Favorite Blanket

I have been on a quest for a new favorite blanket for Jersey #2. I think success was found this week! She is conducting a trial run of her new blanket, to make sure it is the right fit. As soon as her test run is complete, I will be buying extras of that exact blanket.

It is not normal to find a favorite blanket for a 6-year old. But, we have never been accused of being normal. She is our only child who took to a favorite blanket. Desperate times call for drastic measures.

When Jersey #2 was born, my sister sent us a Carters Starters bug blanket, as part of her baby gift. My sister is a huge fan of Carters baby items, and she thought the lady bugs were really cute. She liked this soft blanket so much that she bought herself one for my niece who was also born that year. She also bought one for our other sister, saving it for the day she started a family.

I took the blanket with us on our trip to California for Jersey #2's first heart surgery. When she was taken off the respirator and put in a larger hospital bed, the nurse covered her with the blanket, trying to bring some comfort from home.

Little did we know, that would be the start of the "bug blanket" obsession. That blanket certainly brought Jersey #2 comfort in the hospital. It brought comfort on the airplane. It brought comfort in the car. It instantly became her favorite blanket. She preferred this blanket for all nap times and bed times. No other blanket calmed her the way her bug blanket did.

Realizing that she was attached to this specific blanket, I set out to purchase more. I had no idea how long this obsession would last, but the blanket was already starting to show wear. By this time, Carters had come out with an entirely new nursery bedding collection and was no longer making this specific blanket. I put my sisters on watch for any in stores. My sister found 1 more at a store in her town and bought it for me. That was all we could find.

I rotated the 2 bug blankets for over 2 years. As she approached 3 years old, I was starting to grow concerned that her attachment to her bug blanket was not going to fade any time soon, but the blankets were wearing thin. I begged my sisters to give me the bug blankets they each had, and I promised to buy them brand new plush nursery blankets in return. Both sisters graciously donated their bug blankets to their niece, as none of their children were attached to a single blanket like that.

I have been able to rotate the 4 bug blankets for the past 3 years. The attachment has not reduced at all. Jersey #2 requests to have her bug blanket in her arms, next to her cheek when we tuck her into bed each night. She has been given a slew of blankets through the years, but it is the bug blanket that she carries to the living room to watch TV. It is the bug blanket that she takes in the car when she is nervous about visiting the doctor.

Those 4 bug blankets are extremely thin now. I am certain they are not going to last much longer. As we face another trip to the Children's Hospital for heart surgery, I thought it was time to find a new blanket.

I informed Jersey #2 that we would be buying her a new blanket to take with her for her upcoming heart surgery. I am thinking that if the first surgery inspired the attachment to the bug blanket, then a 2nd surgery will help transfer the attachment to a new blanket. She had to help me pick it out. We went on a quest for a blanket that was as soft and as cute as her bug blanket. I touched baby blankets in every single store I shopped in for a full month before I took her along. I browsed options online too. This week, we set out to find the perfect blanket. Jersey #2 enjoyed the journey.

She found a cute, soft blanket with pink and brown polk-a-dots. I thought that was fitting, because she loves vibrant colors and polk-a-dots. It turns out the new blanket is made by Carters too.

I bought 2 of this same blanket, because the store was running a buy 1 get 1 half off sale. We brought the blankets home, opened them up, and compared them to the bug blanket. They are nearly the same size, thickness, and feel. The bug blanket is slightly more rectangular in shape, where the polk-a-dot blanket is more square. Their similarities are astounding.

I am pleased. It looks like we may have found THE best blanket to transition to a new favorite blanket. Jersey #2 started out bringing both blankets out to the living room to watch TV. Occasionally, I see she only has the polk-a-dot blanket with her. I am going to give her a couple days before I slip the bug blankets into the wash and into the back of the closet. If the polk-a-dot blanket really does win her heart, I plan to buy a few more before they go out of production. I hope the polk-a-dot blanket brings her as much comfort from home, while she is in the hospital, as her bug blanket did in the first place.

So far, so good...