I’m a fan of capitalism. Like, a big ol’ I-minored-in-economics fan.
I’m also a fan of toddler attachment. I’ve read all kinds of blabber out there about how you shouldn’t let your kid attach to a stuffed animal, you shouldn’t encourage it, blah blah blah. I think it’s horseshit. Harrison LOVES a stuffed monkey & I do think that in his little heart, he truly believes that Monkey loves him back. Monkey gives him security & comfort & if he wants to have a slightly unreasonable attachment to a stuffed monkey, then I shall not thwart his efforts.
Ain’t nothing better in this world than love, even if it’s between a boy & a stuffed monkey.
Besides, getting this monkey from Harry would mean prying it from his cold, dead hands & honestly? I’d like to keep the kid alive a little while longer, which is why I give him whole milk & try to discourage him from jumping off the couch
Every evening when we get home, Harrison darts for the stairs & runs into his room to retrieve Monkey from the confines of the crib. oh, sweet velvet friend! It has been too long!
Monkey does his job well. He’s a good soldier of toddlerhood, taking all beatings & slobbery kisses & thumb-sucking with a smile. He’s had a few run-ins with plastic bulldozers, but he is the last thing Harrison cuddles at night & is the first thing he sees in the morning.
For that, I love that blasted ball of fluff.
So on a daily basis, I am filled with fear that one day these two will be separated by some cruel twist of fate. On the very rare occasion that I let Monkey out of the house, I put him on a leash & clip him to the stroller or even myself. & then do a head-count every five minutes. Because Nate bought Monkey back in early 2009 from the shelves of Target & these days, a replacement can only be found on eBay.
yeah.
Like I said – I’m a fan of capitalism. You’ve got a limited product with a high demand & presto! you’ve got a high price point. But this is a $10.00 monkey. I haven’t seen scalping this bad since Hansbrough’s last Carolina/Duke match-up in 2009.
Essentially, this asshole is preying on the emotions of a toddler momma, knowing that she would probably separate herself from one of her very own kidneys to keep her child happy with his lovey.
o
p.s. stephanie was so sweet to send us a back-up monkey that sat unloved in her daughter’s toybox. back-up monkey went immediately into the firebox to ensure his survival should the original go AWOL. bless your heart, stephanie! & THANK YOU!
What you described is my Ryann to a tee! I’ve started buying blankets that are just like hers whenever I see them so I have backups for the backups. Her love for her blanket is too sweet for me to tell her no or never have a replacement.
You don’t even want to know what it cost us to replace my daughter’s “blankie”. It was obscene and I’m still bitter.
You might want to put the backup monkey into rotation now. We thought we were thinking ahead and got my daughter a backup for her favorite bear and put it away for the day we’d need it. Unfortunately her bear is now so well loved that the fluffy pink backup doesn’t even resemble her favorite Koala Bear (now dingy and matted). We had to pull the backup out when she was sick on her main bear and she looked at us like we were crazy when we tried to tell her that the fluffy pink bear was her KB.
ohhh, good point! I didn’t even think about that.
Aw! That’s so sweet of Stephanie. I love her
I can’t believe they are charging that much now. That’s messed up!
I love this post. My niece was hopelessly attached to a very uniquely named stuffed animal when she was a toddler; “Bunny” went everywhere with her. They lived in Texas at the time and when we came to visit we all when to San Antonio. I can’t remember how many times the phrase “Oh no, where’s Bunny” was said during our 2 days in San Antonio.
My niece just turned 13 last month. As part of her birthday present we went to a clay studio. My sister-in-law painted a clay bunny to look just like the original “Bunny” that I hear my neice still sleeps with some nights.
Now, if only I could find the Target sleep tank that my child can’t be separated with so I have a back-up.
Yeah. I’m shit out of luck.
Related. That adorable lovey you gave to baby dos? I went out and got a back-up the next day, and plan on pushing it on her the day she is born. For real.
Is it bad I want Sophia to attach to something. She could take or leave pretty much and stuffed dolly, blanket, violet or whatever.
But for some reason we do have a car violet and a crib violet. She doesn’t even love the thing. How did this happen??
I also have a monkey, but not the same one as Harry’s. Not only does Mommy not have a back-up, she’s not even positive where she got the original from, and so has no way of googling a second-string lovey. o_0
Uh, look at that face with his monkey! And now you have to agree to an arranged marriage between Harry and Hallie because I sent you a $10 monkey. It’s a win/win.
This is great. So glad you got a new monkey. This is so funny because JUST today, I ordered a duplicate of my daughter’s favorite stuffed cat called “Callie”. She started getting attached to it a few months back and I quickly asked the person who gave it to her where I could get another. Turns out it was ON SALE so I got it for a steal! I’ll have to take the previous posters advise and rotate the two stuffed animals. Whatever makes these kiddos happy, right?!
We also have a beloved stuffed animal. I’m all for love of any kind, why deprive them?! Derek is bffs with a Giraffe Grandma got him and this is a great reminder that I should get a backup. Right now I’m researching ways to hand wash it since it plays the abc’s and it can’t be machine washed.
As a Carolina alum and fan of your blog, I can’t tell you how much happiness I got out of the Hansbrough reference!! Love it.
Glad you have an extra in case (knock on wood) something happens. Harry is such a cutie!!!
Love the post! Never posted before, but I smiled because we have Paul the Elephant. I, too, searched EBay, but was a little more lucky. I bought 6 of them and now they are ALL over my house. We even met the creator of “My Banky” while in Disney World because we take “Paul” everywhere. Nothing better than a sweet little boy sucking his thumb to his lovey!
I think that kids should have a transitional object. It really helps them learn that they can handle things without us.
Personally, I learned from my sister’s experience. Her son’s blanket was part of a shirt that she literally took off her back one night and put it in his crib when he just would.not.stop.crying. Well she ended up cutting a big section of the shirt and tossing the rest. A couple years later there were only small strips left. She wanted to replace it, but the shirt was a concert t-shirt. Fortunately, ebay came to her rescue without the $75 price tag.
So when it was time to introduce a blanket to my son, I made my own. I bought a bunch of fabric and ribbon and made 2 and have enough fabric to make at least 2 more.
Oh also, as far as introducing the new one to them…tell them that you are taking it during a nap time to clean it. Then swap it out. Sure it will look all new, but just tell them it is all cleaned up! They might buy it!
Oh man…that’s crazy! And that monkey is so dang cute, I was about to ask where you got it, but there is no way I’m buying one for that much. I’ll have to keep searching for a cute monkey. Bray’s room is monkey-themed and I’m collecting monkeys, but it’s hard to find cute ones! My mom bought him a mini blankie from K-mart that is a small square with silk on the edges and he loved it so much that she went back and bought the rest, so he has 4 total now. We do what one of your posters mentioned…we rotate them so they are equally loved/worn out. We pretty much toss one into the laundry each week b/c we figure it’s gotten enough drool/tears/snot on it by then and pull out a new one.
I WISH my child would take a lovey. At this point I would pay $75 for her to! Her lovey is my boobs. I’m not joking. Her hand shoots down my shirt whenever she’s tired, feels stressed, is hurt… ANYTHING. And she has to rub them to go to sleep. We’re working on going to sleep on her own in her crib, and I currently have to pull my bra off, lean over, pull my shirt down so my boobs are exposed, and let her rub them to go to sleep. We’re trying to get pregnant… I don’t think haulin’ a pregnant belly over the crib railing is going to work.
I had a feeling that’s where this was going….what a scam. Thank goodness for your friend! as of right now we don’t have a lovey, but I hope that I can procure another one just in case.
Second the advice about rotation. My childhood friend refused to take the replacement elephant when Ellie #1 got lost. His mom had to drag it through the dirt, spill milk on it and probably run it over with the car before he would look at it.
My lovie was a handmade Raggedy Ann doll. She wasn’t allowed to leave the house because she was too hard to replace.
What a cowinkydink…my Chunkey Monkey’s first love wasn’t me or my husband, it was his stuffed monkey…thus his nickname
Luckily ours was a beanie baby of the collectors edition variety so once we lose him (heaven forbid) he will be gone
Really?! Having a “love” item is discouraged. What a-hole came up with that. We all have comfort items no matter how old we are.
My oldest isn’t really attached to anything, except his garbage trucks. But he can part with them.
My daughter, she is attached to crochet pink blanket THAT USE TO BELONG TO ME! This blanket is 30 yrs old. It is just referred to as Blankie around our house. We make sure to keep tabs on Blankie when we’re out. It was in perfect condition when she was born. It is now tattered. It’s breathing its very last breaths but still holding strong. She got the blanket because we didn’t have any girl blankets for her. I had every intention of giving it back. I am never getting it back. [sniff, sniff] We are currently working on another blanket to add to the rotation but I know, oh I know, it will be thrown to the side [until the other one is completely gone].
The monkey causes no harm. Let him love away.
I am privy to the lovey situation. My daughter Violet fell in love with her “lambie” when she was 2 months old, and we have since purchased an extra that we’ve swapped out many times. My mom also has two at her house, so if we are ever in a pinch, we know where to grab two more!
I agree with everyone else, nothing wrong with having a lovey, its about the cutest thing, the way she loves on it and when its not in her hands, the way she calls out for it. At first I thought she was asking for mama, but no, it was lambie! Go figure.
Zoe has a giraffe lovey (Jerry) that we have two of, so one can be washed. We have the same monkey that Harrison loves. Zoe is only interested in it at times; she prefers Curious George. If you need a backup, let me know; Zoe wouldn’t miss it as long as she has Jerry.
once we got our first “lovey” i went and bought 2 backups that are now in rotation… one to have, one to wash, and one to sit in the closet.
$75… crazy
$75! Wow!
I was one of these mothers that was DEADSET against the lovey until the daycare forced me to bring one for him. Now he is also in love and I wonder why I was such a bitch about it in the first place.
When I was a kid, I had a stuffed bear (Teddy, how original, huh??) Teddy went everywhere with me. As time went on, Teddy’s fabric wore so thin his stuffing fell out. Around 11 or 12, mom finally convinced me to put him on a shelf before he literally just fell apart.
When I was about 22, mom asked me to stop by one day, she had picked up something for me at a garage sale. When I got to the house, there was a photo album on the table, pictures of me, first days home from the hospital, with Teddy propped up in the crib. He looked so different back then! Then mom pulled out THE EXACT SAME TEDDY from a bag (she found him at a yard sale, in perfect condition) and I am only slightly ashamed to say I burst into tears.
Now, both the old Teddy, and new teddy, have a special place on a shelf in my bedroom. If I’m having a bad day, I can glance at those two bears, and instantly remember childhood, and feel a bit better.
Screw those people who say lovies aren’t good!
Now that my daughter is 7y/o we joke about “lamby” #1, #2 AND #3. I still remember being panicked when Lamby #3 came into rotation because it was the last lamby I had.
We still have lamby #3 and remember leaving Lamby #1 on the glass floor of the CN Tower. Lamby #2 had a truly mysterious disappearance and to this day we have no idea where he went.
My younger two haven’t fallen in love with anything just yet but once they do I’m stocking up!
I love that Harrison loves a monkey too! I bought a second one earlier this week, once I saw you post the link to the $75 monkey. I Have added it to my cart several times, and then think, nah, we will never need antoher one, but you never know! Lillian def does not want to go to sleep if Monkey is not in her crib.
I have an adorable little nephew who was so in looooove with his “lovie” that his mother went out and bought him 3 more identical ones for ‘just in case.’ Wouldn’t want to leave lovie at the grocery store or have him killed in a lawn mower accident… BUT my nephew found the other 3 somehow and now cannot live without holding all 4 at one time.
So HIDE the replacement
My Youngest Boy’s lovey is a blanket that I crocheted for myself about 15 years ago. It would take me MONTHS to make a new one. At least he has *almost* outgrown it.
This is so funny, I feel the same. Jack has a George doll that he CAN NOT live without. He takes it in the car, to daycare and all over the house.
He WILL NOT sleep without him.
I hope we never lose him.
AWESOMSAUCE! so glad you were sent another monkey for Harry. As you know H’s lovey is also monk. now monk #1 & monk #2.
we had a monk #3 but sadly he was lost.
note to gift givers at baby showers. if you are gifting the momma to be a lovey or stuffed animal. be sweet and buy TWO. never know which one the kid attaches too!
My son had something he was attached to. A washcloth. Oh yeah. A KIDS washcloth. It went EVERYWHERE with him. We have spent HOURS looking for this 5″ x 5″ piece of cloth around the house. My 2nd was attached to a skateboarder toy that was like 3″ high. I could only dream of them loving a stuffed monkey, which compared in size is like godzilla.
My kid’s lovie is a Pottery Barn Essential Throw that I had on our wedding registry and got as a shower gift. I think it retailed for $55. It’s a full-sized, adult blanket. Once he became mobile, he stole it off of the end of our bed every chance he got, and now it’s just “his.” He looks ridiculous carrying it around, but he is full-on IN LOVE with it. I thought about cutting it in half and sewing up the cut edges, but I really don’t want to ruin my blanket in case he ever gives it back to us! Oh, and we could definitely never replace it because PB doesn’t sell them anymore. Ugh.
I paid the $50 for our second lovey. Then we had a poopsplosion and I had to bring it out as the replacement.
Low and behold my silly husband left one in the laundry basket and much to my toddlers delight there were two!
Most of the time I can hide one but her stubborn memory will kick in and she will run around screaming TWO FOOT!!! (his name is Foot)
Ahhh toddlers!
Harrison is just too much. I can’t handle the cuteness.
I tried to encourage A to have a lovey from the get-go, but he wasn’t having it. He just now got attached to his two aidan blankets. One lives at daycare (washed on weekends) and one at my place. He’s also in love with a soft stuffed bull I brought back for him from the airport…in Spain. Lord help us if Toro ever goes awol.
BA,
Harrison kills me with his cuteness! Kills! Me!
I really want MG to have a “lovey,” but I am such a freak I think that I need to make him one… the problem is, I’m not so good at finishing projects. I hope he doesn’t mind cuddling knitting needles until I finish making him some sort of cuddle animal!
I think we have that monkey hanging around our house, too, so if you ever need a second back-up, feel free to let me know…
I am so glad Allie got attached to a bear from BRU. It is the pink bear that you attach a gift certificate to. I already went and bought a replacement. Now she takes one to daycare (and holds it close all day long) and the other stays in her crib.
I may get another just.in.case.
One night both bears ended up in her crib. She was so confused. Lol. She picked one up and threw the other to the other end of the crib.
Yeah Penny has a lion that my stepmom gave her for her first easter…it hasn’t left her side. unbenounst to us it was a limited edition and now…we can only find it on ebay as well.
Gawd I hope he lives forever (or at least till she turns 10)
Abby has her Wooby and she takes it everywhere. Even to daycare every day. We started out with a little bear head blanket and then came the Little Elephant head blanket. They were named Jake and El-Woob. (think Blues Brother’s) Well, when we discovered that El-Woob is machine washable, jake went on a shelf. LOL! So luckily, El-Woob gets a bath every so often.
When you have to reach back 2 years it actually serves as a win for Duke fans that you have to search the archives for a burn. Just saying.
Why in the world is it bad for toddlers to have a lovie??? Everything I have read says that it encourages them to be more independent and teaches them how to self-soothe. My daughter’s been using “cuddle monkey” (little blanket with a monkey head on it) since she was a newborn. He’s the only stuffed animal allowed to go with us in the car (cause I have 2 backups), and he has been a godsend more times that I can count. Toddlers are so emotionally volitile that I think anything that a comfort object helps them have a sense of security and confidence. Now if she still drags him everywhere when she’s 12…then I’ll worry.
You rock, Stephanie. Apparently it takes a village to raise a child…and find back-up monkey lovies, too. =)
I love this post! William has a stuffed classic winnie the pooh bear that he takes with him everywhere and loves to death. And since we got ours back in 2009, we cannot find the damned thing anywhere. I’ll check ebay… hopefully his won’t be more than $15 lol.
Oh! And thanks for the help with the Little People question on Wednesday!
Miabella’s lovey is also a little monkey (his name is George)! And he is strictly restricted to the crib because I do not want to chance losing him ever, otherwise my poor daughter will not go to sleep. Like someone mentioned it earlier, you might want to put the new monkey into rotation with the original because Harrison might not like it if you just replace the original.
I could’ve written this post, substituting Lambie for Monkey because it is SO my daughter, right down to toddling along, thumb in mouth, dragging Lambie by his poor beleagured foot.
And that’s just fine with me. I think all that attachment garbage is horseshit too. Lil’ Bit’s world is a better place with Lambie in it and woe is the day he should ever go missing. We have two Lambies, in fact – the original Lambie, who lives at home and Lambie 2.), who lives at daycare (but only comes out at naptime). And although the store where my mom got Lambie and his clone is now closed, we know the manufacturer and their web site. Just in case…
So I get where you’re coming from. But that guy scalping Monkey in eBay? What a turd.
Ahhh gotta love the blogging world! How cool is it that someone sent you a backup monkey (snicker!).
My toddler loves a big plastic action figure of The Thing. Not cuddly at all but he totes it around muttering “Da-Ting, Da-Ting, Da-Ting…” I never thought about a backup before but since this is an old toy of my H’s I have a bad feeling about trying to find another….
My mom tried to encourage me to NOT get my son attached to any one thing, but I couldn’t help it. I thought it was adorable how much he loved his Curious George pj clad lovey. Until one day he tossed George out into the rain & I didn’t realize until hours later. I searched & searched every shelf of the Babies R Us we had been in but no luck. I think I was more distraught then he was and promptly ordered another George when we got home.
My cousin had the same type of e-bay experience with her son’s lovey after they lost it temporarily, so now the $5 bunny and the $60 bunny get switched out regularly. It’s why I’m glad my son’s comfort object is his pacifier (no joke, the kid insists of having one for the mouth and one for each hand at nap and bedtime). They’re a bit easier to lose than a stuffed animal but they’re easy and dirt cheap to replace. The downside of course is that transitioning away from the paci is going to be a nightmare.
Omg. This is too sweet. Liam has a giraffe from Carter’s that my mom found only one of. That poor thing has been through so much. It’s a good thing my little boy loves some of his other stuffies because Fred’s (the giraffe) has been chewed on since Liam started teething. Then one of our dogs snipped off the tail. Sigh, at least I have pictures of when it was new and yellow and my son’s favorite thing.
We have “Pengy” who is a cherished pink penguin. He goes everywhere we go. Total meltdown when sister steals it, the whole bit. I got a backup a while back and have been rotating them when Pengy needs a bath, this way they each have the same wear and tear. i’d highly recommend it in case the unthinkable happens.
We have a bunny that my daughter loves. She can’t sleep without it. One day my husband told me someone recommended us getting a second one just in case something happens to this one and I was lucky enough to find it for a reasonable price. I can’t believe someone would actually charge $75 for a monkey!
We had this same issue only ours was a stuffed pig from the children’s place. My daughter loved it, my husband lost it, we did everything in our power to find another one and we couldn’t. So we posted a picture on etsy and paid way to much to have someone try to recreate the piggy.
I’m glad you have a back up. I know this from experience over the loss of a beloved piggy.
First of all…how freakin’ cute is he with that monkey! This reminds me of the ridiculous scalping and selling of beanie babies when I was in middle school…people paying hundreds for the princess Diana bear. Good grief! How sweet that you have a back up now
I’m so glad you got a back up! We had the same problem a few months ago. My daughter has a little purple blanket with a bearhead that she sleeps with – my sister bought it before she was born. I didn’t even think about having a second. Luckily, I was able to find it on the Target website, so I ordered a second one and immediately put it into rotation.
I’m with you. If that little blanket helps her sleep and makes her feel more secure I’m all for it. Even if she does take it off to college with her
.
So…. I still sleep with my “teddy” and my husband.. I am 30.. ha! I have searched for a replacement so some day my kids could have the same one, but no luck!
I do not think there is anything wrong with it, they sooo love you back! 
So sweet, and what a relief to have a backup! As a bitter non-fan of change, totally support the idea of having a spare.
But just in case anything should happen, thought I’d share a little anecdote that might ease your fears!! “Bubby” was my lovey from infancy and endured a lot. Like, had-to-be-taken-in-the-night-for-mildew-tail-operation-and-bum-patching, a lot. And when the little orally fixated monster that was yours truly began going at her ears and nose, Bubs reached such a state that the folks needed a new one.
As they couldn’t get hold of an identical bear, the same great aunt (Bubby/Bunny) sent another, very different looking bear. And the folks swapped them out, saying, this is Bubby II. They held their breath, quaked with terror, and expected the apocalypse. But apparently, the response was something like: Aight. Hi, Bubs II. Let’s cuddle.
So the moral of the story: you rock for having a backup. And should you ever need to use it – well, these things always work out for the best
Blair, instead of the firebox, you might want to rotate those two suckers. My awesome mother-in-law had a backup for my husband’s favorite toy when he was a kid, but when the original went missing and she gave him the backup, he smelled it and handed it back to her, telling her it wasn’t his!
My son fell in love with a stuffed Curious George. He loved rubbing the tag together, so much so that it got nasty! We bought 2 “big Georges” at Kohls when it was the $5 plush. He’s had 2 smaller Georges since. Just introduce the new one with a new name and you’re set.
We have “big georges” and a “red tag” (with a red shirt and whose tag hadn’t been rubbed off, but since has) and “banana tag” (who wears a yellow shirt). Lovies are the best!
So glad you were able to find a replacement. Lovies are priceless, but still… $75… wow.
Hi there! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a few months now, and just now decided to comment. My 5 year old never had or wanted a lovey/comfort item. I was all proud of that and patted myself on the back for my “unattached to things” kid. My 1 year old has a “woobie” (small blanket thing w/ an elephant head on it?”) – and I’m so happy he has it. Sara has no go-to comfort item, and my little boy is immediately comforted by the woobie. Go w/ it. Let him have something that is JUST for him and makes JUST him happy, you know? Keep up the great blogging!
Thanks, Nicole!!
& EXACTLY – Monkey is JUST for him. I like that he has something in this world that already helps him identify himself, as cheesey as that sounds.
I wish Wesley would take to a lovey too
He’s not really attached to ANYTHING…At times, it makes me wonder if he’s abby-normal or something, but then I convince myself to be glad I don’t have to turn the house upside down to search for something like a paci or blankey or stuffed animal. Still, there are times when I wish he’d cuddle with something, especially since his days of wanting to sit in momma’s lap are few and far between lately and my lap is rapidly disappearing thanks to baby #2.
Nora is hooked on her Fisher Price seahorse. I have two in the rotation, and they get washed frequently, because homegirl likes to suck on them. Yuck. I had to remove the musical inside part of them, since the music was waking all of us up every night. Fortunately, that thing isn’t too expensive. I do like that she has a comfort item, though. Whenever she’s in her room, she runs to the crib and pulls it out, kisses it, says hi, and then doesn’t let go.
haha…we sadly are a victim of the ebay issue…now granted we didn’t pay over $20…but for a used bear…we paid $25….i think the thing cost $10 back when we bought it…it’s that fuzzy brown gap bear….
oh the things we do for our kids!
I love this post!!! Nolan has a little teddy bear named Kevin that he takes EVERYWHERE. I need to get a back up, quick times. Not sure if they still have it at the Harley Davidson store it’s from…