Saying Goodbye to the Paci: One Week Later

What a big girl! Kate's first night without her paci was last Sunday (July 18). Looks like it was good timing, as our pediatrician suggested we get rid of the paci before baby brother comes. Little did we know ... just a few days after the "last day" we would get our travel call!

Anyway, we decided last Sunday would be the big day. We had been talking about it to Kate for a few days beforehand, so she wasn't blindsided. When the time came, we gathered up all the pacis we could find. (I found another one in my purse a few days later--LOL!) Tanna came up with this little ceremony. He had all of the pacis in front of Kate and told her that she could hold or suck on each one for five seconds. Then she had to put it in the bag he was holding. She really got into it, too, and we counted to five for each one before she placed them in the bag. Some of the pacis she put in her mouth, and others she just held or touched to her nose. (Kate liked to touch the end of a paci to her nose--I think this came from when the Gumdrop paci was so big on her face when she was a baby and part of it would actually touch her nose. When she got a little bigger, she would actually turn it vertically so that the end of it would touch her nose when it was in her mouth. Also, she liked to hold pacis in her hand and rub the tips of them with her thumb and/or finger. When Kate would sleep, she sometimes had a paci in her mouth and one in each hand.)

But back to last Sunday ... After we went through the pacis and they were all in the bag, Kate threw the bag in the trash. When you ask her where her pacis are, she will tell you that they are "in the trash!" (I later found out that Tanna got the bag out of the trash! LOL!) Anyway, there was some crying, of course, and I don't think she has taken an afternoon nap here at home since she gave up her pacis, but that is OK. She still asks for her pacis every day. And when we are out she is quick to point out other children who have pacis. But she has done pretty well, considering how bad her addiction was. (It was BAD!) The worst part has been the couple of times she has woken up in the night and didn't have anything to help her get back to sleep. That hasn't been very fun, but we've gotten through it.

That night, we read a little book about giving up the paci, and she slept in her new big-girl room (the above photo was taken that night at bedtime). We had been working on it for a few days, so it wasn't the first time she slept in the bed--but it was the first night with the new bedding and wall decor, etc. We continued to add a few things this last week. I will have to take some photos of the completed room soon.

Anyway, that's that! No more pacis for Kate! What a big girl! (We have no idea if Isaac takes a paci--guess we will find out soon enough. :o))