Binky, Bye Bye

There is a song on Sesame Street, sung by Baby Bear and his friends, as he transitions from a life with his binky to a life without. "Bye, bye binky! Binky, bye bye!" is the chorus, and I don't know the rest of the words. Much discussion has been had in our household the last few weeks about when to remove the binky from Morgan's life. Now, she has only had it during nap or bedtime for several months now (and occasionally during the day when she's super fussy and I need a break) and getting rid of it is the next logical step. A friend once said that she cut the tip off her child's binky, told her it was broken, and that was the end of it. I started telling Morgan several weeks ago that her binky was going to be broken soon. "Mommy, my binky broken" she would say. Not yet was the reply....until last Monday. I hid all but one of the binkies, cut the tip off the last one, and after a brief talk, handed her the broken binky. She popped it into her mouth, took a couple of test sucks, gave me a funny look, and took it out for closer examination. Although that afternoon nap went smoothly, she came out of her room after the nap with a scowl on her face. This is a child who wakes up happy, ready for the next adventure. Morgan, through her scowl, threw her binky onto the couch and promptly laid down with her blanket on the floor near my feet. Huh. That's happened several times.

I had major guilt all last weekend over the pending binky-breaking; Morgan LOVES her pacifier and is so calmed by having it! She has done really well this last week despite the change. It doesn't seem to bother her that the binky is broken - she carts it all over the house, gives it rides on her little bus, and even told me one afternoon that she loves her binky. In fact, she's become rather obscessed with it I think. Most nights, she wakes 3-4+ times, comes into the bedroom, and wants to be tucked into her blanket once again. She doesn't fall asleep as readily at night without it, and most nights neither her nor I sleep well. Unfortunately, she won't let Chadwick tuck her back into bed without a fight and many tears, so I usually end up dragging myself out of bed to just get it done. Turns out, making her "cozy" and tucking her under her blanket is majorly backfiring. Poor kid won't settle don't without me doing it for her! Even every two hours during the night....

I've now been discussing the possibility that the binky should be thrown into the trash. That will be the next step. Yes, I may use some form of bribe - a present of some sort from the dollar store, let's say. And I have been madly brainstorming of some way to tuck her under a cover so I don't have to do it for her multiple times per night....we'll see how this goes. Wish us luck!