Bye Bye Ba Ba!

I took Sam's pacifiers (he calls them ba bas) away from him today. Last night, out of the blue, I decided that today would be the day. I know that most of you are rolling your eyes saying that it's about time! Especially since he will be three in less than a month! But those of you who know me personally, know that I am a very relaxed kind of mama......I usually don't take away my children's comfort items. There are more important things that matter to me than things such as how long my children nursed (4 out of 5 nursed passed their first birthday), how long they took a bottle (2 took a bottle for a long time after weaning from breastfeeding---one until 19 months, one until 30 months), or until now, how long they took a pacifier (the only other child who took a pacifier, used it until 26 months). In each case, the child gave up the comfort item on his own! However, Sam has shown absolutely no signs of ever giving up his beloved ba ba!

My main motivation for ending the pacifier addiction is that I didn't want to have to keep up with pacifiers at Disneyworld, where we are going in 3.5 weeks. So, today was the day.

He did super! This morning I hid all of the pacifiers except for the one he was sleeping with--before he woke up. While he was eating breakfast, I secretly snatched the last one. After breakfast, he asked, "Where is my ba ba?" I told him that they were all gone, he was a big boy, and he did not need them anymore. He went to the drawer where I previously had kept them, and to his dismay, they were all gone! He asked, "Where are my ba bas?" They are all gone!! I repeated what I had just said, then picked him up and loved on him. I distracted him, and he was fine. I spent the day making sure I held him more than usual (is that even possible?). I kept him busy close beside me. He only asked for his ba bas 4 or 5 times all day, and was for the most part satisfied with my answer. Twice, he whined for several minutes....before naptime and bedtime. He fell asleep in my lap as I was reading books to him for his nap, and at bedtime, he jumped, sang, rolled around, tossed, and turned for one hour before falling asleep. But he never cried! I am so proud of him. Now that we have made it through the first day, I think all will be fine.

What a big boy!