Almost 5 years ago, before Emily was born, a small yellow 'lovie blankie' made from cotton/rayon with a satin trim, was purchased from a fancy boutique shop somewhere in Washington. It was given to me as a baby shower gift, along with some bath items. Due to its small size, I thought it was a washcloth. I used it as one for a few times. This was until I realized, it was meant to be a baby blankie.
Shortly after Emily was born, we realized she wasn't into a pacifier, nor was she into thumb or finger sucking. So this small, soft yellow washcloth-looking thing, as well as a few other choices, was placed in her crib when she was about 6 months old. We hoped she would attach to it and find it soothing for sleep.
Months later, we noticed Emily had a fondness for this little yellow blankie. She did a little chant it - later this chant was affectionately called the 'nya nya'. Her tongue would wave and vibrate and she would make a unique sound - it was something I had never seen a baby do. It was fascinating! It was uniquely Emily. She only did this with this blankie, so there it was. At 8 months, she had a lovie. And boy, did she ever love it.
For the first 2 years, her blankie went pretty much everywhere she did - in her crib, at grandma/grammy's houses, in the car, to the doctor, in the stores. By the time she was 2 1/2, we decided blankie needed to stay in her bed. We nearly lost it a few times and that was enough for us!
Now she's almost 5. This blankie is torn to shreds...literally.
We have called upon friends and family with great sewing skills to patch up holes here and there over the years, but now it's no use. Blankie is not salvageable at this point.
Here it was about a year ago. One small hole.
Here it is now, a tangled mess:
Both of us know the end is near for the dear little lovie. We laid in Emily's bed the other night and I watched her pet her blankie like she's always done. There was only a teeny tiny piece of fabric left on it...the rest was just tattered yarn and holes. The satin trim remains in tact. At that moment we both got a little teary. You see, this blankie is a symbol of Emily and her babyhood. Seeing blankie so tattered and torn reminds us both that Emily is growing up, and it's time to possibly say goodbye to her sweet fabric companion. I know. Pretty sappy, right? But it's true. It's become a symbol of her and who she is. Everyone in our family knows just how special this rag of a washcloth is to her. So to see it go will be a very sad day. We will, of course, keep it. But it will have to be packed away. One day, if Emily has her own children, I will pull it out and we will all have a good laugh!
I looked at the tag to find the maker of the blankie to maybe, just maybe, get a replacement. Yes, I know she's 5 but this thing is more loved than any toy or tv show in the world and I find that incredibly cool. I found out it was made by a very posh linen company in San Francisco, Bella Notte. After failed attempts to find a replacement around here, I called the company.
I talked to a very nice woman and explained my story. She was very touched. I gave her the product number. Unfortunately, she said the fabric was discontinued right about 4 years ago, as was the blankie, so there is no hope to make or find another one.
So in the coming months, we will be putting blankie away here and there to get Emily used to life without it. But what a wonderful first 5 years of life she had with it.
