The Journey of Nu-Nu

Nu-Nu is the name of Maddie's pacifier. It comes from Rob's family and his childhood and just stuck. Maddie pronouces it someplace between "new-new" and "no-no" with such cuteness of tone that she can keep that thing until she's 20 just so she'll keep saying it. Believe me there is nothing cuter than when Rob is getting her dressed in the morning and knocks nu-nu out of her with her shirt. She yells "Nu-nu" and then paws at her shirt until she finds it.

Well, yesterday a curious thing happened. In the morning Maddie and I were putting pennies in her piggy bank when a penny got away from us and rolled under her crib. She went to find it and instead found the original nu-nu that she came home from the hospital with.

All day long Maddie went back and forth between her old and new nu-nus. And that is home the real Nu-Nu managed to get away.

We had friends over to visit yesterday (Hey, Kat!) and Maddie was our source of entertainment, playing with every toy and stuffed animal imaginable. After our friends left, we noticed that Nu-nu was missing.

We assumed it would turn up but by bedtime that damn thing was no where to be found. Have I mentioned it's pale pink, so it blends with everything?

Rob and I did a pretty thorough search of things, delaying bedtime in hopes of a miracle. But alas, nada. We tucked Maddie in with old nu-nu and hoped for the best.

Surprisingly, Maddie did pretty well. She woke up twice, briefly, crying in her sleep but didn't seem disturbed enough to stay awake.

I actually spent another hour after Maddie went to sleep systematically going through the house: every toy box, laundry basket, bookshelf. Even the fridge. Our friends got a text, asking if they for personal reasons had decided that they really needed a nu-nu. I even checked the hall in case it had somehow gotten knocked outside the door.

I looked for it for two hours this morning. No stone unturned! I prayed to St. Anthony. I prayed to St. Jude. And I'm not even a saint patronizer.

Then I decide to swifter under our bed (mind you, we had checked there three times, and moved the bed just in case.) As Maddie ran away with the Swiffer, I stooped to examine my box spring where a certain cat with claws has torn a little hole I'm the lining. And, voilà! Nu-nu. Inside our box spring.

To be fair I really don't think the cat put it there. They were both pretty sleepy. I'm postulating that Nu-Nu fell and by some odd chance bounced into the hole (from the size of the hole, I think it's possible. I might research...)

So now there is peace in the house, and naptime has commenced!

***please note: for those of you wondering how the sleep training is going there is a hint in here. I will not be blogging about our progress because the minute I do everything will change! Mum's the word.