Build-A-“Soother” Bear

I recently saw this idea posted to a friend on Facebook and I thought it was so clever (and cute) that I had to share!

We all know that babies and toddlers can be addicted to their soother/suce/binky/or whatever it is you call it at home. Getting them off of it can easily be compared to an adult trying to “kick the habit” at times! So, what can you do about it? Well, if you were able to wean your child off of it at a young age then this post may not be for you. But, if your child is a bit older and can’t seem to let it go then then this may be a good start!

The suggestion I saw was to slowly get your child down to their last couple of soothers and then, once they are nearly off but maybe not quite, bring them to Build-A-Bear (a fun activity for children of all ages in itself) and have your child put the soothers inside the bear’s belly! For anyone who doesn’t know what Build-A-Bear is, you choose the body of the bear you want and they play a little story/game that has your child stuff the bear by his/her self, choose a heart to give your bear life and then fill in a birth certificate to commemorate the day it was born while they sew up the bear for you. When it comes time to choose your bears name you can call it the “Big Boy/Girl Bear”, the “Soother Bear”, or anything else your heart desires! The point is, your child will hopefully begin to cling to the bear, as they did their soother, and will eventually outgrow even the bear! Yes, in some ways it is prolonging the “soother” use, but in a very different and more grown-up way!

It may not work for everyone, but after this discussion grew on Facebook it seems that it has in fact worked for many people so why not give it a try!

To find out more about Build-A-Bear and find a location near you see here.

Side note: I have come to realize that I have collected WAY to many stuffed animals/bears over the years and most of them, apart from a select few Disney Collectors ones, are sitting brand new in a huge box in my closet. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to find some time to go through them and donate at least half of them to the Children’s Hospital or something this year at Christmas. And, hopefully, I will stop getting more of them!

Quotes

"Dream more, Complain less, Listen more, Talk less, 
Love more, Argue less, Hope more, Fear less, 
Relax more, Worry less, Believe more, Doubt less, 
Play more, Work less."

Unknown

Dream Diary: Insomnia... Melatonin?

It has been about 3 weeks now that I can't sleep, not well anyhow. I tried hot milk (which worked for a bit and then stopped). Then I tried over the counter "sleep aids" which did nothing but clear my sinuses. And now I am trying Melatonin...

After a lot of Google searches and talking to people at work I decided that Melatonin might be worth a try. The pharmacist said that I could go up to 10mg but sold me the 3mg capsules so that I could play around with my dose and now I am conflicted.

I tried 3mg the first night and 6mg the next. It seems like both doses help me fall asleep, but neither of them keep me sleeping much past 2:30 in the morning (fun). I had no side effects from the 3mg but the 6mg gave me vivid dreams again (have you noticed that this seems to happen anytime I take anything hormonal). Oh, and not only did I get an interesting night of dreams from 6mg but I also got a wicked headache... at first I thought it was the Melatonin but I have since realized it was a sinus thing.

I guess overall I DID sleep a bit better on 6mg but it was also so restless because of the dreaming! How can you feel rested when your mind has been racing all night?

Anyhow, I took 3mg again last night to see how it would go and I didn't really notice anything at all... so I don't know. Maybe I should just down some whiskey before going to bed LOL.

TV Quote

“Some choices we make for ourselves in life.

And some we make for other people.

Not because we don’t love them, but because we do.

The only way we know it’s right is if it lets us stay true to ourselves.

But we can’t regret our choices.

The past is behind us.

All we have is the present.

And the future.

Whatever that may bring."

Hannah/Belle - Secret Diary of a Call Girl