The last generation of fabrics has brought us toys which are beautiful, lush and soft, non-toxic, long-wearing, washable-- and expecially -- huggable and lightweight enough for even the newest hands to grasp and lift. A comfortable sized doll that weighs under 3 ounces was unheard of until the last few years. If Mom and Dad, grandparent, friends, or other family members buy the real "lovey" -- that is, the toy, doll, or blankie the baby can't sleep without, eat without, be happy without or even function without -- chances are, it was bought either before the baby was born, or soon after. ("Lovey" isa term coined by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, the famous child rearing author and expert - see notes at the end of this page for a list of his excellent books.) These toys end up being the lifelong anchors to warmth, comfort and safety. And anchors like this are fragile. They can be lost, destroyed, or just become so thin and worn (and stained and smelly) with age that they appear to adults to be little more than rags. But to the baby or child in question, there are no substitutes. What many of us don't know is that most of the leading manufacturers of this kind of toy work on a short calendar. They may offer a product for 3 years -- and then it is gone forever. And some of these toys are only marketed for a year! Only a handful of infant toys are "standards" which remain on the market for 5 years or more. The result is that whatever store the lovey was purchased at probably sold out by the time the baby was 2 month old! And since there is no way to know in advance which toy the baby will decide to cling to, there is no way to know in advance which toy to duplicate and keep in the hall closet in case of tragic loss. (we had a frantic Grandmother calling for 3 backups after Grandpa ran over the lovey with the lawn mower....) So here is the advice. As soon as you know which toy it is (and there nearly always is one....) BUY A BACKUP! BUY 2 BACKUPS. You know how inclined you are to lose things or run over them with the Craftsman mower or the Hummer. Or toss them out in the diaper pail. Or leave them on the seat of the airplane. Or at whatever Cracker Barrel you ate at in Illinois. --all things we've heard.... AS SOON AS YOU KNOW WHAT THE LOVey IS -- BUY EXTRAS! We've had people call with the baby crying on their lap, pointing at the computer monitor at the "baby" that was lost. We've had Aunties and Uncles who each ordered 2 of the same item sent to the same baby in another state because they found the missing Lovey on the internet. We've Fedex'd loveys to airport hotels where parents hid from fellow passengers who had to fly from Hawaii to LA with a baby who'd lost the lovey. The internet now makes it possible -- if you can find a store with a website and a backstock of your most important lovey -- to get things that are no longer produced -- but even those of us who carry lots of these toys know that we can't supply out of production toys forever. So pay attention. The lovey will identify itself early in a baby's life. BUY MORE. Most are inexpensive. AND -- one more bit of experience -- We recommend doing a little parental steering when your baby is a newborn -- do yourself a favor by giving only washable potential loveys in a crib or bassonette. Just offer what can we washed and replaced! Characteristics of the best loveys: 1. extremely lightweight (under 5 ounces); 2. machine washable (not just surface washable); 3. one of the new super-soft fabrics; 4. as little white surface area as possible (colors show less graying over time and avoid the "road-kill" look of extreme loving....) Honestly, you can't control which crib toy the baby will attach to --but you can slant the odds in your favor. With love, from Purciful's! NOTES: 1. Yes, we know that the plural of "lovey" should probably be "lovies" -- University English Professor in the house -- however, the word coined by Brazelton and used by him since the mid 1980's is "lovey" -- but the word "Lovie" is actually a branded trademark, and so, we imagine, is its natural plural "lovies". Regardless, we're sure Dr. Brazelton would want you to know that the word he uses for the most prescous item in an infant's life is "loveys" and not "lovies." Regardless of what a trademarked "lovie" is, it's not what we here at Purciful's are talking about either. 2. Here is Dr. Brazelton's excellent canon of writing on child rearing and child psychology: Books by T. Berry Brazelton: -Infants and Mothers: Differences in Development, 1983; Delta Books -What Every Baby Knows, 1988; Ballentine Books -Toddlers and Parents: A Declaration of Independence, 1989; Dell -Earliest Relationship: Parents, Infants, and the Drama of Early Attachment, 1991; Perseus Books -Working and Caring, 2001; Da Capo Publishing -The Irreducible Needs of Children: What Every Child Must Have to Grow, Learn, and Flourish, 2001; Perseus Books -Touchpoints 3 to 6, 2002; Perseus Books -Sleep: The Brazelton Way, 2003; Perseus Books -Day Care Deception: What the Child Care Establishment Isn't Telling Us, 2003; Encounter Books -Discipline: The Brazelton Way, 2003; Perseus Books -Feeding Your Child: The Brazelton Way, 2004; Da Capo Lifelong Books -Toilet Training: The Brazelton Way, 2004; Da Capo Lifelong Books -Mastering Anger and Aggression: The Brazelton Way, 2005; Da Capo Lifelong Books -To Listen to a Child: Understanding the Normal Problems of Growing Up, 2005; Da Capo Lifelong Books -Touchpoints: Birth to 3 : Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development, 2006; Da Capo Lifelong Books ********************************************* REACH US BY EMAIL AT purcifuls@yahoo.com OR BY PHONE AT (806) 239 2927 during business hours. 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