Bye bye 'binky'?

Ahh yes. The dreaded "binky". Thanks to daycare kids and staff Kian started calling the darn thing a "binky". I never called it anything. I figured if I didn't give it a name then he wouldn't ask for it and think much of it. And, that did work. Until his teachers told him it was a binky. That was a few weeks ago. Since then he's asked for it, especially at night or at nap. Ugh. Thanks.

I have said from the beginning that I would make it disappear at 18 months. But, I got tired of it. I got sick of hearing "binky? binky?" all the time. Tired of hearing it fall on the floor in the middle of the night and Kian waking up whining for it. Tired of pulling cat fur off of them. Tired of him even hearing the sound of them and perking up, pointing for it. The older he gets, the more obsessed he's becoming. Like his little life depends on that at night. It doesn't.

I decided that this past week we would put some strict boundaries on this darn binky. It was to stay in bed and only did he get it IN bed. Kian didn't love that rule, but he knew it was in bed and he chose to dive into bed a few times without a story or snuggle because of it. I'm okay with that. He gives it to me each morning and says bye bye to it. Seriously? It's a piece of plastic and silicone, not a friend.

So, this morning I just had enough. Yesterday I cut the tip off of one of them-he hated that. Today I cut a very small hole in the tip and that was the only one he could have. If there's a hole in it, he can't create a suction with it. It's not as fun. So, he wants it but doesn't want it because it's useless now. I gave him lunch and a drink. I read some stories and gave him his blanky and animals, and his new favorite Elmo slippers. I tucked him in with the tip-less binky, turned on the humidifier and left. There was whining. About 40 minutes of it. Not real crying, not the "i'm dying, come get me" cry. No, just a whine. I went in once for some more quick snuggles and blanky tucking in. He fell asleep. He's still sleeping. We will see how bedtime goes tonight.

If I think about it too much I'll start to feel bad, because you know, he's just a baby. And heck, it's so much easier to just plug him in and have him fall asleep within 5 minutes right? But, if I go back on it now, I'll set the precedent that mama's a pushover right? But, if we get through this day I think we'll be home free. It's better than forgetting it or losing it on all those trips during the holidays and having Kian freak out in the car or at someone's home...right? I think I need a support group -United Binky Ban-ers anyone? Just tell me I'm right...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Be strong mom, you can do it!

Rosie : ) said...

I think it's not a bad idea to remove the habit.; Out of the 7 kids, only one was seirously attached to it until just over 1 year old months. At that point, she understood when we put it in a bag and threw it out, saying bye bye to her soother. When she cried one night for it, I told her we had decided she was a big girl and didn't need it, we threw it out, remember?... She calmed down, snuggled her favourite bunny and never asked for it again.

I had a love-hate relationship with the soother too. I liked that it calmed her down, but I refused to let her walk around with it, or try to talk with it in her mouth.

Kids are much smarter than we give them credit, sometimes. :) If you explain to him why he doesn't need it (he's a big boy now), and make a "ceremony" of throwing it out, he'll see that he's fine without it. Definetly don't go backwards on this. He has to know that once Mom makes a decision, it is final. you'll be gratefull you stick to your guns when he's older and you tell him No. ;)

Rosie : ) said...

I think I need more coffee before trying to type anything this morning. Sorry for the bad grammar and typing... ugh!