double the loveys
A great tip I heard before Spice was born was to keep an extra ‘lovey’, or favorite toy, around in case the original is irreparably damaged or lost. I have two JellyCat elephants for Spice’s lovey, and quietly rotate them for play and wash so that they wear out evenly. :-)
I know I can’t entirely pick her favorite toy, but I can certainly encourage it while she’s a baby. We’ve had Elle since before Spice was born, so it’s been in many baby pictures so that she’ll be able to remember it long afterwards. Elle came along to England with us for Christmas, and I make sure that it gets tucked in for naps. I want to crochet a harness for Elle so that I can attach it to Spice’s car seat, or baby carrier when we’re out, and when she’s older, I’ll make a doll sling or wrap so that Spice can “wear” Elle. :-)
What’s really neat is that as Spice transitions out of swaddling, her free hands grab on to Elle more and more, so I have a feeling my crazy plans are actually working a little. :-)
