The Smell

Jam is a thumb sucker and blanket loving guy. He didn't choose to attach himself to some plush chenille throw or lovingly handsewn passed down from generation to generation blanket. Instead, he is in love with the thin cloths meant to be used as diapers. They are of such poor quality that they are no longer sold in stores, as they have long been replaced by the thick hospital grade material. We have fifteen and at first I was really excited because it meant that Jam wouldn't get attached to any one in particular, and I always had a couple on standby. There are a few problems with this notion, however. The first being that since they look so raggedy, when Jam drops them on the floor, or they fall out of the stroller, no one even offers them a second glimpse. So, we've lost quite a few this way and when I try to come home and replace them with the nice, freshly folded blankets in his room, he's not interested. Apparently, there is a certain smell that he is looking for which the washed blankets don't have. First I thought that it was the dryer sheets I love and buy in massive quantities at Costco. So, I started washing his blankets sans the yummy fresh breeze scent. Nope, still not interested. Big D thought that it had something to do with the dirt factor. So, when we ran out of clean blankets (yes, I do wash them despite his protests otherwise), Big D (and I kid you not) took a clean blanket and wiped it under his arms... yuck. Thankfully, Jam wasn't buying it. "Not that, Daddy." One thing about Jam is that he is certainly adamant and can hold his ground, no matter the issue. Today I smelled one of his beloved dirty blankets before I put it in the wash. There must be a way to replicate the smell and still keep the cleanliness intact. The blanket had a whiff of Coppertone's Water Babies suntan lotion. My mind started to work in overtime. As soon as Jam got out of the bath and began tearing apart the house looking for the blanket that I had already put in the wash, I made a quick swap for a clean one and then sprayed it with Water Babies. Guess what? He took a whiff and said "here it is." Phew.