Lost toddler's special bunny...I feel awful

[pear6782]

So as the title says...I lost my toddler's bunny today. He is 2.5 and speech delayed. It goes everywhere with him....he sleeps with it, he plays with it, feeds it, puts it on play equipment. I've kept it safe for so long. I always have my eye on it, no matter where we go.

But today, we were running late for an appointment and I think it fell out of the car. I called the hospital we went to but reception said nothing had been handed in. Went back to nursery where I picked him up to track the roads but no luck.

I feel awful. We have other copies of this bunny, but they aren't ruffled and worn like his 'original' bunny so he knows the difference (and I've been trying to make them look rough for ages but its not the same as the original).

Has anyone else done this? Did your toddler cope? He is so speech delayed I won't be able to explain so it will be a case of wanting it at bedtime and I won't have it. As odd as it sounds, I feel sad for the lost bunny...that it's gone and we'll never get it back (I think I need to give my head a shake).

Any positive stories out there?

Do you have a picture, someone might have seen it, or have an old one going begging?
For future reference (and in case you do get it back) but you need to run at least two or three of these special toys and swap them out regularly so they all wear at the same rate.
Can you get hold of a copy of “ Tatty Ratty”, it has a lost bunny that is miraculously returned to its new state and is eventually returned to the toy shop.

OK for tonight, original bunny is sleeping somewhere else, Grandmas/with a bunny friend/whatever you think works. Get on FB for any local lost and found sites around the area and twitter. Bunny's do sometimes hop home after an unexpected adventure so it's not all lost yet. Hopefully he'll turn up.

I agree with taking to local social media, get everyone looking. Bunny might yet be found .
Would someone drive to the hospital car park for you to check ?

Oh no! I hope your bunny comes hopping safely home!

Get it on local Facebook pages and see if anyone spots it.
Quite honestly I didn’t let my kids take their ‘special teddies’ out of the house as I remember losing mine when I was 6 and how distraught I was over it (I did find it again).

My son had a bunny we lost it we ,thought at the airport. Massive panic from the adults and sobbing heartbreak from the child. We phoned the airport ,tore the house apart and searched eBay for a replacement. Eventually we found snuggle bunny in a rarely opened cupboard where my son had put him.

Try posting on local Facebook groups

Thank you everyone! So I started looking for the book to explain the loss and gearing myself up for bedtime....and also sent my DH back to nursery in case someone found in and handed it in. AND....THEY HAD BUNNY!!!!!! Someone must have handed it in, or maybe I'm going mad and he never had it...DH was so so excited when he saw it that I think nursery thought he was mad!!!

I will never let this bunny out of my sight again!!

I've already ordered more copies of it (it's that small jellycat beige one so easy to find) and I've now got to work out how to make them look old. Any ideas? We've been hand washing/machine washing 2 potential replacements but they all just come out fluffy.

@Mybalconyiscracking I definitely needed to have been swapping them regularly. Will at least start trying now!

@RuggerHug loving idea of bunny sleepover lol

@Runningwithoutstopping im so glad bunny was safe and sound! It really is heartbreaking!

I realise how lucky we are. We have been tearing things apart all afternoon looking for this bunny and to find it - wow. Such a sense of relief. If any future parents read this, definitely buy a easy to find soft toy and swap it regularly from the beginning.

Aww I loved Tatty Ratty. Great book. You should buy a copy for just in case bunny goes walkabout again! And you don't need to wash the replacements, you need to drop them in puddles and bury them in sand and drag them along the ground.....

Put new bunnies in his cot when he's sleeping. they will get his smell and he might touch them and wear them down in a similar way. DS2 lost Miffy when he was little and nowhere stocked the same colour and size. We had to pretend she'd gone on holiday and his lovely godmother sent postcards with stickers of Miffy in different locations. Finally got one on Ebay and she turned up on our doorstep with a tiny cardboard suitcase.

Oh so glad you found him.
I have Dd's Monkey, she left him with me to keep me company when she moved out two years ago.
He once got left under a chair in a restaurant but luckily we found him, he was just napping.
He's worth everything to us, and Dd is 20!

I found my DD’s teddy after it had been dropped on the bus. It’s from Toys r us or somewhere that is no longer around. She had to rescue it from the bus terminal and OMG I was more relieved to have it back than she was 😂

So pleased for you all, i'm sure nursery have seen many frantic parents searching for a lost comforter !
We ended up with two identical bunnies ds would accept the interloper but...he knew which was his 🐇 !

So glad he is found! We lost DS's one for 24 hours a few weeks ago and were panicking. DS was sobbing (he has slept with him every night for about 5.5 years) and he turned up at the bottom of my wardrobe.

As odd as it sounds, I feel sad for the lost bunny...that it's gone and we'll never get it back (I think I need to give my head a shake)
I think that's totally normal. When we'd lost ours I sent a message to my class WA just in case it had got to one of them andoads of replies saying how gutted they would be as well. DH and I both had a lot of sadness about that poor little elephant seeming to be lost!

You may have already done this but find a way to mark Bunny with your phone number. Also, get/create a toy saver strap (eBay has some which show Sophie the giraffe) and use the loop end to fasten it securely round Bunny's middle and the popper end to fix it to the buggy/car seat/your bag.

As you already have twin bunnies, now might be the time to have an out and about bunny so the treasured one gets to stay at home.

Brilliant news OP !

I'm so pleased you found bunny!

I was going to suggest a social media appeal via @LittleBlueCup on Twitter, who help in just this kind of situation. Maybe one to remember in future for MNers.

Monkey doesn't come out much these days, since Dd is an adult, but he's obviously totally irreplaceable.
occasionally I take him to Dd's and put the seat belt on him
The thought of losing him makes me want to cry.
I'm such a wimp

Dd lost her white bunny as a baby..
Asked at a few shops if it had been handed in. Realised it was Easter time and felt a right idiot having been asking if anyone had seen a little white rabbit!!

I'm so glad you found bunny! It's awful when you lose a comforter. DS put his beloved rat teddy in his grandpa's bag to have a look around, forgot he was in there, and the rat got taken home with him. We'd completely given him up for lost until my dad rang days later and said he'd found it in his bag. It's quite realistic so he got a momentary fright. DS was ecstatic when it arrived back by post. But I was surprised by how upset DH and I felt by it, I think I'm a bit attached to it too

Delighted you found it, what pure stress.

Soaking in tea gives them a tatty appearance, I think I read that somewhere.

A good friend of mine used to pass on clothes to my daughter and in one bag there was a few furry toys.
One was a bunny and my daughter loves bunnys and took to this one.
My friends daughter is nearly 2 years older so we meet when they are at school usually so the girls don't meet that often.

A good year later they drop in unexpectedly and the girls go upstairs.
Two minutes later they are back dow with her daughter say "mummy you gave bunny to X".
Que absolutely stricken horrified face....😳fxxk!!
She hadn't put two and two together when they had been tearing the house apart for days.

My daughter was very sad to see Bunny go but kept it to herself as she understood.

The stress though.
I have heard enough similar tales to have been terrified of loosing one.

Great you have a happy ending.

So happy you have found him.
I have been in similar position many years ago but we weren't as fortunate.

Oh I’m so pleased that bunny has been found safe & well and is now back home! You will all sleep more easily tonight!
That’s a good idea to have a going outdoor bunny, and a staying safe at home bunny.

What a pity there isn’t a micro chip service for lost toys, or a find my bunny tracker app! 🐰 🐰 🐰 🐰 🐰

Our bunny went on holiday to see nana and came home after visiting the special bunny hairdresser for a wash and dry