Bibi Bear

I've written before about Jack's special teddy bear, whom he named, "Bibi Bear". (Sometimes Jack pronounces it, "Bibi Bay-er" for emphasis.) When Jack was a new born, we were blessed with many gifts from friends and family of stuffed animals. As an infant and toddler, Jack showed little interest in them but, after I left for Iraq in the fall of 2007, he picked out one of two identical white stuffed teddy bears. I'm not sure where the name came from (perhaps a variation of "Baby Bear") but Jack chose this bear and hasn't let go since.

Can you tell the difference? Jack can.

Bibi Bear is intimately tied to "paci" (the pacifier) which, I have been trying to wean him off of. I'm afraid there is not much progress to report in this department. We have been successful in relegating Paci only to nighttime and Jack regularly asks for it during our bed time routine. Some mornings, he surprises me by announcing that, "Paci is for babies!" and he leaves it in the crib without issue. Other mornings (especially Mondays) he has a hard time giving it up.

We keep Bibi Bear's twin (brother? sister?) in Jack's crib. Jack acknowledges that it's there but otherwise shows little interest. One night, my attractive wife gave Jack a bear after lights out and Jack announced, "That's not Bibi Bear!" and he was right. How he could tell, especially in the dark, is beyond me but I suspect it's the smell.

Bibi Bear is on the right.

When I give Jack Bibi Bear during out night time routine, he often mashes its nose up to his and sniffs it. Maybe the smell has a calming affect. We wash it but are concerned that maybe it will fall apart which would be bad, especially for Mom and Dad's sanity. Wish us luck.