Nearly a Week - Pacifier FREE

Good morning!

It is kind of sad, if this is what we consider exciting news. But, no matter! That is something I will take up with my therapist later, nothing for you to worry about. =)

We have gone nearly a full week with Will not using his pacifier. I had wanted to wean him off of it by two, because I had read if you waited too much longer then they develop an emotional attachment to it as well and then it is just twice as hard. But, to be honest, I didn't want to get rid of the pacifier. It was really more of a crutch for mom than for William. It was a nice to have as back-up support when he was whiny or fussy, plus it is still just so darn cute to see the little "binky" in his mouth. I can't explain it.

However, lately for reasons unknown, it has become a struggle to get him down to sleep again at naptimes and bedtime. We have even been putting him to bed a little later now that it is summer and we can go out for family walks after dinner. He doesn't get to sleep any later in the morning, because we still have to be at work and daycare at the same time, but he just isn't tired at night. He will lay in there and talk or sing, play with his stuffed animals for up to an hour before he goes to sleep and sometimes he has to cry it out for a good 15-20 minutes. I truly do NOT understand.

I finally bit the bullet and decided to go for it. I figured what did I have to lose, bedtime was already a struggle. (He hasn't taken the pacifier to daycare for almost a year so he only uses it at home for nap and bedtime).

So here's what I did. I cut the tips off of all of them (except 2 in case we got into MAJOR trouble). The first couple of nights, he would put it in his mouth, take it out - look at it and then stick his finger in the "hole" and go "oh" and then put it back in his mouth. But, I did discover that when I would check on him at night, it wasn't in his mouth while he slept. Then after day two - I would give it to him and he would stick it in his mouth, pull it right back out and hand it to me! HA! Now, he won't even take it. I have left one in his crib, just in case, but he isn't using it.

So I think this weekend, we will throw them all away, except for 1 or 2 just in CASE. =)

Hooray - now I can finally throw them out! One less thing to pack, sterilize and less clutter in the kitchen. Now THAT is good news!

Love to all from Colorado -