Sometimes a blankie is just a blanket.

This past week, we’ve looked at the many ways that baby blankets help young children develop, calm down, think, explore, play, and get on with their lives.

Let’s end this series by getting to a blanket truth: they are a must-have child development tool for parents.

In yesterday’s blog post, I reminisced about how to use lighter-weight blankets.

Thick blankies will be today’s focus. The bumpy ones, the ones with fringes and mysteries stitched in.

While a versatile blanket will support your baby’s overall development, a blanket that offers interesting textures will specifically stimulate motor development, body self awareness, and intellectual development.

Twenty-one years ago, I discovered that my 5 month-old was ready to play hide and seek.

I didn’t mean to.  Really.

My teaching colleagues in Panama had gifted my new baby with an assortment of of hand-appliqued blankets (sheets, actually — this was a tropical birth).

Five months later, back in the US, and past her swaddling stage, my daughter used to enjoy looking at the brightly colored ducks and ginghams that bordered the sheets.  She also spent a lot of time on her tummy, reaching for and touching the embroidery stitches that illustrated the layette.

Sometimes baby just needs a hug.

Some babies need constant hugs.

And sometimes Mommy just needs baby to sleep.  For a little longer then she did yesterday.  Please?

You and your baby want the same thing: contentment.  For baby, the ultimate contentment, the ultimate hug, was what she experienced when she lived in her own apartment, (aka “the womb”).  Since your newborn can’t go “home” again, her new neighbors (aka “family”) will just have to find ways to help her settle in until she learns how to comfort herself.