Wee Baby Stuff

This slightly grubby chap is T-Bone Walker. Aside from us and Dilly, T-Bone is the thing that Ted loves most in the whole wide world. They are completely inseparable. According to the experts, Ted's allegiance to T-Bone is a milestone and " one of the clearest signs of Independence". Which is both awesome and a tiny bit heart wrenching.

My worry is this... what do we do if T-Bone goes missing? See, we have a history. My Brother Elliot had a Blankie that was VERY VERY important to him. And it got lost. At some point on a trip between Nice and Sicily it went AWOL and my mum was left with an inconsolable 2 and a half year old. My Cousin Gabe, also a blankie man, left his Blankie on the Vancouver Island ferry. His folks didn't realise until they were in the airport... the result? A rescheduled flight and a mad dash across the city toting bags and making frantic phone calls. Crazy? Not when the alternative is very real heartbreak.

So I figured we needed a contingency plan. Here's ours:

1. If it's possible, buy a duplicate chum. But don't think that you'll be able to do a switch without your pookie noticing. You'd notice if someone switched an important character (Hello Dark Knight producers... Maggie Gyllenhaal... Really?).

2. Strap him down, the chum, not your pookie. If you can attach the blankie or softie to your stroller with these links so much the better. It you can't you might want to think about sewing a loop of ribbon on to it so that you can. So much better to be safe than sorry.

3. I know you don't need to be told this, but, if you consciously do a have-we-got-everything? search every time you leave you're less likely to lose stuff. OK, now I have to go teach my gramma to suck eggs...

4. If you can, sew or write a contact number onto the chum.

5. Make sure that carers and grandparents etc know how important it is to keep an eye out for the chum.

6. If the worst happens...

• Get searching immediately. Retrace your steps, preferably accompanied by fresh pair of eyes.
• Tell Security guards, Air hostesses, cleaning staff, etc. what you're looking for ASAP.  
  
• Have a good clear mugshot of the chum
• Post wanted posters, in the area you think the chum might have gone AWOL.
• Be prepared to offer a reward for example "$50 and good Karma to the person who finds..." (Think $50 is too much? How much is 2 weeks of sleepless nights worth to you?)

Sure it might sound dramatic, but Elliot would sometimes still talk sadly about his blankie when he was 5 or 6. I don't know if I could live with that.

• Toys
• comfort-blanket
• lost