I bought Baby Baby at a Discovery Toys party in 1993.
[[Long Pause]]
Yes, I know. Emily wasn't born until 1998. I had a bit of a habit of buying things - toys, clothes and tucking them into my "future baby" container.
When I saw Baby Baby, I knew she possessed the things the babies I worked with LOVED about their favorite comfort items. Soft. Velvety. Squishy. Easy to hold and hug. Quirky rattle noise. And Baby Baby was black, which was rarer that you would think in those days.
So Baby Baby was stored until Emily's birth, where she was tucked in the corner of Emily's crib. I don't recall when exactly Em and Baby Baby made their acquaintance, but it has been a long and prosperous one.
After nine years, Baby Baby looks like this:
Poor Baby Baby. She's Franken-Baby Baby. I have stitched and re-stitched.
Her hands took it the worst:
Emily liked to chew on the hands, gnawing away like some kind of burrowing rodent.
When Em was five and a half, I began to worry for the fate of Baby Baby. One more wash and I feared there wouldn't be anything left to stitch together. The problem? How do I find a Baby Baby replacement? I mean, I bought the damn thing in 1993. It was now ten years later. I didn't suspect Discovery Toys still made Baby Baby.
But I called. And they confirmed it. Nope. This doll had been phased out ages ago. But they put in touch with their network of sellers and lo and behold.....someone had one. One of the original, still in her bag, dolls. Damn the shipping and handling costs, woman! Mail me that Doll!
I approached Emily about adding to the family. She flipped her cookies. She wanted no new Baby Baby!
I ordered it anyway.
And when she arrived, I waited until we were driving home. Emily was safely in her car seat. At a stop light, I jiggled the bag. Emily was holding BB, so her ears perked up when she heard the rattle noise BB makes.
At the next stop light, I slowly raised the new addition over my head.
Emily squealed with delight. "You have a sister, Baby Baby!"
She introduced them, and then promptly bit the new doll on the edge of her cap, putting a hole in it.
"Its a great honor", she solemnly informed me.
Emily still sleeps with Baby Baby, and her sister, Baby Baby Baby Baby.
I will find her curled up around them, both of them flattened under her head at night. And when I hold them, I can almost smell my baby, her breast milky breath slow and heavy.
Update:
This is Baby Baby in 2010. She was in really bad shape and I wasn't sure how I was going to save her...But I will try I said. I'll try.
Emily was solemn eyed. Even as a 12 year old, she still sleeps with Baby Baby, and her sister BB-BB. "You have to fix her Mama.", she said as she handed her over.
Here they are - Baby Baby is a bit darker than before, but I like to think she just got back from Cuba. I held my breath until I handed her over to Emily who pronounced her "Just Perfect", and promptly lay on top of them to read.
Originally published June 27, 2007 at Gimlet Eye
[[Long Pause]]
Yes, I know. Emily wasn't born until 1998. I had a bit of a habit of buying things - toys, clothes and tucking them into my "future baby" container.
When I saw Baby Baby, I knew she possessed the things the babies I worked with LOVED about their favorite comfort items. Soft. Velvety. Squishy. Easy to hold and hug. Quirky rattle noise. And Baby Baby was black, which was rarer that you would think in those days.
So Baby Baby was stored until Emily's birth, where she was tucked in the corner of Emily's crib. I don't recall when exactly Em and Baby Baby made their acquaintance, but it has been a long and prosperous one.
After nine years, Baby Baby looks like this:
Poor Baby Baby. She's Franken-Baby Baby. I have stitched and re-stitched.
Her hands took it the worst:
Emily liked to chew on the hands, gnawing away like some kind of burrowing rodent.
When Em was five and a half, I began to worry for the fate of Baby Baby. One more wash and I feared there wouldn't be anything left to stitch together. The problem? How do I find a Baby Baby replacement? I mean, I bought the damn thing in 1993. It was now ten years later. I didn't suspect Discovery Toys still made Baby Baby.
But I called. And they confirmed it. Nope. This doll had been phased out ages ago. But they put in touch with their network of sellers and lo and behold.....someone had one. One of the original, still in her bag, dolls. Damn the shipping and handling costs, woman! Mail me that Doll!
I approached Emily about adding to the family. She flipped her cookies. She wanted no new Baby Baby!
I ordered it anyway.
And when she arrived, I waited until we were driving home. Emily was safely in her car seat. At a stop light, I jiggled the bag. Emily was holding BB, so her ears perked up when she heard the rattle noise BB makes.
At the next stop light, I slowly raised the new addition over my head.
Emily squealed with delight. "You have a sister, Baby Baby!"
She introduced them, and then promptly bit the new doll on the edge of her cap, putting a hole in it.
"Its a great honor", she solemnly informed me.
Emily still sleeps with Baby Baby, and her sister, Baby Baby Baby Baby.
I will find her curled up around them, both of them flattened under her head at night. And when I hold them, I can almost smell my baby, her breast milky breath slow and heavy.
Update:
This is Baby Baby in 2010. She was in really bad shape and I wasn't sure how I was going to save her...But I will try I said. I'll try.
Emily was solemn eyed. Even as a 12 year old, she still sleeps with Baby Baby, and her sister BB-BB. "You have to fix her Mama.", she said as she handed her over.
Here they are - Baby Baby is a bit darker than before, but I like to think she just got back from Cuba. I held my breath until I handed her over to Emily who pronounced her "Just Perfect", and promptly lay on top of them to read.
Originally published June 27, 2007 at Gimlet Eye
2 Baleful Regards:
Just so you are prepared...I thought my daughter would give up sleeping with her beloved bear when she got married. Two grandkids later he still can be found on her pillow.It would seem attachment is attachment.
Em will tell you it is the smell of BB and BB-BB that holds her love the most. But I agree, Attachment is Attachment.
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