The Security of a Blanket

Andrew's Great-Grandmommy Hazell made a soft blue blanket for him before he was born. We used that blanket to keep him warm when he was just a tiny thing sitting in his bouncy chair and watching the world come into focus. When it was time for him to go to daycare, we packed that blanket up in his diaper bag. It's been a daily constant in his life, but it was only recently that we noticed he had developed quite a strong attachment to it.



As these two pictures show, he likes to bite it and lay on it (sometimes he'll be crossing the room and the blanket will be in his path; he flops down to cuddle it briefly before continuing on his merry way across the room; that's when we snapped that second photo). That's been going on for a couple of weeks to a month.

Over the past week, we've clearly seen that this blanket has become a Security Blanket. While Drew's been dealing with the changes at daycare, he fusses whenever that blanket is not in his hot little hands. There was one day last week that he would only be comforted if I cuddled him while he cuddled the blanket.

No matter how normal this seems--and regardless of the fact that every child seems to have such a blanket or stuffie--I feel awful every time he grabs at that blanket like it's the only thing in the world that's going to help him. It makes me wonder what's going through his little mind, what's triggering such an intense need for the familiar and soothing. Plus, it makes me feel more than a little useless that even Momma's arms won't make him feel better.