You guys, this was seriously huge. I thought I would be tearing that thing out of his mouth the night before he went to kindergarten. He didn't use them during the day, but at night and nap? He LOVED them. He had named them all. There was Greenie, Other Greenie, Circlely, etc...and they were all his beloved meep meeps. He would lay in bed and talk to them. He took inventory every night at bedtime to make sure they were all still there. Did I mention the fact that he actually TALKED TO THEM AT NIGHT??
I didn't know what to do. He was 2.5 and becoming more emotionally attached by the day. We would talk to him about how he was becoming such a big boy, he should give the meep meeps to babies who didnt' have any, the meep meep fair was going to come...you name it, we tried it. The funny thing was, he hadn't used them to nap in school for months. One day, the teacher there just said to him, "Liam...you are getting to be a big boy, you don't need those. Let's try nap today without, ok?" and he just handed them over. Like it was nothing! I asked him to hand them to me one day, just to see what he'd say since it went so well for her, and he proceeded to start shoving them in his clothing to hide them.
Since I knew based on school that he didn't need them, I was aiming to have him drop them by the new year (this was back in the beginning of November) One night as I was putting him to bed, I started to plant the seeds, talking a bit more about what a big boy he is. To my surprise, he popped the meep meep out of his mouth, handed me the rest of the collection and said, "I no need these. I a big boy" I told him I was proud of him, and took them out of the room with me, seriously expecting him to start yelling within minutes.
It didn't happen.
It didn't happen that night.
Or the next night...or the one after that.
Just....nothing. 2.5 years of meep meep attachment, and he just handed them to me. I was floored. And proud. And a little sad for him. I know he needed to get rid of them, but I also know how much he loved them.
While the need for the meep meep never came back, the need for "friends" in the bed came on full force. Since he was about a year, he's slept with "Sir Barksalot", one of those little blanket lovey things with a dog head. After the gave up the meep meeps, he started asking for more friends, one at a time.
The collection of stuffed animals has continued to increase, and while I don't have a super recent pic to share, here is one from shortly after giving up on the meep meeps....surrounded by his new source of comfort.
There are at least 2 animals hidden under the blankets that you can't see. So, to summarize the positives and negatives:
Positive: he gave up his beloved meep meeps on his own accord, no tears required
Negative: his stuffed animals now require their own separate bag when we travel
If anyone has seen my baby Liam around, please let me know. That kid is obviously a big boy.
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