Your Lovey should be placed in bed or into a pillow case used by the parents/family. The hand quilted fabrics and batting of Your Lovey readily absorb the odor of the home.
The scent of the home makes the child feel secure and provides comfort. This "smell security" has proven very important to bonding:
"Babies also learn other maternal and paternal odors, such as the scent of your shampoo, according to Gary Beauchamp, PH.D., director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, in Philadelphia. Over time, certain scents become comforting because they are familiar and this may be why older babies often prefer that their security objects remain unwashed. They are attached to the scents that come with the blanket".
"For newborn mammals, including humans, identifying Mom by her odor can be critical to maternal bonding and survival. However, researchers have not understood how this odor identification develops. Now, Kevin Franks and Jeffry Isaacson of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report in the July 7, 2005, issue of Neuron that this process develops in basically the same way that newborns' developing visual systems learn to recognize the world. That is, during a critical early period, the infant's olfactory circuitry wires itself as a result of experiencing Mom's odor."