the Tag

We recently (in the last 6 months) noticed that Colton immediately reaches for the corner when we put him in his crib - whether it is nap or night time. He's always kinda slept in the same corner, but the reaching is (relatively - again, last 6 months?) new. Turns out, he's reaching for the tag attached to the bumper. That tag is WORN down and soft from all the fondling. Cute, right?

Well, it was cute.. until I went to Blacksburg to visit my Mom and brother and sister and Colton had to sleep in the pack 'n play... WHICH HAS NO TAG IN THE CORNER. He did not go to sleep happily.. he cried when I put him down (very unusual for him) and it took him a bit to quiet down and fall asleep (again, very unusual). In the middle of the night, he started crying. I was in the room with him, but thought he'd just had a bad dream, so let him fuss for a few. When I went to check on him, he was on his hands and knees, eyes closed, crawling corner to corner LOOKING FOR HIS TAG. I settled him down, put him back to sleep (although I think he was still sleeping) and he fell back asleep.. only to wake up again and again throughout that night. Let me tell you what a spoiled brat I am - I was EXHAUSTED the next day. Colton has not woken up in the middle of the night since he was a very teeny tiny newborn. He is my sleeper. Well, poor guy, he has to have his tag. I thought all along it was his thumb (which is as shown above still important), but turns out, it's both. 

I'm not quite sure how to break him of this habit. While it is cute, it is difficult to travel (by airplane at least) with his crib bumpers. We have tried a few different blankets, letting him choose a stuffed animal, putting him in a different corner, etc. to no avail. We're heading to Cleveland this weekend... C will obviously not be sleeping in his own crib, with his own bumpers, with his own tag.... dun dun dun. 

Anyways, just wanted to document this super sweet (hopefully not too long lasting) habit of Colton's. What a sweetie.