Mr. Bunny

By Anne-Marie

It's wonderful seeing my children's attachment to a stuffed animal. Maybe it's because I had a special friend, too, named Baby Bear. I received her as a present from a friend of my mother's for my first Christmas. Nearly 40 years later, she sits on a rocking chair in Lucie's room. She's been to France, day camp and college with me. She even attended my wedding held by my best-friend-from-childhood, Suzanne.

Mr. Bunny, or just "Bunny," is Nathan's special stuffed animal. He's had him since he was two after losing the original bunny, a 7" Manhattan Toy Company Tip Toes Betty Bunny, during a trip to San Diego. Originally a present from my sister, I was unable to find another one. However, I did locate a bigger 18" version online. I wasn't sure how Nathan would react to the bigger bunny as he was just getting attached to the smaller one. However, he didn't seem too upset when the bunny was lost.

I'll never forget the day the UPS man dropped off the package. I opened it in the living room and when I pulled out Bunny, Nathan came running over with a huge smile on his face. He grabbed Bunny from me and gave him a big hug. They've been inseparable ever since.

After nearly three years of heavy loving, Bunny's fur is just about gone. He's basically a bunny-shaped nylon stocking, and so threadbare his stuffing can be seen through what's left of his hide. Because he's so fragile, I make sure that Bunny wears Nathan and Lucie's old preemie outfits. They keep what's left of him protected while reminding me how small my big kids once were.

Lucie has also become a Bunny fan. She'll grab Bunny, and give him a big squeeze and a kiss. When I tell her that's Nathan's Bunny, she says, "Mine too!"

Lately, it seemed that Nathan was beginning to leave Bunny behind except for sleeping at night. But a couple of weeks ago, Nathan came into my room and announced, "Bunny's sick. He's got a bad tummy and threw up." At first I thought that Nathan was feeling ill and using Bunny as a way to tell me. No, he was fine. Nathan just wanted to have some fun and give Bunny some attention (and get a little in return).

We changed Bunny's outfit, put a matching hat on him, and took him in the car on the way to preschool. After all, Bunny's just another member of the family. Why shouldn't he come along?

Does your child have a favorite stuffed animal?

Comments

[Jessica]

Surprisingly enough, one of my son's favorite stuffed toys was not only one of mine, but one of my mom's. I called him "Tigey", my son calls him "Singing Tiger", don't know what mom called him. He's a tiger with a music box inside it that plays a very shaky "Brahms' Lullaby" when you wind it up. It's missing an eye, and his fur is pretty threadbare, but they must not make toys like they used to, because he's still hanging in there.

[Goldberry]

My daughter isn't attached to one particular stuffed animal. She seems to love them equally. When we go out, she chooses a different animal for each ride, it seems. today, she is attached to her Care Bears, particularly Grammy Bear. Tomorrow she might be attached to her dog. She covers them up with blankets and puts them night-night. I love watching her interact with her stuffed animals.

[Nicola]

I don't think there is a "too young" for the stuffed animal attachment. Kellan has Roger. He is only 9 months old, but since about 5 months of age, Roger has been his special friend. Roger is a stuffed dog with very soft fur who is shaped in a way that you can sit him up. He was given to Kellan by friends of ours, and they had named him Roger (they're silly people). When Kellan was tiny, Roger would sit and and honestly looked as if he were watching over Kellan while he slept. This is a boy with tons of stuffed toys in his bed, but Roger was the one that he picked out as being special, and now, at 9 months old, not only can he not sleep without Roger (if he's not in the bed Kellan roots around with his hands searching everywhere for him), but he holds onto him when he comes into our bed to nurse at night, he carries him out of bed in the morning, he plays with him over breakfast, and cuddles him on the couch before bed at night. Why Roger? Maybe the soft fur. Or the ears and tail which are perfect for sucking and stroking. Or perhaps even genetics, as my sister had "Brown Puppy" an almost identical toy which was her childhood companion. Whatever it is, Roger has become a special member of our family too.

[amy]

my daughter has a CareBear that goes absolutely everywhere with her. She's had one since she was about 18 months old. For the first few months she chewed his nose and he had to be replaced a lot - luckily she didn't mind the replacements! now she doesn't chew the nose but he does have to go through the wash because he gets so dirty. :)

[Elise]

My daughter is still too young (20 months) so hasn't gotten too attached to her stuffed animals yet. She does love her rubber duckies and certain books and toys, so I expect the stuffed animal bonding thing to happen at some point in the near future. I never had a particularly special stuffed animal, but I always remember my cousin's very favorite stuffed animal, a raccoon. He had that thing forever until its nose fell off and it looked like it had been through just about everything (which it probably had). My cousin is now 23 and still has this raccoon. A few years ago he finally met the people who had given it to him and it was a hilarious moment after years of total attachment to this toy. I have never seen that level of devotion to a stuffed animal before.

[laurijon]

Maricella's favorite stuffed toy is a Manhattan Toy Lilydoll. However, since they've discontinued the Lilydolls I ordered one from England and one from Canada and I rotate them so they'll last longer. She also has a stuffed gray kitty that she loves and sleeps with. And her other favorite doll is Toddler Ariel.
It's so cute the way she hugs and kisses her favorite toys.