Deeper History For A “Lumpy Sock”

I have written before about the expression “lumpy sock,” one that my family uses to refer to a newborn. I thought it was just a cute and affectionate way to refer to a baby or something small and precious.

I have since learned that name was not just made up but actually has a deeper history : my great-grandma Tillie. Tillie was from Bochum, Germany, and as a native German speaker, referred to babies as something in German that meant “precious one,” or “dear one” or something like that.

My mom and aunts pronounced it “Lumpy Sock.”

This makes me love the phrase even more, and I would really like to know the original word. Mom doesn’t really remember. I asked my Facebook friends about it, and a few suggestions were pass around.  Do you know of anything that sounds like lumpy sock?