What to Do?

Everyone,

Today Pirate had a rough time napping. I would hear him talking, then crying, then muffled crying (with his fingers in his mouth I'm assuming) and then silence. Then it would start all over again. I chalked it up to the fact that he is missing his blanket. It was in the wash. This is a blanket that his Auntie Lisa made him. I have a great picture of her with the blanket but it's lost in The Great Photo Disaster of 2009.

Both Butterfly and Professor also have blankets made by Auntie Lisa (who actually happens to be MY aunt, so the kids' great aunt) and they love them. Butterfly and Pirate especially. The blankets were hanging around my kitchen tonight to dry and Butterfly said, "That's my favorite blanket. The one I got in Utah. I really like that blanket. *sigh* It needs to be washed." Then she walked away dejected. I have tried for 3 days to wash these blankets. Every time I put them on the floor, I find them back in their beds courtesy of Pirate. Today he was laying on his blanket in the middle of the floor sucking his thumb and crying every time I tried to move him off of it. Then he sat next to the washer once it was in there. Tonight he kept pointing at the drying blanket and trying to take it up to his bed. Then when I put him in the bed, he kept pointing at his mattress and saying "uh-oh! uh-oh!" Poor kid.

Anyway, back to nap time. I chalked up his lack of sleeping to his blanket. But he shoved his hand in my face after nap and said, "uh-oh!" So I looked it over to see what he wanted. Did I mention that he sucks his thumb? A lot?

When I got to looking over his thumb it was all cracked and very tender. Poor kid!

Do you know anything I can do for a chapped thumb on a thumb sucker?

I don't want to put moisturizer on it because he puts it in his mouth. I don't want him to ingest anything bad. I don't want to stop him from sucking. But it looks painful. I don't want it to crack open and bleed. Maybe some oil or something?

Safire