The Blankie Disaster

I started sewing around the time I was pregnant with Issac and his blanket (which he still carries around) was the first one I made.  I easily fell in love with it - sewing that is - for the same reason I love cooking from scratch.  So much love and care goes into the process and the finished product is tangible.   It's also relaxing and just fun to do.  I've since made quite a few baby blankets, but none I was so proud of or so much in love with as my baby girl's blanket.

I thought I would be smart this time and make two blankets since my kids seem to attach to blankets a lot. (I actually learned from speaking with other FX parents that most Fragile X kids are pretty clingy to their blankets too..fun fact!)  I made almost matching blankets, which in the end turned out not to be as helpful as imagined.  Each one had the same print on one side and the opposite side was either pink or brown.

It actually turned out not to be the smartest of ideas.  I ended up liking the pink one the best, and so did Miss Emma.  When she was born, her blanket was the first thing of hers she was put in.  Almost every single picture of her at the hospital has her wrapped lovingly in her blanket from Mommy.

  

At home has been no different.  Until she started sitting up almost every single snapped picture of her has been with her blankie.  Every time I rocked her and cuddled her to calm her down through her episodes of night-time screaming that lasted for months she was cuddled up with her blankie.   It was never far from her side.  

Then a week or so ago, we were at the doctor's office.  Ayden wasn't feeling well and attempting to throw himself on the ground in the parking lot.  It was just me with the three kids and somewhere between the pediatrician's office and the van Emma's blankie disappeared.  I didn't notice until we were at our next stop getting out of the van.  I went back.  A very nice woman had found the blanket and brought it into my pediatrician's office which is a room in a larger building.  They told her to put it on the bench in the hallway not knowing it was ours.  I know it was placed there because other people in the building saw it there.  However, in the five minutes or so that passed between this nice woman placing the blanket there and me returning, someone picked up her blanket and took it.  I gave each office in the building my contact information hoping whomever took it would find a way to get it to the building manager.  It has been almost two weeks now, and it hasn't turned up so I can only assume it will not.  I am utterly devastated.  I can't even talk about it without welling up with tears.  I know we have the brown one, but it isn't the one she loves.  It's not the one she cuddled with.  The worst part about all of it is that it's my fault.  If I just would have been handling everything going on with Ayden a little better and paid a little more attention I would have noticed it was missing before we left.  I can only hope the person that took her blanket needed it and that some little girl somewhere is a little warmer and a little happier because of it.

While it isn't exactly a happy ending - I am very thankful that the fabric store still carries the snuggle print I made her blanket from.  Yesterday I was able to sit down and work on this:

Then later that day, my fussy little girl was reunited with her very special blankie.  While she will not realize it's any different, I still will know. But...I am happy my little girl has her favorite blankie back.

This time, we have a backup that is pink.  

Just in case.