Stuffed Animals

As a mom, I am always so amazed at the different stages that kids go through and the situations or events that trigger them. I bring this up because Zach has developed a new comfort mechanism.

Our dog, Meg fell asleep on the couch with a bunny toy that we had given her a while back. She was chewing on it one moment and lying with her head rested on it the next. Well, Zach saw this and instantly wanted her bunny. In order to stop him from hugging and playing with the dirty dog toy I quickly pulled a rabbit, that he had gotten for Easter last year, out of his toy box and gave it to him. He instantly took to it and has not let a stuffed animal out of his sight for more than a minute since. It started with the bunny and now also includes, Curious George the monkey, (or George for short), and a dog. They sleep with him, go to school with him, watch TV with him, and even eat with him. They are living people to Zach. He hugs them, kisses them, and tells them to sit, sleep, eat, listen, and look. They have come in handy when he is fussy at the dinner table because if they eat then Zach wants to eat.

I have noticed that he sucks his thumb less when they are around after he gets hurt or upset and he can put himself back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night easier as well. So it is not a bad thing the only problem is I don’t have replacements. Luckily, we have increased the count from one to three but you never know which one he is going to want to spend the day with him in the morning. So hopefully, I don’t have to worry about replacing one before he moves onto the next big thing.

Another thing that Zach is infatuated with is his Aunt Anna. Anytime you ask Zach, “Guess what? Or Guess who?” He instantly replies with a huge grin, “Anna!” He only gets to see her once a week in the morning because she spends the night at our house but he loves every minute of it. It is probably because she gives in to him and he gets everything he wants from her and she is constantly sneaking sugar and candy to him. Plus, she knows all the cool games and songs.