The benefits of a back-up baby

Nicholas is very, very attached to his blue elephant. It's his baby. A couple of weeks ago he couldn't find the elephant at bedtime and he came downstairs saying 'Where's my baby? He's the best baby in the world, and he's loooossstt!' It was so sad.

Just before Christmas Nicholas was ill, and I gave him some medicine to bring his fever down in his bed (mistake) and he immediately threw up, all over his baby. And then he was inconsolable until the baby had been washed and dried and delivered back to him, a couple of hours later. I knew we had to find a back-up baby. Fortunately for me, within days a good friend of mine was over and mentioned that her son had the same toy.... I offered to buy it from her if he didn't love it, and instead she just gave it to me! The back-up baby was pristine, clean and fluffy and full of stuffing, not like original baby, who has been knocked about a bit!

This weekend Kate and Nicholas had the stomach flu. So we got to test drive the back-up baby, not once but several times. I was not sure how it was going to go, and if he would notice the difference between the two. But when his baby had to be washed, once again Nicholas was inconsolable and constantly asking for his baby. When I produced back-up baby he was just so happy to see it again, and grabbed it and cuddled it. He did hold out the elephant's ears and inspect them quite closely but he was just relieved to have his baby back. About ten minutes later he said 'Dis baby is really fat, Mama!' but that was that.

The babies were switched out two or three times this weekend as the illness progressed, until last night when I was taking the clean original baby out of the tumble dryer. Nicholas was on the couch with back-up baby, and although I tried to sneak upstairs without him seeing, he caught a glimpse of blue out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped around and he said in a tone of total astonishment 'Dere's annovven one?' So now he knows that there are two babies. And he loves them both!

Thank heavens for the back-up baby, this weekend would have been a lot worse without it!