How to fix a much loved cuddly toy
‘Bunny’ has been in my little daughter’s arms since Edie was born. She started life as a very fluffy pretty little cream toy bought by the twins’ Aunty Madders but after nearly 4 years of ear chewing and cuddling has turned into a greyish, slightly smelly, threadbare thing which Edie has to have with her most of the time but especially in bed.
During a family drive Edie let out a very shocked wail from the back seat ‘Mummmmy Bunny is broooooooooken!’ and with horror I turned round to see that Bunny’s eye had popped out during a bout of particularly passionate face-chewing. Poor Edie was horrified to see her favourite friend so hideously disfigured and we were forced to stop the car to issue soothing words and cuddles (for about 20 minutes!). She spurned the toy and wouldn’t have it in the back of the car with her.
The safety hazards of allowing a small child to bed with an eye-bolt prone to popping out are obvious (choking on it) so I tried to deploy ‘Fluffy Bunny’ who is a replica of the same toy but in pristine condition due to living in the top of my cupboard for the last three years. Edie announced sadly as she tried to snuggle up with the replacement ‘I don’t want to sleep with this one. I just like cuggling Bunny not Rabbit’.
Fear on my part ensured as although my daughter is fabulous in almost every single way the one thing she’s never been very good at (compared with her twin brother) is sleeping through the night. Anything that may cause her to wake me up even more than the usual twice each night is something to be avoided!
I decided that the only thing to do was to fashion a attractive an eye patch not dissimilar to the BBC’s Children in Need’s ‘Pudsey Bear’ and hunted through Eden’s dolly clothes collection to find something suitable (obvious prerequisites to me were that it be either pink or red as all other colours are ‘not very pretty’ according to E. herself). I happened across a lovely red/white gingham bib from a cloth dolly which luckily is part of a twin set so we have spares and in consultation with Edie showed he how it would be just the job for fixing over Bunny’s eye. I hand stiched it despite having v. rusty sewing skills but amazingly the stiches don’t show and Eden and her bro were intrigued as to how the new adornment were fastened on.
Eden seemed ok with the new eye patch the next morning and all day but started weeping at bedtime that she needed to take it off. I lay with her and agreed that it was very sad that Bunny was getting old and had had a poorly eye but now felt much better as the eye patch made her feel nice again and that it was lovely to look after a special toy the way Edie looks after her Bunny (taking her everywhere and has only once spent the night without her).
Anyway, she finally fell asleep with the new-look Bunny and ever since then has had great pride in explaining to people who care about Bunny’s welfare why she now sports countryside-chic eyewear.
December 2nd, 2006 at 3:45 am
You are an inspirational Mummy
I am spending all my energy trying to feel Christmassy in this heat..after 10 years you’d have thought I’d be resigned to it wouldn’t you…just don’t need to hear any more verses of ‘let it snow let it snow let it snow’ 
lib
x