a confession
I have a confession to make.
Much like the military, up until now I have adhered to my own “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on the following subject regarding my daughter.
The pacifier.
Or “paci” as she likes to call it.
Yes, up until the day of her fourth birthday my daughter was still a proud (nighttime) paci user.
When she turned three we made the rule that the paci could only be used at night.
I refused to buy a new one and I secretly hoped it would tear or get lost so we would be forced to deal with the loss, get used to it, and move on.
No such luck.
Paci endured.
Her dentist said that she needed to be done with it when she was four.
We made sure my daughter knew that it was a BIG deal that she was turning four and that there was a lot of big girl things she was going to be able to do now.
For example,
Dressing herself.
And chewing bubble gum.
We were clear that she could not have bubble gum until the paci was gone.
The morning of her fourth birthday she bounded down the stairs, paci in hand, and plopped it on the table (for the paci fairy to come and take away).
I figured it would be best if the paci fairy came during the day instead of at night when she would be tired and more prone to wanting it back.
So on our way to lunch I lagged behind an extra few minutes to remove said paci and leave a gift and a pack of gum from the paci fairy.
Worked like a charm.
Bedtime arrived and for the first night in her memory she was without her beloved pink friend.
Fortunately she was exhausted from the busy weekend and she only cried for a little while and then she was out for the night.
Not bad, not bad at all.
So far we have only had a few rough nights. No crying at all (about the paci) but she just lays there, awake.
Without her pink BFF she is just not sure how to go about going to sleep.
But she is learning, and we went from an almost 2.5 hour “awake after bedtime” lag to less than 30 minutes by Thursday night.
Paci be gone.
But not forgotten.
We are committed to having Eli off the paci by 2.
I’m sure that will go smoothly.
Right?
And that is my confession.
Comments
Good luck with Eli!
Something that was hard for us to do was wean my daughter off of apple juice to water. It didn't take too long for her to adjust, but she was a juice-a-holic...
Until my sister started biting furniture.
Good job Paci Fairy!
1.) Don't give kids gum until they're 4.
2.) Use it as leverage
Check and check!
My middle, a boy, sucks his thumb. He's eight and STILL sucks his thumb but only when no one is around. I've tried everything to break the habit but no such luck. The doctor's say he'll quit when he gets ready so with his ASD, it may take a little longer.
My youngest son, three, doesn't use either. He just prefers to walk around totally naked since being potty trained about a month ago!
What can a mom do except roll with it! I'm glad the paci fairy worked for you...just wished there was a fairy to keep clothes on little boys!!!
Jackson was a HUGE PACI FAN...Santa took it last year( he was a few months away from turning 3)
He saw a friend's baby with a paci and asked if he could have one...no... Santa took yours and brought lots of presents!!! Santa's coming again soon...do you really want a paci or presents...PRESENTS!!!
How sweet are your pictures?
Darling!
Good luck with almost 2 yr old. MY 19month old gave his up over a month ago. NOW if I can just get him to stop breastfeedng. NOT so easy to throw the boobie out. kwim
Whew.
But good job Mommy!!!! Love Love the Paci fairy thing. I'm going to share that with my sister. Her daughter is 3 and won't part with the Paci to save her life.
My son was the only one who liked a paci. Good/bad thing was that he only liked a German kind (we lived in Germany when he was born), so when they eventually got lost/broken there was no way to replace them. I actually didn't say anything and we kind of just held our breath but paci just sort of disappeared from his life without any drama!
I am so glad she is transitioning well. That has to be hard for the little gal.
Good job Mommy!!!
That pic of Eli...LOL Hilarious!!