I feel your pain. When I was four I was “operating” on my favourite teddy bear. I left a bendy-necked desk lamp pressed against his tummy while I went away for lunch and came back to find him on fire. My mother threw him on the floor, stomped on him to put the fire out, dunked him under some water, and threw him in the garbage can. 
The youngest Feynnlings all have afghans that were made by my mom, their grandmother. She started making them long before either of the girls were born. They love them but since we have an abundance of comfortable blankies they don’t get too perturbed if some are in the wash.
I still have the one she made for me more than twenty years ago.
I had lots of stuffed animals–mostly Snoopies. I still have my first Snoopy. He lost his little red collar long ago, and his fur changed from white to beige and became a bit threadbare, but he’s still fully intact! I had (and still have) a tremendous Snoopy collection. I would often go to bed with about 15 or so Snoopies when I was little. I never cared much for dolls; I can remember hearing relatives ask, “But why wouldn’t a sweet little girl like you want to play with a baby doll?”
I also had several blankies, my favorite one being a rather large blanket that was given to me by a friend of my grandmother’s. It was a white cotton blanket with a strange texture–bumpy yet incredibly soft–and some kind of trim (nylon?) with little cartoon chicks and pastel patterns printed on it. The “chick blanket” was large enough that I was able to use it until I was 5 or 6; after that, I used it to assist in building forts with the couch cushions. 
Not for nothing here Sue, but if you were MY Mom, your pajama top would be MY best buddy too
Cartooniverse
Cranky Jr.'s desired love object varies, but I’ve been pushing him towards adopting “Bunya,” which is his name for his Pat The Bunny stuffed toy. I have a spare, and I know what toy store in town has another for sale (in the event of emergency loss).
Now they make little mini-blankies for wee ones that have the satin edging. They’re the size of doll blankets and are designed to be “lovies” that don’t take up so much room. We got one at a baby shower and two more from the hospital. Cranky Jr. has never taken to them, however. If anyone has a need, let me know. Three of them will be on their way to you.
I’ve got a friend who was addicted to her satin-edged blankie. Her mom had to keep sewing new edging on it. She’s now 34 and she can still be found distractedly rubbing the hem of her slip or a silky shirt some days.
I never had a blankie, I had a pillow. It was made of muslin, and the stuff inside was chopped up pieces of foam that had a layer of bumpy plastic-y stuff on it. While falling asleep I would suck my thumb and find a piece of foam through the muslin and rub the nubbly side. Eventually they all crumbled, I guess. I still have the pillow, although I’ve re-covered it a few times. Now I put a pillowcase on it, and it is soft and flat. My husband teases me and says that it’s just air. A previous boyfriend would also tease me about it.
A little girl I used to babysit had “Mommy’s silkies”, which were pieces of a nylon nightgown that had been her mother’s. She had several, which would be good if one got lost. Another little boy I sat for had a huge blanket, the kind with satin edging on it that you put between the sheet and comforter. I swear it was double-bed sized, and he’s this little 3-year-old dragging around this huge blanket. He called it his “mot-mot”. I have no idea where the name came from. A 4-year-old in the pre-k I teach has a “nye-nye” (night-night) that she used to bring to school with her when she was in the 3-year-old class. It was a small bedraggled piece of blanket.
I had a teddy bear when I was little. I wouldn’t go anywhere without her. Her name is Gertrude(I have no idea where the name came from) and I still have her. She sits on a chair in my room. She is pretty beat up. She has all her stuffing and no holes in her, but her head has been sewn back on many times.
On the same note, my sister had a one armed doll that I got her for Christmas when we were about seven. That dolls name is Amy and she still has her too.
Sue, I’ve got a book recomendation for you. It’s called The Last Noo-noo by Jill Murphy. In it a preschool monster has trouble letting go of his last pacifier (he hides them from mom, too) until he realizes it’s time to let go. It may not work for you, but at least it’s funny.
Well, since y’all are fessing up to still having lovies, yeah, I’ve got one too. It’s a small pillow in the shape of a cat face. Got it from a friend of the family when I was 6 years old. I still sleep with it. It’s mangy, but I love it. I’m 34 now, married twice, and many boyfriends during my single days. Sometimes the men would comment on this mangy cat pillow, and I’d get this vicious glint in my eye, and say “You mess with Kitty, it will be the last thing you ever do.” No one’s ever bothered him.
Yes, Kitty is a him. And when I sleep on him, I have to have his face into the pillow underneath. I can’t sleep on his face. He can’t breathe if I do. :eek: *
*=[sub]Even thought the men don’t mess with Kitty, only my mother has never questioned me about why he can’t breathe if I sleep on his face. She knew better than to argue with the logic of a six-year-old.[/sub]
That’s so sweet! Too bad I sleep nude.
Oooo! Thank YOU!!! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
I didn’t have a blanket, I had a pillowcase. Actually, I sitll have it. His name is Pillowcase. Such a creative child I was. Our cat has the run of the entire house, but the only thing he is forbidden to touch, chew, drool on or shed on is Pillowcase. Pillowcase is usually found lounging on the bed, but also enjoys coming out in the evenings to watch TV on the couch. It must be a texture thing. Pillowcase has both soft parts and rough parts, and the thrill is in the contrast.
Alas, I just recently had to retire my stuffed panda bear (named Big Ted) from bed duty. He is just too delicate and his skin, err, fabric, rips too easily. So I cleared off a bookshelf and made him his own little bedroom. Big Ted comes along when I go on vacation, and if I’m driving by myself, he sits in the front seat, with the seat belt securely fastened, of course. The looks I get from toll collectors!
Oh yes, I’m 30 years old.
I never had a blankie or a lovey, or anything of the sort. I wonder if the 6 different blankets and dozens of stuffed animals I have now stem from that…
I don’t remember having any sort of blanket or stuffed animal that I HAD to have as a child. Now, at the age of 34, I have a lovie. She is my 12 pound Minature Pinscher, Lilly.
(I have another dog Zac, but he’s not the lovie sort, he doesn’t like to be futzed with while he sleeps)
My dad calls Lilly, my ‘living stuffed animal’
She has NO idea of how to behave like a Minature Pinscher. Min Pins are usually hyperative,yipping, barking, ankle biting little sods. Lilly doesn’t bark, bite, play with toys or participate in any canine like games. Her main functions are to snore and eat.
I cannot go to sleep without her. Every night, I get into bed and Lilly climbs into my arms, and lays her head in the crook of my neck. I hold her like you would a teddy bear. The best is when she gets in just the right spot and lays her neck over mine, like Lincoln Logs.
And I can’t fall asleep unless both dogs are in the room.
Zac, the bigger pup actually HAS a lovie. It used to be a purple, plastic ball, with multi-colored knobs sticking out of it. The squeaker is long gone and the ball is more like a long piece of plastic, but he must have it at ALL times.
The dogs have their own room for when I’m at work, and heaven help me if I should forget to make sure that the ball is in the room before I close the door. (the ball is occasionally given a rest and replaced by one of my socks but the ball is definately number one.
It’s a sad sad thing. Although I believe they are both very happy in Teddy Bear heaven.
I had a blue blankie that my grandmother knit for me when I was little. I still have it, tucked away safely in my hope chest.
My sister, I think, used hers until it disintigrated. I remember my mom and dad fighting the losing battle of trying to get her to give it up. I think she finally did around 3rd grade or so.
I have a teddy bear that I got for high school graduation that I used as my lovie when I was in the military, far away from home. He was all squishy and soft. I finally got around a couple months ago to washing his little sweater he wears and discovered…SURPRISE! It’s yellow, not brown. Too much chocolate syrup, too many tears, too much drool on that darn thing.
My 10-year-old golden retriever, Snoopy, also has a lovie! It’s a 12" plush toy with short synthetic fur and a squeaker sewn inside. We ordered it out of a pet catalog when she was about 2 or 3. The name of the toy as listed in the catalog is “Big Ted.” Big Ted was not Snoopy’s first squeaky plush toy, and she has gotten many more since; however, Big Ted is her absolute favorite. The toy is practically worn out–I’ve had to restitch the seams several times–but she still plays with it. She plays with her other plush toys too, but if she doesn’t know where Big Ted is at all times she becomes EXTREMELY depressed. Any attempts to replace the old Big Ted with a new one have met in failure.
A family friend gave me a LeMutt stuffed dog when I was two, I believe. That means that if he were a human he would old enough to legally drive and vote. I even got him his own e-mail address (he uses my laptop when I’m at school and sends poorly spelled messages to my friends). Though he’s a bit worn now and his eyes have cracks in them from the dryer, he still sleeps with me every night. He usually goes on vacation with me, so he’s been to Cancun and Paris. The chambermaid in France arranged him a different way each day after she made the bed.
Is anyone else familiar with the LeMutt doll? I don’t really know how to describe him, except he’s got beige fur, long floppy ears and an extremely thin neck. I would love to find another one, so LeMutt could have a friend.
I remember a stuffed bear when I was a young coder. It was 2 pieces of fabric sewn together, with a bear face and body printed on one side, and the back printed on the other, and the whole thing was packed with some sort of stuffing. It got lost sometime about when my parents divorced, and mom and us kids moved a couple of times.
I also remember a little pillow my grandmother made for me out of two washcloths that she sewed together and stuffed. I had that thing into high school. I wouldn’t admit it had any meaning to me then, but it ALWAYS went on my pillow.
My son Ralf Jr. had a baby blanket he called Minnie. It was one of those soft things with a satin edging and a Disney Baby print. He refused to nap without it, and if it was lost, a massive search was required to find it. Sleep was out of the question until Minnie was found. We had a backup, “the other minnie”, when Minnie was in the wash, but it wasn’t the same. He’s 11 now, and I think he’s got Minnie stashed somewhere, but he won’t admit it’s important to him. It’s funny how kids get these ideas, isn’t it?
Sue,, here’s how we weaned Ralf Jr. off the bottle and pacifier. For several days we told him what a big boy he was, how grown-up he was, then introduced the idea that grownup boys didn’t use these bottles or pacifiers. Then we worked out a schedule - in x days, he’d give up the pacifier. It got his buy-in on it, and gave him some time to adjust to the idea. Until day zero arrived. That night there was some tears and water works for about 20 minutes before he went to sleep. The next night, he went to bed, and said, “I’m a big boy. I don’t need a pacifier!”.
I still have my blankie. My mom made it for me when I was aboiut 3 or 4 years old. Patchwork in dark blue, red, and lots of other colors on one side and Smurfs on the other. I’m 15 and I still bring it to school on pajama day. It has a hole or two and the design is getting faded but I wouldn’t give it up for the world.
My new lovie, (I haven’t given up the old one but this new one is less embarassing to have in public) is a beanie buddy. Lizzy the Lizard, now dubbed Lucifer Bob Nothorian, my then boyfriend gave it to me, he has oodles of sentimental value. Considering the fact that I still love said boyfriend it stands to reason the Lucifer sleeps with me and goes to school with me most days too.
Kitty