Lovey

Its surprising just how attached Natalie has become to Baby Kitty in 6 months. Baby Kitty, whose gender we are unsure of, started as a present from Nana, a toy Natalie liked during a trip to the mall. Soon, Baby Kitty usurped soon to become Momma Kitty as the lovey. Baby Kitty does help Natalie feel calm and safe when sleeping and when she is sad. But, Baby Kitty can be a hassle at times. Natalie insists on holding both kitties a certain way as she falls asleep, and recently she complains if they are not correctly placed when she wakes in the night. But despite this, I'm happy that she has a constant friend.

Here are a couple tips about loveys that I ignored for a long time, but noticed the importance of the more important Baby Kitty became:

* Your child might do the choosing of the lovey, as Natalie did. (At first I though Baby Kitty was ugly). But if at all possible reduce options to only machine washable toys. Why? Two word: Stomach flu. 

* Try to have two loveys that are equally shabby. Natalie didn't mind getting a new kitty, but many kids do notice and mind a lot. Having a second one hidden away somewhere allows you to wash one (again, stomach flu!) and still have one available. Even under less extreme circumstances, its useful to have a duplicate if lovey accidentally winds up in the bath or your child insists lovey comes to play in the snow, both of which happened here this week.  Also, if lovey is ever left behind somewhere, you aren't totally screwed. You'll only have to deal with the crying until you can get to the back up.