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?

Phew! I’m glad you found it. My daughter is almost 16 and still takes the bacteria ridden remains of her favourite cuddly toy with her to sleepovers, holidays etc. She loves it and it means so much to her!
The poor thing has spent a few nights in various shops and supermarkets but always made its way back home (but not before similar frantic searches)!

Oh what a great ending!

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).

You have no idea how relieved this made me. I have DSs old bear in my bed - because I felt so sorry for it when he finally (about age 10) decided he didn't want him in bed anymore. DS is now 6ft 2" and I worry about who will love this bear when I'm dead and gone. I have nights where I think about him being thrown away/chucked in a bin because he's so 'well loved' and it makes me really sad.

I thought it was menopause hormones, but maybe I'm not so peculiar as I thought.

I'm so glad you found bunny. I remember our bear going everywhere and DH once saying You're more obsessed with checking you've got the bear than the child! - I think it was because I knew the trauma that would ensue if we lost said bear. (Child was vocal and knew its address - bear wasn't!)

I'm loving all these 'bunny' stories!

Spare bunnies are going in tea/mud/cot to begin the distressing process.

For future - unpick a seam in bunny. Insert one of those tracker key ring Tile things linked to your phone. Sew bunny back up. Thank me later....

So glad you found him!

A word to the wise - don't let your DS know that there are multiple bunnies in existence. When DD became very attached to a taggie blanket at about 10 months old, we thought we were being clever by quickly buying a duplicate and entering into circulation.

Within a couple of weeks she found both of them and immediately had to have both blankets at all times!! And 11 years later nothing has changed!

Those blankies have travelled the world with us, and DH and I joke that it is like travelling with extra children given how vigilant we had to be about its whereabouts. The family roll call at airports always included DBlankie1 and DBlankie2.

Aw this reminds me of my favourite mumsnet thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1717943-A-plea-for-help-in-finding-this-Maileg-Mouse

Such a sweet outcome!

We had a similar lost bunny situation recently but luckily he accepted new version quite quickly when I bought a new one the next day.

We thought we lost our bunny at a service station.

A few days later when my son was playing in the car he finds original bunny. So we were like great - a spare bunny now - but no my son now has to go to bed with two bunnies!

Not sure if your son was the same but he chewed original bunny's ears and that is hard to replicate.

My top tip.
Never let your child take their favourite toy to ikea.
If you do, and they lose their cuddly, look in the toddler bed display first.

No help now but try this for future beloved soft toys

Yes happened to us but we did get Bunny back after I postered our whole locality. Like you, I felt awful. Someone had picked him up and taken him home to wash.
Another time we thought we'd lost him, turned the entire house upside down and finally found him tucked inside the folded pushchair in the car boot.
PS Strongly recommend that you make some kind of tag or collar for any future bunnies - perhaps a piece of ribbon with your phone number written on it.

@cheeseismydownfall

So glad you found him!

A word to the wise - don't let your DS know that there are multiple bunnies in existence. When DD became very attached to a taggie blanket at about 10 months old, we thought we were being clever by quickly buying a duplicate and entering into circulation.

Within a couple of weeks she found both of them and immediately had to have both blankets at all times!! And 11 years later nothing has changed!

Those blankies have travelled the world with us, and DH and I joke that it is like travelling with extra children given how vigilant we had to be about its whereabouts. The family roll call at airports always included DBlankie1 and DBlankie2.

Yep us too!

Dd had a comforter, was starting to look a bit grubby, so Bought another to “try” and swap. Only Dd cottoned on straight away and adopted the second one along with the original.
( I have 2 more replacements in the loft that she would not accept so got cast aside!)

I haven’t been allowed to wash them since she was about 9. They are the most disgusting manky flea bitten things ever. They were once pink now the colour of sludge!

She’s 18 now, they still sleep on her bed, still come on holiday with us and I’m still “not” allowed to wash them.
They’re rank!

My biggest fear re dd bunnies, glad bunny back. Loved the classic mouse story

@IncessantNameChanger

No help now but try this for future beloved soft toys

Yes I had some of these made up when my kids were small. "If found please call 07xxx xxxxxx". Useful for coats, hats, gloves school bags etc as well as favourite cuddlies!

This is our Monkey.

My DM used to make a soft toy for my DSis. She made copies that would get rejected. She found that putting the replacement in the bed before the old one was completely worn helped with acceptance of the new.

So glad bunny has been found. He needs gps!

@SallyLondon I have just realised I need to sew these into my kids coats as I did indeed loose my CHILD last month 😲. He is nine but has SEN so wondered off in a busy place

Check Facebook. Put a post up, Facebook is great for this sort of thing. Most people if found would try to reunite it. I did the same thing once on a beach, it was only at bedtime I realised we didn't have it, we'd only walked along the beach not sat anywhere so knew it could be anywhere. I think I was more distressed than my daughter, the next day my mum drove back to the beach and walked it and eventually found it! I hope it gets back x

@mrsflinch, that made me laugh. God knows what DD's blankies will look like in another seven years.

She actually asked me once why we had chosen her grey blankies when she was a baby. She refuses to believe that they were in fact a beautiful pale blue!

You're such lovely thoughtful parents,first thing that's made me smile today when you said you'd found him! When my little one lost hers it was a loooong 24 hours. I always promised myself if I ever had children I'd let them have a special certain one thing they couldn't be without but it just sort of happens doesn't it. You're so sweet to buy others and even go to the trouble of making them look the same as the original, lovely ending for bunny 🐰😁

I lost DD’s comforter once. Tried ever shop I brought it from locally and couldn’t find that exact one. Then one day they were stocked again.. so I brought a new one and 3 extras which sit in the top of the wardrobe now waiting for replacement day

Ohhhh yay! So glad bunny was found 🥰

DD has a jelly cat lion she adores. She has copies that she knows aren't the real thing like 'nursery lion' (and another back up!) but I let her have more than one at a time and she doesn't seem to mind so long as one is available. It came very much in handy when she had a sickness bug and lion had to go in the washing machine immediately 🤮 nursery lion stepped in to save bedtime and she didn't seem to mind.

I'm so glad you found it! It's lost ds' favourite blanket on a plane in America, luckily we had another one but he was so upset, he was 3 at the time, I never stopped looking on eBay for someone selling the same (it was a white company one they didn't make anymore) and about 6 months ago someone was and I bought it and told ds (now 6..!) that the airline had called and had something for him, he constantly still spoke about it and got upset) and he totally broke down and was so happy.

I know it's probably silly but it meant so much to him and for him to think he had the same one back was lovely.

This is one of my nightmares! So much so that Uni the Unicorn is no longer allowed out of the house AT ALL! 🦄

Incredibly pleased you found Bunny! Happy boy! 🐰👶🏼

@thislifetoo

I'm so glad you found it! It's lost ds' favourite blanket on a plane in America, luckily we had another one but he was so upset, he was 3 at the time, I never stopped looking on eBay for someone selling the same (it was a white company one they didn't make anymore) and about 6 months ago someone was and I bought it and told ds (now 6..!) that the airline had called and had something for him, he constantly still spoke about it and got upset) and he totally broke down and was so happy.

I know it's probably silly but it meant so much to him and for him to think he had the same one back was lovely.

That's the sweetest happy ending ever! 🥲