Sleepyhead

Not much sleeping is happening in the Lemoncake household. In fact I can't recall a night in the past month where Champ hasn't called out for attention. He has had a cold on and off for all of that time, and whenever he hasn't got a runny nose / nasty cough / temperature his teeth decide to start growing and he has swollen gums and a drool rash around his chin. Pretty picture, eh?

I am blaming all these external factors for his bad sleeping, but I do know that a certain amount of it is behavioural. But I really can't work up the energy to discipline him during the night when he is sick anyway.

I know that part of it is discipline because when Cowboy goes in to see to him during the night, he is silent and back to sleep within moments. When I go in he is sitting up in a flash with arms raised for a cuddle and the tears flow heavily if Mummy refuses. I can never refuse for long anyway, so we cuddle for about 10 minutes before he reluctantly lets me put him back in the cot and creep out. Most of the time he will then go back to sleep, with the occasional call out for another cuddle.

Champ has never had a dummy, but he has Sleepyhead (so named because he is a sleeping giraffe's head attached to a blanket). Oh, Sleepyhead, I love you. Champ will cuddle his little blanket with all of his might and suck on a corner/arm/horn/ear when he is distressed or tired. I dare say that Sleepyhead would come a very close second in the comfort stakes if it was between me and him.

When it became apparent that Champ was so attached to the little guy, naturally I went out a bought two more. Champ sleeps with one every night and sucks it when he wakes throughout the night. Each morning Sleepyhead is a soggy mess. I rotate them as often as I can manage. Mostly each day (occasionally I need to cheat and just dry one out on the heater and reuse for the following sleep).

I have recently been trying to do less washing, both for my sake and for the environment(weetbix stain on the collar? Wipe it off with a face towel and it can be worn again!) . This translates to running out of clean sleepyheads.

My lovely sister, let's call her Aunty Lotsatime, bought Champ (me?) two more Sleepyheads last weekend. Can you spot the new one below? Champ did. He 'tasted' each corner, arm and horn for 5 minutes before enquiring 'Sleepyhead?' throwing him on the floor and begging me for the 'real' one.

So, lovely readers, can anyone suggest a way of making new Sleepyhead feel/taste/look like old Sleepyhead?

(preferably without Cowboy and I sitting for hours sucking the colour and fluff from the new ones)