Bantal Busuk
Clarissa February 16th, 2006
Direct translation of the above is “Smelly Pillowâ€
Another term for it is “Safety blanketâ€. That’s Kiki’s. Belle’s safety blanket is my comforter (used to be mine). Oh well…
2 nights ago, I left the pillow at my mom’s to be washed. I used to wash it on Sundays but it was too dirty as Kiki dragged it almost everywhere she goes. Kiki was unable to sleep well the whole night. Woke up 3-4 times, changed place 3-4 times. Slept on my tummy, on my leg, snuggle near Belle and back to her place. None of the above gave her the comfort that her pillow gave. Not even another similar pillow to hers.
In the morning when my mom gave her the pillow, she took it, smell it, suck her index finger and fall right back to sleep for another 2 hours without milk! It’s like drugs to her.
The pillow belongs to my cousins, Jacklyn (now 14 yrs old) that was hand down to her 2nd brother (now 13 years old) then to their youngest brother (now 6 years old), all of them my mom used to babysit. They used it for a few months only then it was passed down to Belle who hardly uses it. Until now Belle does not sleep with any pillow. Just her comforter. Now the pillow is Kiki’s and it seems that it will be hers for a very long time. She’s very attached to it as you can see.
A month ago, my mom sews a casing for the pillow. A Pooh bear ones. Insert the pillow in it, hand it to Kiki, she took it and throw it away! I removed the casing; she happily took the pillow and sucks her finger. Bye bye Pooh bear pillow casing. Hehe.
I used to have one myself and it followed me until my uni days. Once I got married I said “goodbye†to it. Got a better safety blanket.
My brother even better, he has two of it, it used to be my grandfather’s pillow, which my brother likes so much. He gave it to him, my mom split it into 2 small pillows, and now my brother passed it down to his daughter, both.




February 16th, 2006 at 9:41 am
Wah, bantal busuk also can hand-me-down hah??
Both my girls have blanket busuk then…keke..ya, comfort them each nap & each night sleep!
February 16th, 2006 at 9:48 am
cannot wash it meh? don’t wait till she is hooked on the smelly pillow… then is too late liao
February 16th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
wah…. can be designated as ‘family teasure’ already.
February 16th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
jesslyn > haha…the previous owner did not use it as bantal busuk. only my girl
egghead > actually hor…the bantal very wangi one…i wash almost weekly. it got her smell…very nice smell
chief > yup…regretted never keep mine! hehe.
February 16th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
So cute!
My girl has her “chow chow” (cantonese - smelly) too, it was a pink blanket! She can’t live without it, just like kiki.
February 16th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
i used to have this soft toy that i need to hug to sleep.. But my grandma threw it away and i was sad till my mom bought me barbie doll to cheer me up.. heehee
February 17th, 2006 at 8:20 am
I wished chloe would take to something.. but nope.. no such luck..! mummy is her comfort blanket..! Poor mummy.. very tiring for me..
February 17th, 2006 at 9:09 am
ooo, i had my smelly blanket and hand made bolster too! there were used, abused, torn with broken seams and well, its a matter of time they’d turn into powder form. i had them until form 6! my gram and mum literally forced the heck out of me to throw ‘em away… uh, cos the cotton in the bolster was dropping off and dirtying the place, and the blanket was becoming shards. hehe.
but hey, they were the catalyst that weaved many a dream okay!
February 17th, 2006 at 10:07 am
hahaha, cute…my boy lost his blanket for good on the plane. It’s so sad. He’s already 6 but still he cried about it. Take good care of the pillow!
February 17th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
jefferene > hey…thanks for dropping by. pink is pretty and ur girl is so cute n chubby!
jaschoc > wah…barbie doll can replace ur bantal busuk meh? my girl won’t settle for it. the moment she see a barbie doll, she will undress it! haha.
mama bok > mommy’s smell is the best…if i am given the choice, i prefer to sleep with my mom than hubby! kekeke.
jasonaish > can always change the casing mah…poor bolster.
dead fox > pity him…i’ll cry too even when i’m over 30!
April 1st, 2006 at 10:39 am
Didn’t realise that bantal busuk can be passed from one sibling to another. My son’s bantal busuk is a kapok bolster that my mom made for him when he was three. He is now twleve years old and still sleeps with it although the bolster shell is turning brown and he now has another newer, bigger bolster. Tried many times to get him to throw it away, but he refused. Think I’ll throw it away one of these days while he is in school.
Once we accidentally left the smelly bolster in a hotel when my son was eight years old and he made such a fuss and even cried. So my poor hubby had to call the hotel and arranged for it to be couried to us.
October 12th, 2006 at 9:58 am
My two sons also have their own bantal busuk, more correctly called a bolster busuk. These bolsters are becoming brownish and the kapok is losing firmness, but my boys just love them. Although the bolsters are more than 8 years old my sons will not part with them. Will not even let me wash a or put out in the sun to air. Even bring the smelly bolsters when we go travelling and cause me problem when my mother-in-law see these bolsters.
They will happily hug their new bolsters when sleeping, but the bolster busuk must be by their side also. The bolsters really smell on rainy days, but my hubby said to let the boys keep them even though the elder son will be going to Form 1 next year. Thinking of throwing the bolsters away when the boys are circumcised during the school holidays. Any suggestions?
October 12th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
Oh Farah, please dont throw the bantal busuk…i only let go of mine right before i got married!!! even brought it to uni with me…it’s my security blanky…when i miss home, the bantal comforts me…the familiar smell of it. maybe u can talk to ur son about washing it or airing it. he is a big boy now, he should understand it.
November 8th, 2006 at 11:14 am
ermm…i used to have one…but gone already. it was a small pillow which provided inside those MAS airline planes….small tiny square pillow. i dont know why…but like it very much! too soft…sometimes i wonder whats inside the pillow. Im looking for another MAS pillow right now… but the problem is… i seldom got chance tu use airplane nowadays..
anyone got that MAS pillow?
February 1st, 2007 at 1:49 pm
[...] This morning, all 3 of them woke up at 6.50am due to Clarissa’s crying. She woke up earlier, around 6.30am looking for her bantal busuk. I helped her look for it and lay down beside her for a while then I went out to sweep the floor. I think she missed my present, got up and cried. [...]
March 30th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
[...] NEVER, I mean NEVER EVER forget your child’s bantal busuk unless you enjoy sleepless night and the sound of their crying and whining. That is exactly what happened to me last night minus the enjoying part. [...]
June 29th, 2007 at 12:40 am
[...] Btw, I stuffed her bantal busuk in her bag, informing the teacher to give it to her in case she cry and brought 2 pairs of panties, in case she PU or pass motion in her panties! [...]