Oh, Wubba

As soon as Luccio was whisked from the womb and brought into the NICU they put him on a ventilator and a pacifier. And so began a beautiful relationship of Luccio and his "Wubba."

OK, they waited a couple days until the vent came out and was on CPAP and then they gave him the Beloved Wubba, but still it's been with him for awhile now.

For the first 5 months of life, Luccio had the plain green Soothie that is standard in many hospitals. It was the only type of pacifier he would take and he wanted it constantly. Since he was a twin and both boys were "high maintenance" preemies, I welcomed the quiet that the pacifier brought. And I heard it helped prevent SIDS, so I used that as a great excuse for a bad habit I was helping him form!

As Lucc grew, we quickly realized the pacifier was causing us to lose sleep. It fell out repeatedly at night and he would scream until Hubby or I would find it for him, UGH! Not fun! We knew we needed to do something about it. But, he was only 3 months old and no where near ready to give it up. My cousin's son was hooked on one too and she had found something called a Wubba Nub. Its a Soothie with a stuffed animal attached to it to weigh it down. Perfect for such incidents as late night drama. A Wubba would be our answer I just knew. I embarked on a mission to find one. As with all good things, Wubbas were hard to come by. They were sold out online and only one local store carried them. I was put on a wait list (I kid you not!) At one point we were so desperate for sleep that Hubby found a Wubba on Ebay going for $40 and actually thought that sounded like a good bargain! Luckily, the local Wubba shipment came in before we needed to get drastic. So we bought the $10 Wubbas (actually we bought 4, but still...) We got the Red Dog, Green Frog, Blue Horse and Yellow Duck.

We started with Red Wubba. It quickly developed a stinkiness that Luccio loved. No matter how much washing Wubba gets he never loses his scent. When Luccio went to the hospital for his first surgery at 5 months old, Wubba went with. From the operating room to recovery Wubba was with him and so the relationship was cemented. After that, we never went anywhere without Wubba. He was Luccio's faithful companion through the next 4 surgeries too. We had heard that children's' "Lovies" can help them get through challenging times like illness or hospitalizations. In my Expert Mama opinion I would say its true! Luccio healed quickly and was always back on his little feet in no time. Wubba provided constant comfort through good times and bad.

At some point the stink of Red Wubba was too much for us and we tried to replace him with Green Wubba. That didn't go over well. Luccio wasn't having it. So Green floated around the house for awhile unnoticed or cared for. We got to a day where we had to stop letting RED out of the house after a scare where Hubby had taken the boys for a walk and Wubba was lost on route. After driving the 3 mile route several times Wubba was recovered! But, we had to keep better watch on him for the sake of everyone's precious sleep. So we insisted Green be the "traveling Wubba."

Luccio started feeling more love for Green as time went on and eventually adopted him in. Not instead of Red, but in addition too. So now he puts one in his mouth and holds the other one. At night, he has to have BOTH!! There was a short time where he also had Yellow Duck, long story that included a bath for Red. So for a brief period he had 3 Wubbas trailing around with him, but we nipped that one in the bud and narrowed it down to just 2. We do have standards after all!

It has become increasing more bothersome to keep track of Wubbas. And it is downright annoying to hear him talk with Wubba in his mouth, UGH! It was just this reason that has finally prompted some Wubba Boundaries to be set in place. As of Monday, the rule is the Wubbas have so stay in Luccio's bed. They cannot accompany him throughout the day. If we do take one in the car, it has to stay in the car.

So, needless to say, Luccio has been spending more time in his bed this week!! Stubborn little guy! However, when he does finally get up, he leaves Wubba (after saying goodbye about 100 times!) Small steps, right?