather up handfuls of his Matchbox cars and trucks to scatter on his bed before going to sleep.

Charlotte seemed to be following in her brother's footsteps until her first Easter. Brian's mom had found a very huggable, very soft and fuzzy little yellow stuffed lamb to tuck in her Easter basket. Whether it was because it was so cuddly or she just liked the look of it, Charlotte latched onto that little lamb and pretty much didn't let it out of her sight for the next 2 or 3 years. We named it Lambie (yeah, we're real original with names) and watched it almost as closely as our daughter. Lambie went everywhere with us. I suddenly had a great deal of sympathy for parents who found themselves buying a back up of a favorite toy to prevent meltdowns. The day we got back to the car and found ourselves Lambie-less was traumatic indeed for all of us. Fortunately, after a quick and frantic search I found her in the parking lot not far from our car. Thank you, God, for small blessings.

So now it looks like we will be bringing "blankie" with us everywhere. Funny enough, Blankie is another of Chris' castoffs. My mother-in-law's best friend made Chris a beautiful bassinet and filled with all kinds of baby things - one of them was this wonderfully soft, fluffy turquoise blanket. Since we had 2 lovely homemade quilts (Brian's mom) and a cuddly knitted blanket (my mom) and countless receiving blankets this one didn't end up getting used as much.

We made a discovery when each of our kids was tiny - they strongly objected to being put down to sleep on that super firm crib mattress now required for all babies. It was hard, and it was cold (especially in the winter). We were tearing our hair out trying to get/keep them asleep. In desperation one night I grabbed an extra baby quilt (lined with soft fuzz but not thick) and tucked it firmly down around the mattress and put the baby on top it. Aaaaaahhhh!! Instant relief for all...

Well, by the time Connor came along, this particular quilt was very well worn. Enter the fuzzy turquoise blanket. One night I tried to put him to bed when the blanket was in the wash. You can guess what happened....right.....he stayed awake until the blanket came out of the dryer, and fell asleep within minutes of cuddling it. One morning last week or so, it followed him out of the crib. He's dragged it around ever since. It's very cute, actually. He plunks himself down in random places throughout the house, snuggling the blanket with his thumb in his mouth.

It makes me wonder if the children who go through this developmental are somehow better adjusted when they get older. Certainly our daughter is the epitome of confidence and independence. She introduces herself to everyone she meets, totally confident that each new person is a potential friend.

And Connor is utterly fearless. I'd like some of that confidence, please. I have wished many days God would give me a spiritual "blankie" to comfort me on those days when I'm feeling lost and lonely. Still looking...