Changing the “special” soft toy 😅

[Bumblebee112]

I know there’s probably no hope but I’ll ask incase anyone has any pearls of wisdom 😅

DS decided about 7/8weeks ago to ask DH if he could take a teddy to bed. No issue with this, he’s almost 3. So he picks his “favourite” one…a bloody miniature Jellycat bunny. It’s about 13/14cm tall.

Hes never been a great sleeper, often waking a few times a night and always having an early start. Now though, everytime he wakes he’s shouting me “Mummy!!! Buns LOST” 🙈 Cue the hunt under the covers/down the side of the bed/under the bed for this bloody tiny rabbit 😅 and I’m talking up to 5 times a night.

He also drops it as he falls asleep and if he’s not in a deep enough sleep it startled him awake and he’s shouting “buns not in my hands!” 😅

What can I do here? I’ve offered a bigger one. I’ve tried “bunny sleeps under the pillow” and “bunny sleeps on the bedside table”, neither of which have worked.

He also wants to take it out with him everywhere and keeps misplacing it 🙄 Has anyone had any luck changing the “special” toy? 😅 or can someone just tell me how many of these bloody things I should have stockpiled 😅

Special toys do not leave the house. I can guarantee it will get lost and he will be upset.

Good luck with the mission.

Is there anything that is very special smell texture feel etc about the toy which made bunny "the toy"?

Have you tried that the other toys are sad and want a turn of going out to the park etc during the day?

We had Roger. 'Where Wodge?!' haunts me 30 years later.

My attempts at changing it meant he ended up with an entourage that we have to know where they all are so tread carefully!

i agree with them not leaving the house (other than for holidays) they have to stay and look after the other toys

@Beamur I did do this yesterday but it took a while to get out the house 😅 hoping that will calm down!

@AnSolas Absolutely no idea what made it “the toy” - he’s never so much as looked at the thing until that decision to take it to bed 😅
Im wondering whether to get him a special bedtime bear or something from Santa and see if I can swap them that way? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@HarrietofFire Honestly, it’s been 7/8 weeks for me and I already understand 😂 The panic I feel when I start the hunt at 2am and can’t find the wee bugger is unreal 😅

Our were not allowed downstairs let alone out of the house!

I would buy several although DS1 has 3 of his and only one of them is “real”.

if it’s jellycat, have you looked to see if they have a lovey version? My baby has a lovey style Octopus from jellycat, and they do big and small versions of the octopus.

We have two, and one lives on in our bed so it gets the same about of wear as his one so it doesn’t look too new!

I still have a spare HORSE stashed in the house years after. I used to have to swap them over after periodically having heard about the children knowing the new from the old.

The good thing with horses, giraffes and similar is that their thin necks are perfectly helped in the vice-like grip of a toddler. Only thin-necked stuffed animals allowed in this house.

Agree. A firm rule in our house.

If it’s a jellycat bashful bunny could you get the same colour etc in medium or even large https://www.jellycat.com/bashful-bunnies/

I'm happy to report though that Wodge is living happily on a shelf in DD32's house. I won parenting.

@Sirzy I was worried about that 😅 I’ll go with it not leaving the house.

@Mamette I’m just about to order a spare or 2 🙄

@Eumie @Galliano He actually has the same one in medium, plus another 2 colours in medium and he’s not interested. Reluctant to spend on a large incase it’s met with the same. I’ve even offered to take him to pick a big one that he can take to bed and he just says “but I’ll just take my tiny bun” 😅

@MrsTerryPratchett a rule to live by 😂 unfortunately this bloody thing is too small to properly cuddle but just big enough not to be easily gripped 🙄

@HarrietofFire 😂

Could you sew a sleeping bag for bunny to make it a bit bigger to hold?

DS still has “monkey”; he’s now 17 and 6 ft and I often go in his room and he’s having a good old cuddle in his sleep 🥰

Lined with super glue Velcro.

I'd stitch a cuddle blanket onto bunnys hand so that bunny can take it to bed but there is more to hold onto. Start with just a couple of stitches so that if ds hates it it is easy to remove

Attach it to a dummy clip and clip it to his top over night?

We had snuggles she came every where. Rarely got a wash 🤢. We once lost her while out and found her in the middle of the road with a tyre print on her. We left her in a airport. Luckily realised before we left but trying to explain to Greek authorities was a nightmare. Dd is 21 now and she lives under dds bed now

Could be worse, our special toy is a spatula from the kitchen

Following this thread in case I can learn how to get my orange spatula back and DD to adopt an actual toy

DD2 has bunny comforters for sleep. She has about six of them, I usually put three in her cot with her so she can easily grab one during the night (along with about six dummies too!).

Could bunny be attached to something like a blanket to make him easier to find at night?

Op this is the result of us trying to change out the "special toy" didn't happen.

Hello to those of you that recognise me now ☺️

What you do OP, is get on eBay and buy a series of backups, you then tuck them into bed so that at some point if the original gets lost…. You have a replacement that smells the same.

and never leave the house!

My DS has changed the favourite toy multiple times, so it's a bit early to stockpile, I'd say. Fucking hell, though, I feel your pain about the size - my heart sinks every time he tries to take sodding Baby Whale to bed. JUST TAKE THE BIG ONE.