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Original poster

How to tell DD (2.5) that her comforter is actually triplets?

29 replies

treehugga · 05/04/2011 20:35

When my DD was very tiny she was given a rabbit that quickly became her favourite comforter and in the intervening years (she's now 2.5) is the one she needs to sleep, snuggle, stroke, tease and generally love, especially in moments of crisis.

So far, so normal. But, thinking myself very clever I actually bought 3 identical rabbits so that one can be washed, dried, lost, dropped etc with no disruption to service. Amazingly we still have all 3 and incredibly useful they are - eg last week when DD was sick in the night over 2 consecutive rabbits, and the third one came into play and did its comforting thing at 4am, I was very glad it was there.

The thing is: when should I tell her there's a fluffy blue rabbit trinity? Is this going to be a major psychological blow or something a 2 yr old will accept without it devaluing her deep and profound love for the thing? My instinct is that it's best to break it to her sooner rather than later as at the mo it isn't going to be a big deal, and there's no way I can keep it a secret from her, but the question is: how and what do I tell her? Is this going to be really weird for her in the future when most kids have their one special teddy?

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Malvapoeding · 05/04/2011 20:38

Never! or at least not until she leaves home. She will want all 3 if she know there are 3 and you will have no spares for those puke days.

Carrotsandcelery · 05/04/2011 20:40

Don't tell her - hide the others in the loft until emergencies but you never need to tell her.

angel1976 · 05/04/2011 20:42

First, congrats yourself on being a clever mummy! You have no idea how many threads there has been on here from panicked mums who have lost their DC's comforter. And respect to you for having three. We have two (I couldn't convince DH we need 3...) and both have survived DS1 turning 3 last month.

I never 'broke' the news to DS1. I think one day, I just said we lost your blankie but there's one in the drawer, let me get that for you and then number 1 mysteriously re-appeared, DS1 saw it and said 'oh, there's two' (so he must be pretty old by then!) and I asked him to choose one to go to bed with and he smelt them both and took the stinkier one! LOL. Since then, he's just accepted it.

DS2 has two blankies too and one goes to nursery. He's only 17 months old but when I go and pick him up, he goes to the nursery staff to give his nursery blankie back as he knows there will be another one waiting for him at home so I can't see an issue in the future. I don't think you need to break the news, just wait till the day when two appears at one time and just tell her one lives in teh drawer so choose which one! :)

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theyoungvisiter · 05/04/2011 20:43

Yeah, I wouldn't bother telling her - purely because as Malva says, she will want to have them ALL rather than two languishing in a drawer, and then if you lose one (which is the ultimate horror) how will you replace one of the trips?

However I think you may have more problems when she gets a little bit sharper and older. Once they start to look a bit worn then you won't be able to substitute one for the other as easily and she will start to notice they are not the same bunny.

When she gets to that point, or grows out of the sicking-in-the-night phase, whichever is sooner, then I would just put two in a drawer and "forget" about them until such time as bunny one gets lost, at which point you can produce bunny two and say "here's one mummy has magicked out of the ether".

Original poster

treehugga · 05/04/2011 20:43

Well, they get circulated pretty regularly as start to smell after a fortnight or so and while I wouldn't say our house is hygienic (and my mother would agree), I do occasionally put in a washing load. Last week, pre-puking session, she did catch sight of one blue ear astray in the airing cupboard, but luckily didn't really seem to twig, just gave me a feeling of doom ahead.

Malva, you are totally right about her wanting 3.

Carrots, our loft..... not that penetrable IFKWIM

OP posts:

FABsBackAndIsWell · 05/04/2011 20:44

Don't tell her.

I also bought 2 of DD's favourite toy in case. She lost them both and then we found one and she is still devastated that she had one stolen lost one.

Indith · 05/04/2011 20:45

Don't tell her, she may well work it out at some point but until then don't tell her!

We had 2 rabbits for ds, he knew there were 2 of them and one day decided that only one of them was the right one and the other one was the wrong one. He is now 4 and we have a very mangled rabbit and an almost pristine reject. Dd also has 2 of her comforter and insists on having both of them all the time. I'm doomed.

colditz · 05/04/2011 20:47

Ds2 has two sonic the hedgehogs. He will grab the nearest available sonic.

DownyEmerald · 05/04/2011 20:53

We have two. Original was a pressy from a uni friend, and I bought another one after a few months when it seemed like a favourite. I did then actually engineer it to be her favourite - put it in with her for all naps etc, and make sure it went to the childminders when she started going to one at 12 months.

One day dd saw the other one peeking out of the laundry bin while she had one in her hand. She didn't say anything. But definitely clocked it.

After that I still rotated but didn't bother to try and hide it. And then one day she took the dirty one out of the laundry bin and now she has to have two to sleep with. Luckily tho' she has grown out of them needing to go everywhere with her. It's just a going to sleep thing.

Read Tatty Ratty - it's lovely!

Demi · 05/04/2011 20:56

Don't tell her! Just put two somewhere safe, just in case.

My DD is almost 10 and still cries every now and then for Rabby who was lost when she was 6. He was a present, have no idea where he came from. If only I could find another.

I wish I'd had 3.

Well done to you. x

Original poster

treehugga · 05/04/2011 20:59

FYI, they are all ageing equally as they get washed in turn, more or less. It's when she's older I'm worried about. Is this going to be a betrayal that'll feature in therapy sessions when she's 19?

OP posts:

theyoungvisiter · 05/04/2011 21:08

yeah but one of them is going to lose an ear, or get stained, or the fur with rub off in a different way or summat.

She will only feel betrayed if she finds out. [zip. lock. throw away key]

GoldenGreen · 05/04/2011 21:13

I'm trying to remember when ds found out about the teddy triplets! I think he was just 3 - he used to take his teddy to nursery every day and sleep with it every night and one night we left teddy at nursery. He was devastated when we got home that day and realised and it was too late to go back, so I told him the secret and he was delighted. Honestly, he thought it was brilliant.

We have one lost in the house somewhere in a pristine condition, and the other two are "brothers" and both share his bed now. He has one he prefers (the other has a slightly squashed face) and only he and I can tell them apart!

StealthPolarBear · 05/04/2011 21:17

lol at this thread
DD has big Pooh and little Pooh and old Pooh and Grandma's. Luckily any f them will seem to do even though an 18m old couldn't think they were the same bear :o

JenniC · 05/04/2011 21:59

DD was about 2-2.5 when she accidentally saw Bunny2 and the look on her face was priceless! She did a double-take then picked one up in each hand and gave them both a big hug. It was lovely.

I think I just told her that we have to keep one clean so that she can have one when Bunny's in the washing machine (another priceless moment - DS's face when he saw his elephant going round and round in the washing machine for the first time!).

She just accepts it now (she's 4), that there are 2 Bunnys and every 2 weeks or so, one goes in the washing machine and she gets the other one out of the drawer. Also, sometimes Bunny gets lost playing hide and seek at home and so we have to get Bunny2 out of the drawer because we can't find Bunny before bedtime and DD can't remember where she left it!

bessie26 · 05/04/2011 22:11

we have 3 "lovies" too - DD (prob around 2 at the time) spotted 2 drying on the clothes horse once, while holding the third - she just thought it was really funny and ran around with all 3 for a while, but we sneaked them back when she wasn't paying attention!!

jenniec79 · 05/04/2011 22:16

Only way to tell has to be to bring out all 3...

...on her 18th. In front of her mates.

...or maybe at her wedding- Dad could have the honours that way!

notremotelyintofootie · 06/04/2011 19:48

We have 3 bunnys too! One stays at nursery ( or dd clings to it at the end of the day) and it 'magically' flies home to bed, I rotate wash them too so all are same condition! Dd us 16 months and won't sleep or be settled without bunny and the heart attacks I had with ds (now 11!) over his was awful so I had to have spares! Ds still has his bunny in bed but it's hidden when mates come over and he doesn't take her on sleep overs but won't let dd touch her!

EustaciaVye · 06/04/2011 20:12

Dont tell her. DD had 2 - one with a mouth and one without and she didnt notice. She dropped them at 4 so one is hidden in the garage now.

Rosa · 06/04/2011 20:15

Don't tell her. I managed to buy a second but she saw it and that was it . we now have 2 and she learnt how to count very fast . No more pink available aso I bought a white one hoping to introduce and rotate ..Nah diddn't work.

PorkChopSter · 06/04/2011 20:31

I bought two identical ones. Identical to me and every other living being but not to DS.

He had a favourite but at times needed both.

Ebay has been my friend, we now have 3 of the same thing plus two smaller size and one in a giant size He still sleeps with them all - at the grand old age of 7

shouldnthavegoogled · 06/04/2011 20:40

We nearly lost ds's teddy when we were out last Sunday (Happy Mother's day me!). Genuinely the most terrifying 15 mins of my life. I could have coped with losing the keys for the house, with someone nicking my purse, with losing an eye, but losing the bear is just not an option!! He was under the carseat (thank goodness!!)

Just went and ordered another one off ebay thanks to this thread. We are heading off for a city trip next week for 4 nights. It will definitely be less stressful knowing we have backup!
Thank you!!

PaperView · 06/04/2011 20:50

We have done that with all ours. They know that if one gets sick on/a bit smelly/misc reason for a wash then there is another lurking somewhere.

sleepysox · 06/04/2011 20:53

DS only found out about his 3 Winnie the Poohs a few weeks ago when he was 6. He still only has one at a time and doesn't seem bothered by the fact there's another 2 in the drawer!

LawrieMarlow · 06/04/2011 20:53

Don't let her know. We have four of the same bear - DS had Boris and I got another one. Somehow he found both at the same time and they became known as Right One Boris and Un-one (ie other one) Boris.

Got two more (why?) when Mothercare was selling them off, in case of dire emergency. DD found them at some point and wanted both of them. We called them Silkies as at the time their fur was silky. When she was about 1 she called them both Ro-Ro. They have been known as Ro-Ro Bunch (who had a hair bobble round her tail) and Ro-Ro label (DD likes to stroke labels of toys). At some point they became Girl Ro-Ro and Boy Ro-Ro.

Un-one Boris got renamed My Bobby (no idea why) but no one loves him . Feel a bit sorry for him.

But anyway keep the secret of the trinity as long as you can. Or you too will be writing long messages about the precise names of the bunnies....

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