Weighted Stuffed Animal

Our therapist gave us the brilliant idea of making a weighted stuffed animal for kiddo to use when she was upset or needed some kind of heavy lifting. Up until now, we had just been using hand weights which can get pretty dangerous (especially when she decides to play catch with you). We needed something that was heavy but still safe to throw. We were going to take one of her favorite TV show characters, take out the stuffing, and replace it with something heavy inside. Unfortunately, all of the stuffed animals we had were small and probably wouldn't be heavy enough. We know she can lift 10 pounds no problem, so we wanted something that was at least 5 pounds because, lets face it, no two year old should be throwing around 10 pounds worth of weight.

Poor guy doesn't know what's in store for him

We had an empty Build-A-Bear laying around from a friend who was nice enough to bring back from a her daughter's birthday party that we weren't able to make it to.We planned to get it stuffed later on but never made it to the store. It was perfect since they are meant to be filled and tied - no sewing needed. We went to the store and bought enough beans to fill the entire bear, leaving just a little wiggle room so it didn't rip the seams. Our bear turned out to be exactly 5 pounds. If you want your bear to be lighter, try doing half beans & half beanbag filling. You could probably do half stuffing and half beans, but the weight might not distribute evenly. 

This has worked out great so far for throwing. I can't say she has ever bonded with a stuffed animal and carried it around, but we are hoping we could get her to carry it in the stores.

He makes a good snuggle buddy

 Some great activities you can do with your bear:

• Throwing the bear during a meltdown
• Pushing the bear in a stroller
• Pulling the bear in a wagon
• Putting the bear in a backpack and wearing it (put a time limit on this and make sure it isn't too heavy)
• Holding the bear throughout a store
• Putting the bear on kiddo's lap while sitting at a table or in a stroller
• Jumping while holding the bear