I will say that he only got his pacifier when he sleeps and it has always stayed in his bed, so it's not like we had to break him from using it all day.
So I had been thinking about how we were going to get rid of it and when the best time would be, but couldn't figure it all out-- all I knew was Gavin's 2nd birthday was coming up and fast. I kept thinking of all these excuses and reasons why certain ways wouldn't work, etc, which was keeping me from getting serious about this whole thing. I did know one thing... whenever I was going to start the process, I was going to do it over the weekend when Brooks was here so I could have some support. Not to mention, Gavin knows how to "manipulate" me emotionally and Brooks is always able to help steer Gavin away from being emotional and tries teaching him to be practical. Well, our weekends over here are Thursdays and Fridays and last weekend came up on me fast. Brooks was exhausted and just wanted to relax on Thursday, so I never even mentioned anything to him about trying to get rid of the paci. Friday, we were a little busy and were out and about throughout the day so I didn't bother bringing it up for nap time.
Then, Friday evening comes around. We're done eating dinner, Gavin's had his bath, we're winding down, and it's time to put Gavin down for bed. Brooks and I are literally walking Gavin upstairs and I say, "hey, why don't we take away Gavin's pacifier tonight?" Brooks was willing and eager and jumped at the opportunity! I, quickly, wished I wouldn't have said anything. But, we had to think quick. We knew that there was no way we could just hide his paci and just tell him it went away. That would NOT have set well with him. I mean, getting his paci is part of his night time routine. So, before we made it to the top of the stairs we decided to cut the tip of his paci off, show it to him, let him try sucking on it, and tell him it was broken. Then, we figured we'd let him throw it away and get to tell it bye bye. It all worked!! Gavin didn't want the pacifier since it was "broken"... he wanted to throw it in the trash himself... and he said, "bye pac" and walked back to his room and got back in bed.
Now, once he was in his bed, he had about 10 minutes of being confused. He kept asking for his paci and we kept telling him it went bye bye. At one point, he got out of his bed, walked us into the bathroom, showed us where the paci was, then walked back to his room again. He seemed okay about everything up until we said our prayers and went to walk out of the room. He started crying, which Gavin hasn't done when going to bed, since he was VERY young. He stayed up for about 10 minutes crying out "mommy" and Brooks would go in there and very gently help calm him down. He went to sleep pretty quickly.
Gavin made it through yesterday and today's nap time as well as through the night last night as well. I'm hoping he makes it through this transition quickly and easily. He is still asking for his paci, but knows that it is broken and went away. I will say that not having his pacifier has caused him to wake up EXTREMELY early in the mornings and wants to be out of his bed instead of staying in bed to get to keep his pacifier longer. I guess I'm the one that has to start making a few adjustments.
I am excited, glad, and thankful that we ended up going forward with this process. It will be better for him. Plus, since we're making so many changes already as it is, why not add to the list.
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