36; Sleeps With Teddy Bear

I am 36 years old, and I sleep with a teddy bear. I got said bear to replace a very old, very scratchy stuffed cat which I realized was actually beginning to disturb my sleep with its scratchiness. Seems I've always slept with something or someone - when I don't have a man to cuddle with, then teddy just has to do.

Is that completely absurd? Because I do. I sleep with a teddy bear.

I also sleep in the middle of my queen bed. That started after a particularly heart-wrenching break-up when I read that moving to the middle of the bed can help you feel better after you've been sleeping with someone for years. As opposed to staying on your side of the bed with that big, now-empty space next to you.

And it did, it helped.

Soldier Arcoiris is speaking my language on Livejournal:

My bed feels disgustingly empty despite the fact that I've curled up with a few safety blankets and a bear. Yes, I sleep with a teddy bear. It was a gift from a friend and it matches my safety blankets, damn you. It's strange how sleeping in a twin sized bed can seem lonely, seeing as how you barely have room to flex your knees.

Also it turns out that sleeping with a teddy bear is a very popular item on meme lists. Lauren shares on her weight loss blog, Not alone in this world:

I sleep with a teddy bear named george, sometimes hugging him, sometimes not. I got him when I was in the hospital after my car accident.

As for where in the bed you sleep, Dear Sugar's taking a poll: When Your Significant Other Is Away, Do You Sleep on the Same Side of the Bed?

When you date someone exclusively, it's inevitable that you claim one side of the bed. But when your man goes out of town, or when you sleep apart, do you stick to your assigned side? I have always been a middle-of-the-bed sleeper, but what about you? Do you stick to your side of the bed, do you linger over to his side, or do you enjoy the luxury of having the entire bed all to yourself and plop right in the middle like me when you sleep alone?

Check it out and vote to see what's the most popular answer.

So. There are apparently not an abundance of posts from women my age about sleeping with their teddy bears. Which means either a. no one in the 30s does but me or b. no one else is fool enough to admit it on the Internet. Ahem.

I will say, however, that I have a male friend who sleeps with a body pillow, which, you know, slap a couple ears, eyes and a nose on that puppy - Come on, it's *almost* a stuffed animal.

Oh! And it would appear that body pillows are also a pregnant woman thing. Slackermama posted her Lament for the Body Pillow, and commenter Liz (not me, obviously) totally named hers:

Oh man…my pillow’s name was Fred. And Kris would nudge me in the middle of the night and ask me to ask my “boyfriend” to please MOVE OVER. Man, I LOVED that pillow (evidently, as I named it Fred).

OK, I don't think my male friend named his body pillow. But it's not impossible; he's a pretty creative chap.

How about you? Sleep with anything stuffed?

Contributing editor Liz Rizzo also blogs at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo (view blog

) on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 20:41

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Not quite as comfy..

I get mocked because I sleep with a big, freakin' dictionary in my bed. Actually, I usually have a few books strewn about my bed and my boyfriend gets really annoyed when he stays over because they jab him when he first gets under the sheets. But hey, I like to read in bed and I like to look up words. For my birthday last year I treated myself to a big, freakin' dictionary - the kind with word origins. I love thumbing through it to see how old words are and where they came from. Yes, when I toss and turn at night and the sharp corner of a hardback book hits me, it doesn't feel quite like a man or a teddy bear. But those my dictionary is pretty damn heavy and if i had to pick it up every time I wanted to look up a word in bed, I'd never use it. So there, I'm a bigger dork than you!

Dating Trooper
http://www.datingiswarfare.com

Submitted by Dating Trooper on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 23:00

Sleeps with dictionary?!

Wow. That's impressive!

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 09:39

I second that..."sleeps with dictionary?"

I came down to the comments section to say, "I don't sleep with anything stuffed but good for Liz for admitting it!" and I saw this admission about sleeping with a dictionary? So as to more easily look up random words in the middle of the night? That has GOT to be a first! :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Life - Singles

Submitted by Zandria on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 11:37

Yes, the dictionary is quite impressive

I wonder if sleeping with a dictionary makes you smarter.

Or maybe you're already smarter if you sleep with a dictionary.

I have been known to fall asleep with a book in the bed, but then I end up throwing it across the room in the middle of the night, and that's just dangerous.

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 14:32

Theo is my best sleeping friend

ME TOO!!! I am so excited to read that you sleep with a bear. I am almost 32, married, and sleep with my teddy bear Theo. If I'm traveling and can't bring Theo for some reason, I have a revolving stash of smaller travel friends.

What does my husband think of all this? When I tell him that Theo says good night, he pats Theo on the head and wishes him a good night too. When I shove Theo's face on his and tell him that Theo wants to kiss him, he sits there patiently. He even bought me a few of my little travel friends so that I could sleep well away from home.

While the above paragraph documents my absurdity, it is true that I have a hard time sleeping without curling up around something that I can smoosh. I've been with Theo since I was 12. No one is coming between us.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 11:44

Love the Teddy Love!

For beat there I was thinking maybe I should switch to a pillow so as to seem more grown up... Ah, forget that!

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 14:30

Grown up is overrated

Teddy bears rule! I tried to help Theo launch a modeling career last year (I figured he's at least as smart as some of the contestants on America's Next Top Model, but fortunately, he's still living at home.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants

Submitted by Suzanne Reisman on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 15:08

Not smarter yet...

Deep down I think I was hoping for a little vocabulary osmosis while I slept. Alas, it didn't happen. But I can tell you the origin of the word "snafu"! Definitely worth looking up if you don't know it....
Dating Trooper
http://www.datingiswarfare.com

Submitted by Dating Trooper on Thu, 11/29/2007 - 19:31

Sleeps with dogs and pillows

With three border collies vying for space on my bed (when my man is there or out of town) and three pillows, I never have or feel like I'm in an empty bed! When I lived alone, I would sleep anywhere in my king size bed that felt good and surrounded myself with pillows and one dog.

I must admit, having a teddy bear, while comforting, might not turn a man on...so, do you stuff him in the closet when hunky actor beau is over?

Submitted by moddivorce on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 14:42

Sleeps wiith Bear and Blankie

A Musing Farf

I sleep with a giant purple stuffed bear named Buddy. My husband barely tolderates it since Buddy takes up so much room in the bed, and when we travel, I bring a small stuffed dog named George. I am a side sleeper and need something to throw my arm over and people make me too hot. Plus, the bear rolls with me. I also sleep with the same baby blanket that was in my crib 32 years ago. My mother was concerned when I would not give it up and people told her I would grow out of it. Although my blankie does not travel b/c I am too afraid of something happening to him (yes, the blankie and the stuffed animals are all male), my husband knows better than to complain of the items in the bed. I regulsrly remind him that they came before him and will be there after him.

Submitted by NYFarf on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 15:08

When the man's in, the teddy bear's out

Like Elwyn below, when Hunky Actor Boyfriend is over, my teddy bear graciously steps aside. It's on my bed, though, so his existence is not a secret! (And clearly not anymore in any case.)

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 09:14

I do and so does my husband.

I do and so does my husband. Different bears. We both roll enough that it's not practical to hold each other once we're actually trying to fall asleep. So we switch to our bears. I gave Micah his so that he wouldn't be lonely. ;)

Submitted by Mrs.Micah on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 18:59

A bear for each!

How cute is that?

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 09:08

Reminds me of the Rejuvenile book

I just finished Rejuvenile last week and while adults sleeping with stuffed animals wasn't really mentioned, it seems to fit right in with the whole rejuvenation trend. Thankfully, this is one act of rejuvenation I have thus far avoided - and hope to continue to avoid. sheesh.

But then again - to each her own. If it works for you, enjoy. Y'all don't have some secret lurking though - like you "self identify furry", right?

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 19:32

What is "self indentify furry"?

Relating more to animals than people?

Submitted by moddivorce on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 12:12

Furries!

Ah, no.

But I always must thank C.S.I.:Crime Scene Investigation for the fact that I even know what "furries" means. Thanks, C.S.I.!

Moddivorce, "Furries" are people who get off by wearing furry animal costumes and acting like their animal, etc.

Thanks, Denise, for taking my sweet stuffed animal post in that direction! LOL

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess.

Submitted by Liz Rizzo on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 09:11

My pleasure

I am always happy to turn a sweet teddy bear post into something a little errrr different. :-)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Tue, 12/04/2007 - 10:43

love is stuffed animals...

I am in my 30's and I sleep with a stuffed toy dragon. I am so glad I'm not alone!! He was a gift from my favorite uncle when I was 8 years old and has shared my bed ever since. BF has a "man's man" attitude toward stuffed animals, so my dragon stays off to the side when we're in bed together. However, when he's away - or asleep - my dragon is there for me. ;)

Regarding the other question... When BF is away, I usually stick to my side. Mostly because it's hard to reach my nightstand from the middle of a king-sized bed; if I need light or water or to turn off my alarm it's quite a trek. I do steal his pillow though. When I was single I had a queen bed and I slept smack in the middle. Made it hard to share; hence, the king.
:D

... not all who wander are lost...

Submitted by elwyn on Mon, 12/03/2007 - 15:52