Alb’s will fall
asleep tightly hugging a soft toy. He
has about four favourites: Flumbo the elephant, Blueberry the dinosaur Daddy
bought him on a trip to Kansas, Monka a knitted monkey given to George when he
was born but adopted by big brother and Strawbs a bright pink rabbit-esque toy
won at he village fair. Alby will choose
one and hold it tight as he falls asleep. Check in on him a few hours later and
more often than not, he’s still clutching his toy tightly.
As a child I shared a
bed with several favourite soft toys and loved the idea of hugging them as I
fell asleep but it never happened. I’d
start with a tight squeeze but as sleep came close I would push away the toy
and snuggle into myself. Hubby and I do
the same, we enjoy a night time cuddle but when it comes to falling asleep it’s
just not comfortable.
But with George it’s
different. He will not fall asleep
unless he’s in a tight huggle buggle. If
you forget he will lift up your arm, fold it over him and snuggle into you. Somehow he can make himself fit perfectly into
me.
Sometimes he lies
away from me, other times he will grab my face with his hands and he falls
asleep with his nose touching mine.
When Albs was this
age I was focused on trying to get him to sleep without my help, fixated on the
advice of nanny authors highlighting all the ways I was failing my child. I’m so lucky to have this second chance with
my huggle buggle boy. I know this won’t
last. Soon he’ll be pushing me away. But for now, no matter what day I’ve had, my
soul recharges when it’s time for George to sleep.
