Bye, Bye Binkys!

One month and counting! I finally got fed up with Kams and her binky addiction. It was a seriously bad case. Although, she never had it during the day at all, it was just something that she needed in order to fall asleep. If I ever forgot the thing when we went out for a day trip...oh man, it was h-e-l-l to pay later. She would throw a full blown tantrum in the car kicking and screaming until she would finally pass out. I was so sick of it. And she's two and a half...she really doesn't need a binky at two and a half. I'm okay with kids having attachment objects, but when it gets in the way of having a nice afternoon, then that's where I feel it goes too far. Take Rae for instance. She has a "B." This is her receiving blanket that I used to swaddle her in (I have like 10 of them)! She loves this object, but if we were to accidentally forget it, she can substitute something else for comfort for that time. Not Kams...

So a couple months ago I started prepping her for the day that she'd no longer have her precious binkys. My girlfriend, Kelly, gave me the idea since it had worked successfully with her daughter who is one year older than Kams. I would say, "Kammie, there are so many new little tiny babies out there that really need binkys. Pretty soon, we're gonna send all your binkys to Santa and he will deliver them to those little babies. And I'm sure Santa will leave you a special surprise for being so nice!" And she'd say, "Santa!? I want a special surprise!" After prepping her for about a month, Rae decided that she, too, wanted a special surprise. So I went out and got them each a cuddly bear from Santa.

On October 11th, we found every binky and placed them into a small box. We found every "B" and placed them into a large envelope. Then we sat down and made Santa a card from each girl letting him know how special these items were and they colored a picture on the card for him. Then, after their naps, we drove to the mailboxes and placed the packages inside. The girls were on pins and needles asking me when we could go back to check the mailbox. We told them that after dinner and when it was dark out we could go see if Santa had come. I had wrapped their surprises as well as a handful of candy (Santa always gives candy, right?) and a card for each of them and had Kerri make the switch for me. After dinner, the whole family loaded up into the car and we drove down the street to the mailbox. I held a flashlight and Bran helped Rae open the mailbox...Santa had come! She was ecstatic! Kams pulled her package out next and we drove back home where they opened their little gifts. I read their cards to them and they couldn't be happier.

Then the test came. We got the girls ready for bed and did the whole routine. Rae took right to her new Cuddle Bear and was happy as a clam. But as soon as I tucked Kams in she asked for her binky. I gently reminded her that we gave them all to Santa, and in turn she demanded, crying, "Well, get into your car and go get them back! Go back to the mailbox NOW!" I said I couldn't. That he already had delivered them and had given her the Cuddly Bear to snuggle with instead. And then she sobbed irrationally and screamed that she didn't want the Cuddle Bear and threw him across the room. I told her sorry and finally left her there. She finally stopped crying, but proceeded to get out of bed for every excuse imaginable after that. It was a hard, hard night for us all.

The next night was still hard, as was the next. Night time finally got better, although she still gets out of bed at least once or twice, which is frustrating. Nap time on the other hand has been hard this entire month. I don't even feel like going into the details, but I've decided not to push a daily nap any longer. If I feel like I can get her down, then I definitely take advantage of it...but if not, then we just go without and head to bed a little earlier at night.

All in all, I am so glad to be without the curse-ed binkys. I decided I would not go through that again with little Evie, so I started to wean her from being dependant on them when she was about four months old. At home she never goes to bed with one. I keep one in her room, though, for the middle of the night if she needs to sleep a few more hours. I keep one in her car seat for when we are out. I do have to admit that I have been using it just a bit more at home since she's been cutting her first tooth. But the thing I want to avoid this time is her becoming dependant on the binky. I like it to use as a soothing device - not a necessity.

And that, my friends, is the binky story. xoxo