Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Binky Ban..

We were dry (pacifier dry) in this house for all of one (1) day.
The mutilated binky was lost, right before bedtime (wouldn’t you know it..) and we hunted, we really did.  But being the foolish woman that I am, thought that the “cold turkey” method would be the best way to go.  Cut those apron strings, you know?  That event was followed by one really crappy night’s sleep (if I can even consider it sleep) and a naptime involving the re-birth of finger-sucking, to get one of these puppies out of hiding.
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That’s right..
I hid them in my underwear drawer.
And those nylons, underneath, have been sitting in that package, in that spot since I bought them about 4 years ago.
I hate nylons.  (And that would be random fact #476 about me..)
I thought this was the safest place in the house for one to go about hiding the most loved item by one particular resident of this house..  that is until the 5 year old obsessed with all things chestly had to go looking.
“Look Pey!!!  Binkies!”
She was so proud of her discovery.
I gave her a look that isn’t good for a mother to give her child, and that prevented her from taking one out to further prove her discovery, so Peyton probably still assumes that Ashley was teasing her, as usual.  Why would anyone hide binkies in a drawer that also houses those other things anyway?
It isn’t that we don’t want her to have it, we just love hearing her sweet voice and all the new words she picks up daily, and we also rather enjoy her smile.  The plastic and silicone get in the way too much.
And don’t get me started on taking pictures with that thing around.
All was going well, until she lost THE ONE, the one that I snipped, the one that it was okay for her to have, and I was not wanting to let her in on the truth that the rest were still located on the premise.
So we went dry.  For that one horrendous night.
I considered sticking to my guns, and continuing on the cold turkey route, but then this happened yesterday:
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She picked up the habit after 7 months of not doing it like it was second nature.
These were the days BC (before cast)..

She spent most of her down time with these in her face, the other hand busy twirling her hair..  we knew when she was tired this way!
Then that bittersweet day when she broke her arm..
It was a blessing in disguise.
But the comforting mother stepped in and had to screw it all up.
I shoved a binky in her mouth to give her the comfort she desired without being able to get those two beloved fingers up to her mouth.  And those left ones weren’t doing the job..  for once in her life, she gladly accepted a binky.
I should have just left well enough alone.
After discussing the resurgence of  digit devouring with the man who will one day have to spring for all orthodontics to repair the mouth that seems to never forget, we decided it was best to welcome binky back…
But only for bedtime and the occasional naptime, hoping that all other times she will forget her fingers, pining away for the quality time she will get to spend with Nuk.
And trying to still get her to give it up, I mutilated a new one.
Then found the first one, in the laundry basket.
This morning, after we had both woken happily, she greeted me with a pacifier muffled, ”Hi mom!” and all I had to say was, “That binky needs to be put away until nap time..” and she handed it over with a cheerful “Okay!”
But hey, I am looking forward to another great night’s sleep.  Last night was splendid.

11 comments:

Jenny said...

We are weaning Megan this week....cold turkey. A little crying, not much sleep, but it will be worth it in the end...Good luck!

Rachael said...

I like the idea of only at nap time and bedtime. At least she wont have it in her mouth all day.

I have looked at tons of little kids mouths. The ones that suck on binky's usually have messed up baby teeth. Then I look at my own kids teeth and they are perfectly alined. It makes me so glad that they both refused binky's after I took the hospital issued ones away.

To substitute for the binky's though my kids do have their fav stuffed animals that they have to have in bed to get to sleep. Which happens to be penguins. Hayden picked his out from Build A Bear. And Kimmy's is just a copy of Hayden's because she wants to be like her brother. But lately Kimmy has taken a liking to this TY purple hippo (only because it's purple).

Oh... Last night while driving home from yoga I saw this dark figure dart across the street in the pitch black night. (Not something I see every night.) What intrigued me was that I saw no stopping, looking both ways, then crossing. It was just a full out sprint. lol Tsk,,,tsk...

Mindy said...

I actually did look both ways.. but I guess you couldn't see that. I was a "dark" figure after all. ;) Got my exercise in though.
Lynn and Ashley actually were both binky babies and the dentist says their teeth are perfect, I have to agree with him. I, on the other hand, sucked my thumb like crazy until I was about five, and my teeth are not perfect at all.

Julie said...

It's a vicious cycle. I guess our kids will find any way they can to comfort themselves. By the way, I have a really good friend who sucked her thumb until she was 10. Her teeth are perfect and she never needed orthodontia work.

BookwormMom said...

As a mom, you have to do what's best in your own opinion to give your child comfort...my 2 children who used "orthodontic" binkies have great mouths...and my one who refused all but the Original binkie shape has a mouth I'm pretty sure will need fixing some day...but since he was my one who would eat 9-10 oz, throw up, and eat more just to get himself to sleep, I think it's a fair trade off...

Now they all (still) have blankies that they sleep with every night...but so do I! :)

Six-Pack Momma said...

My personal experiences for what it's worth....

Two thumb/finger suckers here. One with crooked teeth (me,) one with beautiful teeth. I have three binky babies, too. Two have straight teeth, the other is too soon to tell. Two refused anything at all and one of those, I was told, just today, will need braces.

My point: it doesn't seem to matter so much what goes on as a baby. The alighnment of those baby teeth don't necissarily have a direct correlation to the allignment of your permanant teeth, rather it is how much room you have in your mouth for the permanant ones. But if you suck your thumb until the time your permanant teeth come in (because we all know you can't cut those off!) then will will likely grow in crooked.

Binky over thumb any day at my house! Little one is happy, and I/we stay sane. Sounds great to me!

Jocelyn said...

I remember when we made my youngest give his up...not fun! But hang in there, it will get better. I am so looking forward to reading more of your older posts...I can tell we are going to be great bloggy friends. (eeeekkk I see you follow Liz Kartchner...she is my fav)

Six-Pack Momma said...

BTW, I really do know how to spell alignment and necessarily...I had kids calling me when I typed that. Nothing like "MOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOM!" to frazzle the mind.

Tiffany Nash said...

All I can say is GOOD LUCK!!!!! Been there done that, it will all work out.

Brooke said...

tongue positioning has a lot to do with your teeth too.

Bonnie said...

I don't look forward to the binky dramas with our next little one. I do think the bink is best, though I was only lucky that little D gave it up early. We shall see with the next...