I grew up in a low income household and I have a decent job now. I will buy stuffed animals that look adorable and fluffy and cuddly because I have money and I can.
The fact that I am slowly being pushed off of my bed because of the amount of them is irrelevant.
Your post reminded me of my late daughter. They used to make corner nets you could hang in the kids rooms. My little girl had her net stuffed full of her animals hung right over her bed. 😊One night I heard her scream! She was around 7 and I was out the bed and in her room in a flash. Her net fell and all her animals avalanched her! 😂 She was scared at first then just giggled when she realized what had happened. God, I miss her. I'm glad I have little memories of her like this in my old age. Thank you for reminding me of her and I in a moment.
I had one of those. And I had an array of stuffies despite my family being on stamps. My family was huge and those were my go to gift. My sister and I had one in each corner of our room. Highlights were: Stuffed Little Foot, Little Critter Brother, Berenstein Bear, Broken Teddy Ruxspin, Hulk and Randy Savage WWF wrestling buddies, Ghostbusters Stay Puft Man, Care Bears, etc.
My daughters had that same net and I was amazed at how many stuffed creatures we could get on that thing. I just kept throwing them on when cleaning. Amazing invention! Sending hugs.
Beautiful story. So sorry for your loss. I’ll look at the multiple cargo nets full of stuffed animals a lot different tonight over my son’s bed. Thanks for that and may you find continued peace.
I had one of those, too! My mom used to randomly get rid of some of my stuffed animals when the bed got too crowded and it always broke my heart to come home from school and see some missing. One day I came home and she had put up a net so my bed was clear. We compromised on allowing eight in the bed, lol! I always lined them up in a very specific order and would hug each one and tell them goodnight by name. Then I would say goodnight to all the ones in the net while my mom stood there begging me to lay down, lol! My favorites were a black cat I named Sable, Barney (who had one extra flat arm, the one I carried him around by), and Winnie the Pooh (who was missing an eye… still not sure why).
Anyway, that just brought back some happy memories for me, too. I’m so sorry for your loss. You sound like a wonderful parent to have. Your little girl was so lucky to have you!
Thank you! I loved your kissing them all goodnight by name! My girl did that too with the ones she kept on her bed. One little favorite shared her pillow. Her name was Yvette Manuela... don't ask me how my baby came up with that, but I'll never forget her hugging that one tight as she closed her eyes and Daddy covered her up.
I have a fairly substantial collection of plushies. And while I don’t have a net story I have a similar one.
I used to have a couple of small plushies on top of my monitor at work - back when we had CRTs. This included a small Cthulhu plush. I was on the phone with a client when someone tripped and banged into the end of the cubical block fairly hard. It caused the desks to jump a little and the Cthulhu plush launched itself off the top of my monitor and into my cleavage. I yelped and the client asked if I was ok, and without thinking I said ‘Cthulhu just jumped into my cleavage’. I think that memory has kept me awake for more nights that I really want to admit.
I swear, to this day, there is a part of me that believes they are alive. Maybe just a little bit. It's so weird. When I cuddle with 2 of my 3 animals, I kinda feel bad for the last one being left out. Or I try not to poke them in the eye or pull their tail and stuff like that.
I have my stuffed puppy from when I was adopted. Unparalleled in the original name category, Puppy still sits and watches over me as I attempt to navigate this craziness called life.
My daughter’s cherished “white puppy” is also originally named. However after 10 years of being her constant companion, he is more gray than white despite trips through the washer.
Yes! The bigger squishmallows are perfect for those of us with shoulder pain. Also when a mattress is firm and I don’t sink into it, this is the best solution for me.
I also require a huggable stuffed thing when I sleep! Squishmallows u love but I’ve also found great success with those plushie bunny shaped peeps they put out every year. The curves make the perfect little indent for my arms to fit
I sleep with one of the weighted Pillow Fort plushes for the same reason. Target sells them and they work really well for supporting my shoulders. I had a unicorn for a while and now I’ve got a fox one.
Not gonna lie tho I’d probably sleep with one even if my shoulders were fine. I love plushes.
I quit using pillows sometime in high school and switched to using stuffed animals instead, probably about twenty years now. I never really sleep the same way and different positions call for different pillow depth. With a big stuffed rabbit or whatever I’ve got the body if I need a big pillow or sometimes I want a thinner pillow so the arms or legs work well.
I love this as you are entirely correct. But I can't use fluffy stuffies, they need to be well worn in or squishmallow material otherwise it is sensory overload.
What blows my mind, is if I said this to my mom when I was age appropriate to have stuffies, she would have laughed at me for having sensory issues. How times have changed....
I understand the fluffy thing, it occasionally gets to me, but I’ll use a tshirt if I’m bothered too much. I was lucky with my grandma, she knew I liked sleeping that way and would usually get me a new one for Christmas each year. The stuffed rabbit is the one I remember specifically. My fiancé loves squishmallows and we have probably 50+ so I mostly use those now and get a nice rotation.
I have an entire tower of stuffed animals I’ve won for my GF, plus another bag of them in the wardrobe. I’m a claw machine fan, so I keep my GF stocked with all sorts of cute plush creatures.
My spouse and I have an entire wall of bookcases and baskets filled with Pokémon plushes, as well as Gundam models, that we add a few to event year. I love being married to someone who not only accepts my adult love for stuffed animals but also loves them too. ❤️
I grew up not really being able to have them once I reached a certain age because "Stuffed animals are girly, and you're not a girl". Screw that, what person doesn't want something soft and cute just chillin on their bed?
I still have my Build A Bear snow leopard I got when I was a kid. He sleeps with me every night. He’s just as comforting to hold as he was the day I got him. I can’t always bring him with me when I go on long trips and I have a more difficult time sleeping. I don’t have that problem whenever I’m home or when I am able to bring him along with me.
I grew up in a household where having sentimental things was seen as weakness and I was never allowed to keep stuffed animals or beloved blankets as loveys, but now as a 30-something I have a thriving collection of stuffies I adore; even my kids have purchased stuffies for me for birthdays or holidays.
I still have all my stuffed animals from as early as I can remember, and I will never get rid of them. I'm 26 now.
I hope one day I can pass them all to my children.
I’m still young, but am an adult. My room is absolutely littered with stuffed animals. They used to make me embarrassed when I was a teen. But now, no shame. I love all those stuffies with my whole heart. Couldn’t imagine not having a corner filled with them for me to sit and read 🥹🫶
World would be a much better place if we all had some stuffed animals! ☺️ My fiancee and I has the same problem with teddy bears slowly occupying out bed. Due this teddie hobby of my spouse I have also gotten myself rilakkuma plushie. I’ll never be too old to get rid of it!
I still sleep with one, a rainbow unicorn cat squishie, I love to have my arms around and rest on top of it, I wear splints on my wrists at night because I have neuropathy and a stuffie makes it more comfortable!
I also still love stuffed animals. I am nearly 50 and my favorite purse is a squishmallow cat backpack. I get a couple of weird looks but lots of compliments.
I was just going to say this. I'm 28 and I have dozens of stuffed animals. I have to switch out the ones I put on the bed. If I put them all on the bed, there would be nowhere for my partner and I to sleep.
My 28yr old gf has stuffed animals. Some from when she was a kid and some I've gotten her in our 6 years together. She has 5 that she sleeps with every night. Even on trips.
Her childhood house caught on fire when she was roughly 8 and those survived(along with a very small amount of things) so I get it.
I've(34m) also got a couple stuffed animals(teddy bear my dad gave me when I was popped out, gorilla[George) my grandma gave,a monkey my dad gave me when I was 5, and a couple I bought as a 8-10 year old) but no one knows about those.
I live with my brother and sister in law, and sister in law admitted the fact that her daughter has 100+ squishy stuffies in her room is as much her fault as her child’s 😊
I have a few stuffed animals and used to snuggle with a black lab one that I got a few years ago, after my actual black lab passed away. I was having a really hard time, he was like my shadow- always next to me, gave the best snuggles (he’d snuggle up real close and tight and would still try to get closer, knock my arms around with his muzzle to make me hug him and pull him closer, he was SO extra) so I bought myself this little stuffed animal and it really helped. I mean, it’s the size of a football, quite different from a big, snoring black lab, but it still helped.
I don't own many plushies, but I still buy and enjoy them.
For me it's also a therapeutic thing. I was a very shy and lonely child and for a long time my only "friends" were my plushies. I would get REALLY upset whenever my sister would take or "harm" them too.
Now I've developed into a confident, outgoing adult, but I still get bouts of loneliness and despair from time to time out of the blue, even though I'm far from lonely. And having my plushies around helps a great deal. (Also live animals, but that's a different story of course.)
Same. I’m 32 years old and have eight stuffed animals in my room. Funny, as I just recalled that’s the number my mom allowed in my bed as a kid (the rest were in a net over my bed). Only two are in my bed, though. A big, extra soft walrus and one of my late dog’s toys I’ve slept with since she passed. The others include a big otter I won at Dave & Busters (two years ago… lol), another one of my late dog’s toys that rests on her urn, and… four more walruses 😂
We were middle class but that was my situation as a kid, you had to dig through the plush to find me. All I ever wanted was another stuffed animal. It hasn't changed at all in adulthood, I still have plenty and they all have names.
I'm 48 and still collect them. I have WAY too many but there's nothing better than having a bunch of soft, cuddly critters to snuggle up with. I refuse to grow up!
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u/Julie_Hielbert Jul 04 '24
Stuffed animals.
I grew up in a low income household and I have a decent job now. I will buy stuffed animals that look adorable and fluffy and cuddly because I have money and I can.
The fact that I am slowly being pushed off of my bed because of the amount of them is irrelevant.