but I disagree. Sometimes it’s necessary. And when you are 5 months old, let’s face it, you don’t have a lot of meet and mingle opportunities. Or any way to follow up afterward when you do meet someone in playgroup. So, sometimes your mom has to pay for your friends. It’s cool. Shouldn’t scar her in the long run – I hope.
About a month ago, we headed over to Captiva Island for a family vacation. Before we left I decided to head out and pick up some supplies for our trip. As I walked through the store I grabbed extra formula, overnight diapers, a new book for Greenleigh, and then stumbled on this Baby Einstein teething toy. Perhaps out of guilt, I added the bird (which I have since learned is a flamingo, who knew?) to my shopping basket. When I was pregnant, Erajh and I were so concerned about the new baby only having Greenleigh’s hand-me-down clothes that we went out and bought her a ton of clothes, but never bought her any new toys. She has maybe one or two new toys that we got as gifts, but other than that, she just plays with Greenleigh’s toys. And it doesn’t help that most of Greenleigh’s toys are really aimed at 2+ years old. This would be “hers”, I thought.
As you may have read in some of my older posts, Hazeline is not a fan of her car seat. Although the first part of the car ride went well, it is a 3 hour trip to get over to Captiva from where we live, and Hazeline started to lose it around the 2 hour mark. At that point I introduced her to the new bird I had purchased. It was love at first sight. We didn’t hear a peep out of her for the rest of the trip. She calmed down and played with the bird for 45 minutes before falling asleep. Not only was the bird her new BFF, but it was mine too.
We started giving Hazeline the bird regularly and their relationship blossomed. The days and weeks proved that the bird had magical powers when it came to calming my child. I’m not sure if it’s the crinkly sound the tummy makes, the bright colors, or the feet that she can chew on, but they really liked hanging out together. Yeah, that’s right, I’m pretty sure it is a mutual feeling. The bird may have a smile sewn on permanently, but she seems even happier after they spend time together. You can just tell.
Our mistake was leaving the bird with Hazeline at daycare. My husband called to tell me that the bird was missing and he had to go through all the daycare toys to find her. God knows I don’t want that bird to go missing, even if it is just overnight like Elmo backpack. My sanity heavily depends on that bird.
So now she sits in protective custody in my purse on my desk at work. Certainly she is safer amidst the receipts and loose papers in my purse than at daycare. This is the only way to ensure her safety and allow their love affair to continue. The thought of her getting discolored by the sun if left in the car is not an option.
The protection of this bird is my #1 priority.
I agree. An the bird is also sitting on A/C all day in a not-bad-at-all-looking purse. Everybody wins…