Intorducing favourite Toy/Blankie etc

Yea, I got Jacob 'attached' to his lovie - I just bought a couple of identical toys that looked nice and snuggly and were easy to wash, and gave one to him every time he was in his cot. He was about five months old when I started, I didn't start earlier as he was wrapped before that and had no hands free to cuddle anything. He cottoned on really quickly, now he always goes to sleep hugging Beeble, it's really cute.

DS randomly attached himself to a teddy not long after he turned 1 year old. It was huge at the time! He started taking it to bed, or grabbing it whenever he was sick, and it has only been in the last few weeks that sometimes it is slept without.

DD's is her muslin blankets. This was part us, part her. I was given a cuddly rabbit (soooo cute) which i tried to get her to love, but i noticed she always (as a newborn) would snuggle her face into the odl school muslin cloths i had. Soon i had to pop one in her bed to sleep, and now, she will suck on it and rub it over her face to sleep. Poor rabbit, still goes to bed with her, but left for the muslin!

Oh and mine? not a toy, but a smell - pomegranate. My mum had a moisturisor and for years, just the smell did it. Even now, when i find something with that scent, it brings back the BEST memories

I reccomend getting 2 of whatever you try to get them attached too. DD has a kaloo bunny which she was given at birth once she was attached to it I had a hard job hunting another down too! I popped it in her bed each bad time right from word go and then to encourage her to cuddle it I would pop it down my top for a while before bed so it smelt of me.

kimnthekids my cousins kids had muslin cloths too. SHe had a pile of them. Her DS would sometimes take a while pile to bed if you didn't get there first!

The sleepstore have lots of small cuddly toys for bed.

DD has her blankie which is a lamb blankie she LOVES it. I encouraged it as getting rid of the dummy (which she if she's given the chance would still be attached to but I've hidden them, can probably biff them actually). She now walks round the whole house and if your not quick will take it out with her. Mum recently bought a similar but not the same pink bear and she is fine going to sleep with that so obviously just the cuddle thing for her.

i have a cuddle blankie i call mr cuddle bear (a soft blankie with a bear head on one corner) and use it between us at the last evening feed with emily and pop it in her basinette (in a safe place) so that she can smell me overnight, i'm hoping that she will be the same and feel settled and safe when she has her mr cuddle bear, she will suck on his nose (its stitched not a button heh) when she has some wind

in the process of trying to find another just like him but cant find one anywhere! got it off trade me with a nappy bag and havnt been able to track another down yet

DS has Gus - it's one of the fisher price (?) musical seahorses. We bought it for him as he had trouble settling sometimes and I liked the idea of a musical toy with a glowing tummy to provide comfort. It was meant to be a "just in bed" toy but he loves it. We've since silenced it as he used to roll over and wake himself up with its singing. He takes it everywhere with him - daycare, to bed, having a bottle. It's not the most manly or snuggly of toys but it's his.

Very early on we bought a second and we interchange them. Best thing we've ever done having a spare when he spews/leaves it somewhere or it just gets way too manky. He doesn't seem to notice the change.

my oldest had a large muslin cloth that I used to put under his head to catch spills, got to the point where he was a nightmare to get to sleep if we went somewhere and forgot it! By the time he was 3 that blanket was nothing more than a grey ball of knots (stunk really bad too! ) but he still wouldnt sleep without his 'special blanky' until we moved that year and it got lost in the move. He ended up replacing it with a rabbit that was a promo toy for some book, agree with what someone else said about getting a spare JIC the orig needs washing or gets lost etc, this toy I have yet to see anywhere else, and at 7 years he still has to sleep with it.

DD has the washing instruction tags from the soft fleecy blankets we used in her basinette, the area around it is grey from her rubbing and chewing it as she goes to sleep, but I wisened up after my oldest and got a spare blanket and cycle them so they get even amount of use/ wear and tear.

Darian I made a basinette sized taggy blanket and it goes in bed with him every night in the hope that he'll attach himself to that, esp since i have all the material to make an identical blanket!

Lol these stories are so cute. I haven't had any luck introducing any sort of special toy/blankie with my girl... just me! I'm hoping to have better luck with this next one, as I'm sure it would help with settling to sleep and being happy about going to sleep...

How young can you start? I guess it depends on if you get something baby safe or not?

My oldest girl has 'big dog' who has to go to bed every night with her (she's 3). I've been trying to introduce a comforter to my 10 month old for about 6 months now by always popping it in the cot with her (one of those kuski bear/blankets) to no avail.

Edited by julzw

Get three of each item. You will thank me for it when you travel or your child has a vomiting bug.