A Boy and His Pillow

We went to Ikea yesterday, in search of shelving and the cool smock bibs they have. But of course, one never goes to Ikea "just" for what is on their list. They also go to buy some things that jump out at them as they browse through the maze (Side note: Does anyone else feel like a herded cattle when they go through Ikea?).

Of course, now that he is 18 months old, Will also sees things that he likes in stores, too. Usually, he is only temporarily interested in something and I will let him play with said object until we get to the end of our shopping trip. He isn't at the age yet where he throws a fit when we have to put it back. We just say, "Bye-bye [insert whatever thing he has been carting around]."

Well, yesterday, the thing that caught his eye was a $2 pillow.

He pointed to it with great excitement. It was very colorful, soft, and just his size. I handed it to him, thinking he would quickly bore of it and I could drop it off someplace else prior to hitting the register.

He grabbed that pillow, wrapped his arms around it, and then proceeded to hug and love on it through the rest of the store. He would lay his head down it and close his eyes. Several people stopped to ask me if he was really sleeping. He would pop up and say "hi" when they approached us, giving one lady a bit of a startle (which he thought was hilarious).

I am not sure what would have happened if I had tried to separate them. To be honest, I didn't even try. He got the pillow and hugged it all the way home. He can't quite say "pillow" - it comes out more as "pallob," but he said it quite a bit. And he slept for three hours with it during his afternoon nap.

Last night, when M put him down, he said that Will was really excited to see his pillow again and give it a hug. Has he finally found his transitional object?