Binky Bye, Bye, Bye.
That song title was typed to the tune of ‘N Sync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”. I thought it was the Backstreet Boys until I googled it just now. I am not a big fan of boy bands, but being a child of the 90’s they were hard to avoid.
I decided with SJ’s birthday coming up it might be time to ditch the pacifier. The decision alone has been grueling, and the task seemingly insurmountable. Unlike her brother, SJ has had no problem transition away from the bottle, crib, even diapers, but apparently this is her one little baby “vice” and it is a biggie! I know that, as with all motherhood topics, pacifiers can be controversial. I’ve read opinions that say to take something away cold turkey, something that YOU introduced into their life, something that may be their only source of comfort in times of distress is just cruel and heartless. I’ve also read that we’ve waited too long and she may never talk and we will be paying orthodontic bills for years to come. It’s a bit overwhelming.
Daytime pacifier usage was never really the problem. To be honest that was more for our comfort. When she cried because she has to go in the car seat instead of plugging our ears we just plugged her mouth and everybody’s happy. Night time however, that’s another story. She has slept with a pacifier since 4 weeks old. It has been a constant bed buddy for almost 2 years. After 3 days of intense rehabilitation it looks like she’s sobered up, but it didn’t come without a fight.
Day One
It was a breeze until nap time. She fell asleep briefly after I laid down with her, but most of the time she was just screaming and flailing her arms around.
Night one was basically the exorcist or some other horror film. She woke up at 2:00 am wanting a “fix” and my husband was questioning why I ever thought this was a good idea. I went to get her binky and after having a knock down drag out fight calmly debating whether or not we should just tough it out, she fell asleep in my arms before she ever even knew that we were ready to give in.
Day Two
She never did take a nap, but she finally fell asleep at 6:00 pm and the poor thing was so exhausted from this whole process that she slept 14 hours and woke up happily at 8:00 am the next day!
Day Three
I was thrilled with the amount of sleep that she had gotten the night before, but just as I was expressing my enthusiasm she spotted an old pacifier on the counter and put it in her mouth. I was so discouraged. I think the reason it was out in the open was because she NEVER liked that style of paci, but compared to having nothing it seemed to be working for her now! I had to think fast. Maybe this was an opportunity to allow her to be involved in the process so I carried her over to the trash can. I said, OH NO that’s yucky, and I tried to get her to throw it away. She wasn’t buying it. With a frantic smile painted across my face I stuttered Ummm... how about some chocolate milk? She stared at me from behind the plug and I added I will even let you stir! Shoot, I would have bought the girl a cotton candy machine! ANYTHING to get that pacifier out. She dropped the paci and I threw it in the trash so that she could see.
She napped well, and slept through the night that night!
An article that I read said it takes about 3 days for them to settle into a pacifier free lifestyle. The past three days have been a little unnerving, but by this time next week it will probably be just a foggy not so pleasant memory, a lot like ‘N Sync.
