{goodbye to Katie's binky}
The past six days have not been the easiest for Katie. Ben and I felt it was time- past time, really- for her to give up her beloved binky. At her last dental exam a couple of months ago, the dentist pointed out that he could tell that she was a binky-user because her two front teeth were beginning to stick out. He urged us to wean her from it. We knew it was time, but she loves it so much that we just kept putting off taking it from her. There was always a reason to put it off- she had a cold, Ben was out of town for the week, we had a weekend trip planned, etc. This past week, we finally just did it. I can tell you with no exaggeration that it was much, much harder than I thought it would be.
For my own records, a look at Operation No More Binky:
Last Sunday, I poked a hole in the tip of her pacifier. It didn't phase her.
On Monday, I cut a larger hole in the tip of her pacifier. It DID phase her. She was mad! I told her that her binky was broken and she just cried and cried and cried. Bedtime took almost two hours. She just kept telling me that she couldn't sleep without her binky. Once we finally got her to sleep- in our bed- she woke up many times throughout the night asking for it.
On Tuesday, she was still very upset. She brought up her binky off and on throughout the day. At nap time that afternoon she told me that she couldn't sleep without her binky and that she couldn't put it in her mouth if it was broken with a "cack" in it. For one of the first times in her life, she skipped her nap altogether that afternoon. Bedtime that night was even worse, as was sleep throughout the night.
By Wednesday, I was desperate to try something else. I had received lots of advice from others about things that have worked for them. I decided to try taking her broken pacifier to Build A Bear to have it placed inside a special stuffed animal. The experience was wonderful from start to finish. We had the entire store to ourselves and the two women working that day made a big, sweet fuss over Katie and what a big girl she was. Katie loved her special Binky Bunny and, amazingly, went down for a nap that afternoon with almost no struggle. I thought it was a miracle.
That night, however, the magic was gone. Bedtime was once again a struggle as she told me that she would not sleep without her binky. It took almost two hours to get her to sleep once again. She also woke up around five the next morning incredibly angry at the whole situation once again.
Thursday was awful. She was tired and I was tired. She had a pretty good morning, but by the time rest time rolled around, she was in a mood! For the second time in a week, she skipped an afternoon nap. I was upset because I worried that taking away her binky would mess up the really sweet sleep routine we've always had with her. She's a kid who loves her nap and takes a two to three hour nap each day without struggle.
Her mood was so "off" that afternoon that I was convinced that in addition to being tired and upset about her binky, she was coming down with something. She and Drew were both upset and clingy and crying and grumpy all afternoon... so much so that I had to cancel the scheduled babysitter that Ben and I had for some fun plans that evening. Bedtime that night, however, went a little better. I sat next to her and we listened to some soft music and she just kind of drifted off to sleep without a word about her binky. I think she was exhausted. She was awake from four to five during the night making sure that I knew she wanted her binky and would not sleep without it. I finally got her back to sleep and she slept until nine o'clock the next morning.
Friday afternoon's nap did not happen and I was upset that she was missing a nap for a third time in a week. If you had told us two weeks ago that Katie would skip three naps in one week, we would have laughed at you because it would be so out of character for her. Friday night's bedtime went pretty smoothly, though. Even better, she slept through the night for the first time since the whole ordeal started on Monday. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I had the same feeling I had each time one of the kids slept through the night as newborns, like something major had just been accomplished!
Saturday's nap happened easily because she fell asleep in the car on the way home from our family lunch date. Saturday night's bedtime was, once again, pretty awful. It took forever to get her to sleep, but she did stay asleep through the night once again.
Today, Sunday, she protested nap, but Ben laid down with her and she did fall asleep. I am currently writing to the sounds of Ben taking a turn putting her to bed. It could be going better, but it is not as bad as it was a few nights ago.
Slowly..... slowly.... slowly, we are making progress.
For my own records, a look at Operation No More Binky:
Last Sunday, I poked a hole in the tip of her pacifier. It didn't phase her.
On Monday, I cut a larger hole in the tip of her pacifier. It DID phase her. She was mad! I told her that her binky was broken and she just cried and cried and cried. Bedtime took almost two hours. She just kept telling me that she couldn't sleep without her binky. Once we finally got her to sleep- in our bed- she woke up many times throughout the night asking for it.
On Tuesday, she was still very upset. She brought up her binky off and on throughout the day. At nap time that afternoon she told me that she couldn't sleep without her binky and that she couldn't put it in her mouth if it was broken with a "cack" in it. For one of the first times in her life, she skipped her nap altogether that afternoon. Bedtime that night was even worse, as was sleep throughout the night.
By Wednesday, I was desperate to try something else. I had received lots of advice from others about things that have worked for them. I decided to try taking her broken pacifier to Build A Bear to have it placed inside a special stuffed animal. The experience was wonderful from start to finish. We had the entire store to ourselves and the two women working that day made a big, sweet fuss over Katie and what a big girl she was. Katie loved her special Binky Bunny and, amazingly, went down for a nap that afternoon with almost no struggle. I thought it was a miracle.
That night, however, the magic was gone. Bedtime was once again a struggle as she told me that she would not sleep without her binky. It took almost two hours to get her to sleep once again. She also woke up around five the next morning incredibly angry at the whole situation once again.
Thursday was awful. She was tired and I was tired. She had a pretty good morning, but by the time rest time rolled around, she was in a mood! For the second time in a week, she skipped an afternoon nap. I was upset because I worried that taking away her binky would mess up the really sweet sleep routine we've always had with her. She's a kid who loves her nap and takes a two to three hour nap each day without struggle.
Her mood was so "off" that afternoon that I was convinced that in addition to being tired and upset about her binky, she was coming down with something. She and Drew were both upset and clingy and crying and grumpy all afternoon... so much so that I had to cancel the scheduled babysitter that Ben and I had for some fun plans that evening. Bedtime that night, however, went a little better. I sat next to her and we listened to some soft music and she just kind of drifted off to sleep without a word about her binky. I think she was exhausted. She was awake from four to five during the night making sure that I knew she wanted her binky and would not sleep without it. I finally got her back to sleep and she slept until nine o'clock the next morning.
Friday afternoon's nap did not happen and I was upset that she was missing a nap for a third time in a week. If you had told us two weeks ago that Katie would skip three naps in one week, we would have laughed at you because it would be so out of character for her. Friday night's bedtime went pretty smoothly, though. Even better, she slept through the night for the first time since the whole ordeal started on Monday. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I had the same feeling I had each time one of the kids slept through the night as newborns, like something major had just been accomplished!
Saturday's nap happened easily because she fell asleep in the car on the way home from our family lunch date. Saturday night's bedtime was, once again, pretty awful. It took forever to get her to sleep, but she did stay asleep through the night once again.
Today, Sunday, she protested nap, but Ben laid down with her and she did fall asleep. I am currently writing to the sounds of Ben taking a turn putting her to bed. It could be going better, but it is not as bad as it was a few nights ago.
Slowly..... slowly.... slowly, we are making progress.
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