Death of Pacifier - Day 1

Okay -

If you know me, you know that I have a real hard time saying no to my 3 year old.

I know, I know - it will come back and bite me in the butt some day, but it is what it is. Im working on it.

For the last 2 years, I have heard family, friends and even strangers tell us to get rid of the pacifier. I decided to ignore them all because Jr. Puff has been through so much and his "dooda" makes him happy. It soothes him. For those of you that know Jr. Puff and what his temperament is like, know that he needs to be soothed. His "dooda" is his first love. His "bebe" (blankie) is his second.

So, you might be wondering what has changed?

Well, the journey to pacifier weaning began with something like this:

I posted a picture of my children on Facebook last night. I received message from a family member who is a Dentist who told me that based on what they could tell by the photo, it seemed as though Jr. Puff was developing an open bite.

(What you need to know about me is that Im a bit crazy. So once I got this message, this is all I could think about.)

I envisioned Jr. Puff 15 years from now with the scariest mouth in the world. He would be tormented by peers and would never have great self- esteem.

I quickly jumped on Google and sure enough, my worst fears came true. He could end up with a disfigured jaw and scary teeth.

(Something else you need to know about me, I always jump to the worst case possible. I know that there are plenty of people out there with open bites and still look great.)

My husband came home from work and the gym, we discussed this long overdue death of pacifier event.

I tested the waters last night. I got into bed with my son and took the pacifier out of his mouth and hid it under the pillow. He asked for it a couple of times, but he fell asleep just fine without it.

I think he actually slept the whole night without it.

I went to sleep last night hopeful.

THIS MORNING WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, he gets picked up to go to daycare. (what's interesting is that the daycare providers always tell me and my husband that he never uses it there or asks for it, but at home, its glued to his face.)

As soon as I woke him up this morning, he started asking for his pacifier. I kept telling him that he would get it later, he could use it at sleep time. This continued while I got him dressed, while we rode the elevator, while we walked through the lobby and when he got into the car. He was sad and I mean REALLY sad and started to cry. He wanted his pacifier. Instead I kissed him on the cheek, told him he would get it later and passed him his blankie instead.

As he rode away, all I could see was the VERY sad face that has now been embedded into my mind for the rest of the day.

Wish me luck. Its going to be a tough journey, but I will blog myself through it.