The Comfort of Stuffed Animals

I'm an adult, and most days I can adult ok. I'm a mom and a wife, I have a job and my house isn't a complete disaster. But I do have rough days thanks to having chronic pain. Especially on those rough days, I like snuggling stuffed animals.

When I was a kid, I always preferred stuffed animals to dolls. My favorite was my Pooh Bear that I got when I was only one. He's been snuggled and loved so much that he's nearly flat now. But I still have him and he's still my bear. He's not great for snuggling alone though since he's so flat.

Emily got the stuffed animal loving gene from me and has a lot of stuffies. When I was in the hospital many years ago, she gave me a teddy bear that was named Chronic Pain Bear. After Todd got diagnosed with MS, Chronic Pain Bear became his.

Last year, Emily and Todd got me a pink cat Build-A-Bear named Princess Leia. And then after Dragon Con, I finally bought the Captain America Build-A-Bear that I had been wanting. I named him Steve.

Steve is a comfort to me when my pain levels are bad or when the depression and anxiety kick in. It may not seem very adult to sleep with a stuffed animal, but for me it is. Coping however you can is extremely adult.

Mommy Spider Sense

Emily wasn't a very good sleeper when she was younger. It took a long time for her to be able to sleep through the night. I would wake up whenever she did so I spend a good couple of years really sleep deprived.

She’s nearly five now, and has been sleeping well in her own room for a couple of years. She generally doesn't get up at all unless she has a nightmare or needs to go to the bathroom. Todd is the night owl in the family, so he generally takes care of any nighttime issues.

I was in the middle of a dead sleep in the middle of the night last night when I thought I heard Emily’s door open. It seemed like it was partly in a dream but it bothered me enough that I got up and checked on her. Sure enough, she was awake and upset because she had had a potty accident.

Todd was dozing in the chair as he does nearly every night and hadn't heard a thing. He woke up and we got her calmed down and into clean clothes. He ended up taking over and getting her tucked back in so I could go back to bed since I work early in the morning.

Even though it’s not often anymore, I’m glad I still have my mommy senses from when she was a baby. She was half asleep and really upset when I went into her room.