I'm A Mean Mommy

So I've been tossing around the idea of getting rid of the pacifiers. But it's going to be bad...and ugly...and involve lots of crying (probably both of us) and lack of sleep. I keep putting it off. But we're coming up on 1 1/2 years old at the end of this month (REALLY?!? Where did the time go!) and I feel it's time to at least start limiting it. So I've started looking into options. The problem is, I can't find the one that says, "Just pack them away and he'll never ask again!" And my mom and Andy are no help. They say, "Awwww...but he really likes his binky's!" Yes, I realize that. But I don't like searching for them and being bopped in the face with them and hearing BINKY BINKY BINKY over and over for hours. Also, he seems to be getting sick more, especially with cold and flu season here, and I feel like the less he is shoving in his mouth, the less germs. And he has completely given them up at daycare. They don't offer it to him and he doesn't even ask! So if they got it under control there, I figure it's my turn.

So...last night I started with a suggestion from daycare. I took 2 of his really old ones and cut the ends off. Just a little bit off the tip, but it doesn't get any suction anymore. And I waited for him to ask for it. When he did, I handed him one of the cut ones. You should have seen the look on his face. I wish I had my camera ready. He stared at it, he turned it around, he looked pretty worried, he stared at it somemore. Then he stuck his finger in the hole and looked at me and said "Uh oh!" and laughed hysterically. He carried it around repeating "Uh oh!" and then would burst out laughing. I was trying so hard to keep a straight face thru all of this. Then he tried putting it in his mouth. And took it out and stared at it, and put it in. Then he threw it on the floor and went to play!!!!!! For the rest of the evening, I didn't hear "BINKY!" once. Not ONE SINGLE TIME!!! A few times he would pick it up and look at it and just drop it again.

Then came bedtime. I wasn't sure how to handle this one. So I was prepared with both the cut ones and the normal ones. After bath, we headed into his room with him chanting BINKY at the top of his lungs. I layed him down and handed him the cut one. He threw it across the room and was not at all pleased. What was funny downstairs, we apparently not as amusing when it was bedtime. Then we had a little incident. While I was drying his face, he has a little blister on his lip. Well, the towel must have rubbed it wrong, and it started bleeding. Which caused him to majorly freak out. And I broke down and gave him the good binky. Actually, I gave him 4 of them. Go ahead...say it. I'm a sucker. But I had to work in the morning too! So we'll try again tonight. I'll keep you posted!

Look at this face...and tell me how to take away his favorite thing!