Owen LOVES lion. Lion is his lovie. He sleeps with him every night (and at nap time) and occasionally carries him around with him during the day, too. There was a time when he had two lovies — "lion and Mickey" (Mickey being a stuffed Mickey Mouse that we bought him during our Disney trip). But really truly, lion has always been his main squeeze.
Oddly, the best part about lion seems to be his paws — specifically chewing and sucking on his paws.
It's gross. It's unsanitary, I'm sure. But there's not much I can do about it. It must be a comfort thing. I wash him at least once a week and just hope for the best. But the really unfortunate thing is that all that chewing has led to little lion "leaking." A few weeks ago, I started noticing these little plastic white beads in Owen's room.
Eventually, I realized that they were coming from lion's crinkly little paws. I identified the tiny hole in his paw and did my best to sew him back up.
But every couple days or so, a new little hole gets created. I can't even count how many holes I've sewn up now.
Since this seems to be a problem with no foreseeable conclusion, I decided to see how O would do if I just got rid of lion for a night. We put him to bed without lion and he actually fell right to sleep. (He was pretty tired the night that we attempted this.) But about 12:30 a.m., I woke up to my little man crying out, "LION! LION!" so I raced in there and reunited him with his friend. He immediately nestled right back to dreamy sleep.
I've considered draining all those beads from each of lion's paws as an alternate solution, but that just seems like it would take an awfully long time. Plus, I have a feeling that the reason Owen loves chewing on his bestie's feet is because of the way those little beads feel and sound when crunched on.
Since I can't stand the thought of the O-man having to part ways with such a treasured pal, I guess I'll just commit to stitching him up as often as is necessary. After all, that's what moms are for, right?
Yes, definitely continue to stitch lion up as often as needed because, yes, that is one of the things moms are for. Maybe you could look for a new one. The worry wart I am, I would worry that he will swallow those little pieces. Maybe you could have him help you pick out a new favorite toy. This way grandma would not have to worry about little man, O!
ReplyDeleteuh oh!! one of these days that little guy is going to explode in the washer/dryer...but just keep stitching him up while you can!! :)
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