Like Linus of Peanuts with his omnipresent security blanket, many kids have "lovies," or items that they use to comfort and soothe themselves at bedtime or any time they need some extra security. But what do you do with these bits of blanket or old stuffed toys when the kid grows out of them? What then?
For my daughter, the Chosen One was a stuffed mouse called Bibi. For six full years, Lucy literally (and I mean literally) could not sleep without Bibi. He was in her tiny grip at every nap and bedtime. (Indeed, many a night we would frantically search the house looking for this inanimate ragged rodent so that Lucy could fall asleep). As the years wore on Bibi became frayed and faded. And despite frequent washings, he developed a special kind of funky smell that grossed us out, but my daughter actually relished. We wondered if she would ever grow out of Bibi, but we never pressured her to.
Then one day she did. Cold turkey. She announced "I don't need Bibi anymore." And I actually second-guessed her pronouncement. "Are you sure, honey?" I gasped in disbelief, predicting sleepless nights ahead. But for Lucy there was no turning back. And I found myself strangely bereft. This little dude had been with my firstborn through a thousand bedtimes, a dozen road and plane trips. He was her special friend during times when she missed me or felt nervous or unsure. I spent 6 years keeping neurotic maternal tabs on this grey rag ("Do you have Bibi?" "Where is Bibi?" "Did we pack Bibi?"). And now he was just another discarded toy?
After a week I realized that Lucy's abrupt pronouncement was indeed final. I panicked that Bibi would be misplaced and ultimately forgotten or trashed. After all, how many adults can locate their childhood lovies?
Then it hit me. Why do we hang diplomas and class pictures but not coveted childhood toys? So, I placed Bibi in a frame "a basic "shadow box") above Lucy's bed (she agreed to this, thought perhaps more for my benefit than for hers). There Bibi hangs, like a ragdoll guardian; a memory of those thousands nights.
RIP little dude.
If you had a lovey as a child, do you know where it is today? Gone forever? Stashed in a box in an attic somewhere?
(Image: Catrin Morris)
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I like the idea but they way little Bibi is framed seems painful. :o}
I'm 54 years old and the only thing I've kept were my Snow White and 7 Drawfs paper dolls. I've thought about displaying them other than framed but still can't figure out how I want to display them.
Yikes, that picture creeped me out!
@Lyonstill: Shadowbox?
Creepy!!
They've drawn and quartered Bibi!
Echo the creepy. This mousie looks prepped for dissection.
I like it. It's funny and weird - definitely more interesting than some mass-produced stuff from kids rooms!
I can't figure out a good way to story my childhood teddy bear either. Right now he's lying on a shelf in the closet and getting dusty. But I can't bring myself to put him in a box, because it seems like putting him in a coffin... And the framed mouse reminds me of framed butterflies, definitely creepy.
What if you are 29 and still sleep with your baby blankie? I'm asking for a friend.
The mouse in the shadowbox is kind of creepy. I think it would've been better if it had just been placed in a clear cube in a mouse-like shape, rather than drawn out to be dissected.
I think the way that toy is hung is really unfortunate looking. It looks like its waiting to be dissected (or something).
I need a better way to store my 36-year-old Curious George doll that I got the day I was born. He is in dire shape--too floppy to sit up unsupported and losing fur--and currently lives in a tupperware tote, which is probably not the best home for him. But I don't want a stuffed-animal taxidermy look....
Um... I'm 49, and I'm looking at Woofie right now. It helps that he's made of rubber - a squeaky dog toy from the late 50s.
Woofie hung out in my childhood bedroom through the days of my nieces' childhoods. When I bought a condo, he came with me. When I got a dog, it gave me an excuse to leave him lying around.
(Dog accompanies me to the flea market these days, and has managed to bring home an additional 3 Woofies - one a cat! - after hearing them squeak across the fields on Sunday mornings.)
Yikes. I'm glad Lucy is now able to sleep, but I sure won't be able to after seeing this photo.
That's the stuff of nightmares, right there. Poor Bibi.
I have a teddy named Christina that my mom received as an early Christmas/baby present four months before I was born. When I moved away from home, Chrissy-bear came with me, and now she sits on my dresser with the other (lesser) bears. I couldn't imagine sticking her behind glass. It seems cold and clinical, despite his mousy smile.
my Bibi is a bunny named Ariel. She's on display next to a small painting from Montmartre behind glass in a Billy bookshelf. But she comes out sometimes for cuddles and to watch TV.
I'm an otherwise completely normal 28 year old.
I put my old stuffed animal in a jar of formaldehyde. FTW?
i am guessing the writer was emotionally attached enough to bibi not to realize that it looks ready to dissect! but also makes it weirdly appropriate for the tween/teen years???
OMG you guys are too funny. I never even thought about how Bibi looks like he is going to be dissected. Yikes! I think I need to rearrange the dude in a more happy pose! Ha!
Catrin (author)
After my mom died, I mounted her head over the fireplace so I don't forget about her. It is also very trendy from what I see at this site.
Poor Bibi indeed.
terrifying.
immediately reminded me of taxidermy, haha
glad you have a sense of humor about these comments :)
I have been a long time follower of apartmenttherapy...and this post motivated me to register to comment. I am a totally well adjusted 26 years old who still sleeps with my childhood stuffed animal....the response whenever people find out is always something to the effect of "but you're so normal"...It must be a family thing since my (30 year old) sister also treasures her comfort doll. We are both professional women with advanced degrees in long term healthy loving relationships and have age appropriately hit all milestones. Maybe it is the dolls?
I have a stuffed Smurf from back in the day, but he's still pretty much intact. I still don't know what to do with him yet so he lives in the garage. Any ideas?
Yikes. Poor Bibi.
@Rachelle . . . good question. And what if you are 36 and left your teddy bear behind by accident in a hotel room and then pretended it was for your "daughter" when you frantically called the hotel to find it?
I'm 24 and still my stuffed dog, Penny. I don't still sleep with her or anything, but I can't bear to part with her. She lives in a basket under my bedside table, collecting dust. I need to come up with a better home for her.
My grandmother made a series of "dolls" (more like hilarious 70's plaid fabric versions of naugahyde monsters) and I still have one...Mister Green. Incorporated into the design of my bedroom..by putting on the dresser propped-up in a doll stand. He's hanging out with my scarves and perfumes. Not weird. NOT WEIRD.
Rollie (a Gund Polar Bear who long ago stop being white) is sitting on my closet shelf, wearing a Phillies hat. I too wish I had a better home for him in my apartment.
Forgive me please, for my criticism. I worked in a museum for several years, and from a textile point of view, I'm afraid Bibi will not hold up well in this particular display. The threads holding him together will give way. Maybe you could find a little Lucite box for Bibi, and curl him up on a pillow.
Yes---I have "Taffy," a little sleeping lamb, circa 1954. And despite repeated laundering, she still smells like Johnson's white furniture creme because I used her to wax my dresser when I was four. She is stored in a little wooden chest with other childhood mementos.
DuaneHill for the win.
I stole Baby Charlie from my infant brother at the age of two and I still sleep with him at age 37. It turns out I somehow can't sleep without him. My partner insists on calling him Charles since he is techincally 35 years old. I have lost him in San Francisco, found him tied to a rotating ceiling fan, and even had him kidnapped by my friends who sent me pictures of him smoking a cigarette and enjoying a beer. I could never put him in a shadowbox. We've been through too much together.
@Catrin -- you are such a good sport!
Oh, jeeze, Bibi appears to be pegged out for dissection...or vivisection. There is no joy in that framing job.
My go-everywhere baby/toddler toy was an owl. I guess I was ahead of my time(!).
My adolescent dog has a mangled plush bunny -- minus stuffing -- that he rustles up whenever he needs to calm himself. He will plop himself down and mouth and suckle the bunny's head, then sigh and fall asleep.
I confess the whole reason I clicked on this post was to see if other readers found the lead photo as creepy as I do. The position of the toy makes it look like he's been skinned and mounted...
Another option are some photographs or a painting like at http://customtoyportrait.com. I took pictures of my toddlers baby shoes and have tucked them into our photo album. Years from now, someone will wonder why I have pictures of little tiny shoes, but they make me happy and don't take up a lot of space.
Yeah! It's creepy.
This is a cute idea although admittedly the picture looks a little like a voodoo doll is framed. I'm going to be honest, I'm 25 and still sometimes sleep with my teddy bear. Obviously, I don't NEED to sleep with him, I can fall asleep just fine, but I'm used to having him under the crook of my arm. My boyfriend of 5.5 years, doesn't seem to mind, and actually likes to sleep with him too.
Not sure what to do with him when the day comes for me to part with him--when's the appropriate age limit? I'm sure I've passed it. Maybe I can use him for some sort of decoration/frame him or give him to my child when the time comes.
Oh, I think I know why Bibi looks like that! I mean, I can't offer anything about the position, but I know why he's so flat and un-stuffed, I think. Is he from North American Bear Company? Both of my children have those lovies, and they're very flat, and soft, and they are THE BEST LOVIES! My youngest (four years) loves her Yammy (Lamby). My older daughter has a pink bunny. These things are so soft and cute.
I've still got my old baby blanket that I still sleep with, and my old stuffed dog, very creatively named "Doggie." They both live under my comforter, although in Doggie's case, it's because I can't bear to pack him away, and there's no good place to display him where he won't become further damaged from the sunlight that comes in through my window. I'm 28.
Seriously, I think it's a consensus: take down the photo of poor Bibi and find another way to dispaly him!
I like the idea of framing little things like this. It's like creating your own little personal museum.
I actually do have a few childhood momentos with me. One was a little orange dog called Fogo, who actually belonged to my mother when she was a kid. He lives in a storage bin in my closet. I also have my childhood teddy bear, Percy, who has a place of honor atop my wardrobe. I like having a few tangibles from my youth - proof that I did have a happy childhood. Almost everything else got used up - either by my younger sister, or in my mom's daycare business.
21 years old and I still proudly sleep with my yellow baby blankie. It's a comfort and familiarity thing. I have asked my boyfriend before if he finds it strange that I still do, he thinks it is cute. Occasionally he will tuck me in bed before leaving at night and make sure that I have blankie. I usually leave it at home when I go away because I don't know what I would do if I lost it! Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one!
My son is in love with his stuffed Elmo. Crazy head over heels in love. That thing goes everywhere we go. He's already on his third one. I threw out the first one because it was so ratty and the husband got all upset, he wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons, obviously. So the second Elmo has been saved, sitting in the closet in all its tattered glory. This gives me an idea on what to do with it.
Haha, I'm at my parents' house recovering from a bout of pneumonia, and I maaaay be sitting on the couch with my blankies as I write this...
It's nice to know I'm in good company
Yikes, that photo is really offputting!! I'd have nightmares if that thing were hanging over my bed.
Instead of splaying some toy out as if for use in an animal sacrifice ritual, why not take the thing out of the darned frame, clean it up, and take a photo of the toy with the kid for a scrapbook? That could be a sweet memory years later.
Beyond that, as kids outgrow toys, why not refurbish those that can be cleaned up, put them away in storage, and then, later, if the kids are really, really sure they no longer want those toys, involve the kids in donating the toys to a hospital children's ward or family shelter or other needy facility, charity or consignment store?
I must be the odd one out here but I see a little mouse jumping high with arms and legs extended in joy! Okay, I said I was odd.
Yikes! Stuffed animal roadkill.
My then-boyfriend wholly embraced my teddy bear and now his little stuffed animals and mine hang out together. He used to make them "talk" to me and they even came on a cruise with us once. We have a photo of them gazing out the little ship window. They still occasionally leave me notes or help our pet cats pick out my birthday present, etc. He is now my husband :)
I have my first Teddy, Bruno, sitting on my dresser. He travels with me if I am away from home for more than 1 night. He is pretty flat and my dog ate part of his squeaky tail thing. As an aging baby boomer, I feel no shame in keeping him near.
As to poor Bibi: Maybe Bibi was into the BDSM lifestyle? My creepy dominatrix neighbor might appreciate that type of display but I find it disturbing.
And yes, I salute Duane Hill as the King of Commenters for this post.
I once saw my favorite Sasha doll, in a museum, and it freaked me out. I carried mine in my suitcase from France along with very little personal belongings. her clothes were in a pretty bad state for so much playing so I splurged in new, original ones for her...my brother saw that, recognized the clothes and freaked out because they looked new-hum, they were. Ok, out of creepy stories : Poupée Caroline is seated in my bookshelf in a tiny vintage doll chair and she looks perfectly at ease between my collection of Japanese craft books and vintage drawing books. She reminds me tons of good memories and makes me feel at home, thousand of miles from home...
I think it looks like Bibi is dancing with abandon.
@wixson - I have considered the toy portrait, too. Especially in the case that the beloved toy may be lost or is in a state of disrepair that can't be salvaged at some point.
@Catrin - No matter what people have to say, good on you for actually doing it and not only thinking of but putting Bibi in a place of honor to be remembered
@duane hill - Thank you for keeping it light. You made me laugh out loud.
@skitty - I think that having something beloved has helped me become a well adjusted adult.
I am not ashamed to be 35 and still sleep with my pink (now more grey) baby blanket. It has lost all of its silky binding, but being 8000 miles from home, when I need comfort, it is there. I can sleep without it, but it is nice to have around. Incidentally, when I was at university, I discovered that my roommate & I both had blankets as did all three of our upstairs neighbors. We all graduated, have successful careers and are socially adept, and as I go through life, I continue to find others in a similar position, including my 30 year old brother who runs his own business, who often shows up at my parents' home for a family dinner while we are in town with his blanket (very tattered) wrapped around his neck like a scarf. My bear, Furry Bear, sits on a shelf at my parents' home since I was too afraid it might be lost in transit.
Maybe adding some lovely patterned paper to the background would make Bibi look less like a science project, and more like a treasured memory.
Morbid!