nap 1 with no binky... passed out for 4 hours
Well, it's official! The binky is long gone! I am so happy to say that it was easier than I ever thought it would be, parting with the beloved/hated bink! Mia really, REALLY loved that thing, but she only had it when she slept... or in the car. The car was what did me in, Mia would scream for her "gingy" before we were even finished buckling her in the car seat. It was absolutely ridiculous that she had to have it the second we were in the car, and if she ever lost it while driving? Oh my gosh, she lost her mind over it! As much as she loved her bink, and even though it brought her so much comfort and happiness, I was over it (at least the car part)!
I seriously prepped for the moment we took away the binky as if we were going to war, ha ha! I made a game plan (which was to stop bringing binky's in the car and wean her cold turkey, and while she slept I was going to sneak into her room and take it out as soon as she fell asleep, so that if she woke up and looked for it, she would have to learn to cope and put herself back to sleep... hopefully making it easier for when we took it away for good. After a week of taking the bink out after she fell asleep, I would snip the end of the bink and hopefully she would just lose interest on her own. If not? Then we were tossing it and going to have to deal with the tears.) and set a time line because we had some travels in October/November that we had to survive before taking it away.
We totally stopped giving her the bink cold turkey in the car, which was rough, but we tried to keep her busy with books. Occasionly she got a treat or watched a show on my phone, but I really didn't want to give up one "crutch" just to have her get hooked on another... so we read lots of books and made lots of animal sounds to distract her on drives :)
As I was putting Mia to bed on Halloween night, I noticed just how tired she was so I thought, "what the heck?!" and didn't give her the binky when I tucked her in. She asked for it with a sweet smile on her face, I told her "night night!" and walked out of her room. She instantly fell asleep without a peep. WHAT THE?! Like, whoa! That was way too easy! But maybe it really could be that easy? Yeah right! The next day she wouldn't even lay down for her nap until I gave her the bink, and that night she searched her crib crying, until she found it hidden under her pillow. But then the next day was the dreaded time change and with the mix of that and church, Mia didn't really nap and had a rough day. So being the genius that I am, I figured this was the best time to spring another change on her! I didn't give her the bink that night and like Halloween, she instantly fell asleep without a peep.
I've heard that it's best to just get rid of the binky all together, but I needed Mia to keep napping with the trips we had planned in early November. So I gave her the binky at nap time, but she went to sleep at night without it! There were 2 nights of crying (for less than 5 minutes) but after that she never cried again. For a week or two she would ask for it, we would say, "remember? we don't have a binky. it's all gone!" She would pout for a minute but never cry.
After a weekend away (where she did amazing without the binky!!) I decided it was time to ditch the bink during nap times... we had about a week and a half until Thanksgiving and I wanted it gone by then! I told Mia it was time for a nap, she happily asked for her bink, I told her it was gone, she pouted, I laid her down and left her room, she cried for like 2 minutes.... then slept for FOUR hours!! Yeah, that blew my mind! The next day I reminded her that the bink was gone before her nap and we had no problems! I think she completely stopped asking for the bink (before bed OR in the car) just two days after that.
So yes, I turned it into a long, drawn out process, but I think that was more for my sanity (and our travels) than for Mia... but she did SO great! I was expecting her to stop sleeping for at least a week (or forever?) but she still keeps her normal sleep schedule and she is just as happy without the binky! SUCCESS!!
nap 2 with no binky
25 comments:
Bye, bye binky! Congrats MIA!!!
YAY!!!! Bye binky! She's turning into such a big girl! And man I wish I could take a 4 hour nap... :)
<3, Pamela
sequinsandseabreezes.blogspot.com
Good job mama!
Ah, I am so jealous!! We do the paci in the car and for sleep, too, and I can't wait to get rid of it (although I do not want it to affect his sleep)! We did a good job of getting rid of it in the car until he got super sick...then the paci helped with coughing, so I gave it back. I think I like it just as much!! Haha :) This gives me hope, though...good job, Momma!!
It's an accomplishment for sure!! Way to go mamma!!
Yay Mia!! It's the last "crutch" we have. And I love the idea of taking it away slowly. One "piece" at a time. First car. Then night. Then naps. We've promised lex that she can get her ears pierced when she finally ditches hers. Which worked for 2 days before she got sick and I gave in to the "mimi!" Again.
Yayay!!!!!! Proud of Mia but so proud of you too mama! Sticking to your guns is hard sometimes but I love how detailed your game plan and follow grouch was! Bravo!
Yeah I need to do this soon with Axel. I let Olivia keep it until she was three, only for naps and bed time. But when we took it away she wasn't trapped in a crib and would come down stairs like 20 times or wake us up in the middle of the night because she didn't know how to fall back asleep!! It was awful. So I want to get him off of that crutch while he's still trapped in his crib. Hahaha!
Wow, what a painless transition! I'm sure it comes with mixed emotions as well now that it signifies the end of something from the baby stage.
Yay Mia!! It's amazing how quickly they adjust and learn to cope without it. Sometimes it seems harder on us than them! Way to go Mia..and mama! :)
Yay, congrats! My daughter never used a pacifier so I have no idea how hard this was on you guys... I commend your bravery haha
Way to go mama!!! I'm so proud of both of you - because I'm sure its hard to hear your baby cry!! I bet she has a cute pout face, too... so that makes it even harder!
woo hoo! I've been waiting for the post, and to me, that doesn't seem drawn out at all, but a reasonable amount of time :) I'm not sure when we're going to get rid of my daughters pacifier, but eventually we'll be doing what you did...and we only give her the paci at the same times you did...yikes, I'm going to cover my eyes and ears and pretend I will never had to deal with this, hehe.
what a big girl!!! YAY!
I needed this today! We had our 15 month appt on Monday and the dr wants us off of ours by 18 months. I may just die;). Yay for Mia!
Http://tisourlife.blogspot.com/
That is awesome! Way to go Mia! I'm glad it ended up being a pretty easy transition. The last time we transition anything major was when we put her from the rock n play into her crib around 6months, and she didn't sleep well for a month and a half. Those transitions can definitely be tiring. I'm still remembering this and dreading going to a big girl bed. I'm hoping it will surprise me and be a snap!
This makes me sad just because that means she's growing up!!! But i'm so glad it was an easy transition. I know moms with kids that have a really hard with it and it's terrible! Go MIA!!!
Yay, Mia! I am glad the transition was easy. :)
that's awesome! great job mama! It sounds like she was totally ready! I hate the car but don't mind sleep. it's all the rest the time! If we got to just sleep Well be ok. I don't think it will work to just take it away for us (my kiddo is 2.5) because she needs a reason for EVERYTHING! so I think when it's time we're going to have a little good bye party :) thanks for sharing your experience and I'm so glad it worked for you guys and she's still sleeping great!
YAY Mia and mommy!!!! She did so good! And don't even worry about the process. Everyone does things on their own time and you had things you wanted to accomplish before you fully took it away and that's totally fine. And look how well she did with it! You're a rockstar! Now just teach me how to get my kid to nap for 4 hours! :)
Yayayay!! Way to go Mia and momma!! Sounds like she did awesome. I so enjoyed reading this especially because we will be facing this before too long also! Glad to know it wasn't awful! lol
Yay!! What a big girl! I am dreading this one :( we tried once, it was an epic fail. I'm just not ready yet... ugh I feel like I baby my toddler too much haha
I'm SO nervous about taking away the paci!! Like Mia, Grayson only uses it during bedtime and long car trips. I think he's using it less and less for naps at daycare, though. But at daycare he also sleeps on a cot and goes to sleep on his own whereas at home I still nurse and rock him to sleep! He's 14 months now and I really hope to have the paci completely gone by the time he's 2. I know we still have a while, but I figure the sooner, the better. Eek! I'm just so nervous! If he can't find it in the middle of the night, he wakes up crying and I have to find it for him. Last night it fell out of his crib (we don't use a bumper, so that happens sometimes) and I had to go find it on my hands and knees in the dark. Not what I wanted to do at 3:30 AM! Your story is encouraging though! We WILL get through it...whenever I'm brave enough to start the process! :/
Bye Bye binkie...
That's awesome! My brother was terrible when we tried to get rid of his binky. As in, it took months because he would make himself sick WAILING over the stupid thing. He's really shy, so I think it was a big comfort necessity for him. It was probably easier for her because she seems outgoing and well-adjusted ;)
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