Operation: Bye, Bye Binkie

One of my goals Little Miss H this summer was to

break the binkie habit.

E had given his up at a year and a half... pretty easily (as I remember it).

But I was coming to the conclusion, very quickly, that it wasn't going to be that easy with his

VERY STUBBORN, VERY STRONG-WILLED little sister.

We had been trying to limit Little H's time with her bink to just sleep,

but she was starting to manipulate more and more time.

(She has her ways)

It was time...time to take control of the situation.

But how?

I had heard the stories of cutting the tips, the fairies, the presents, the parties...

They all sounded great, and fairly non-torturous.

There was just something about it...

It was deciding when the time was right, and the anticipation until that time,

the anticipation of the day when we had to take away something our baby girl enjoyed...

and also still classified her as a "baby".

So, now you know the real truth.

I remember, very clearly, how I felt when E gave up his bink.

I was sad.

It was a huge milestone for all of us,

and I knew that feeling was coming again.
It made my heart sink just thinking about it.

Ugh!

So, here is how it all finally went down.

Our hard-headed little girl sometimes needs some encouragement to make good choices.

One night, when I was "encouraging" her to make the right choice,

I informed her that the wrong choice would result in losing her binkie for bedtime.

Apparently, that wasn't enough encouragement.

So, the decision was made...for both of us.

The time was NOW!

Little H went to bed that night without her binkie.

She asked for it once, and I told her she couldn't have it because she didn't make a good choice.

She seemed okay with that, and surprisingly, fell asleep...

and slept ALL night.

Just like when E went to sleep for the first time without his binkie, 

I knew there was no turning back.

The next couple of days were rough.

The very first thing she asked for the next morning?

Yep, her binkie.

In her mind, she had done her time. Punishment over.

Now the relief of an easy night turns to GUILT.
We managed to keep her occupied enough the rest of the morning to keep her from having a complete binkie-withdrawl meltdown.
But there was no distracting her at nap time.
This was the true test.
After an hour and half of screaming and crying (from both of us),
lots of comforting, snuggling, and begging
she finally fell asleep, and we have never looked back.

I am still carrying around lots of mommy guilt over how it all transpired.
I really wish a "punishment" hadn't been a factor in the whole story,
and I am still hoping that it doesn't result in therapy for my sweet little girl...
or myself.

Nonetheless, we have been binkie-free for TEN days!
Since then, she has asked for it a handful of times,
and for a couple of nights she took little longer to settle herself in bed, but we are done!
For the last couple of days, she has made NO mention, at all, of her beloved binkie.

Mission Complete!
(now onto Potty Training)