Bye Bye Binky

Okay, so we don't actually call them binkies, we call them pacies, but I had to use that title since the song we've been using to give them up has Elmo singing, "bye, bye binky, binky bye bye" (if you're a parent, you know that song and now have it stuck in your head like I do).  Nevertheless, they are gone.  We tried valiantly in November, but a couple of days after the taking the kids got sick and I was solo and I caved and allowed the pacies to return.  However, after the kids first visit to the dentist at the end of December (I don't know that I wrote about it but here's a picture, this pediatric dentist is SO awesome, as is her waiting room, but good Lord it's expensive - and we're not even TO actual dental work):

(picking up from that last sentence) we realized that it was time to give up the beloved pacies.  They don't use them during the day, only at night, and only in their crib, and that's been the rule since they turned one.  That transition was fairly smooth, but this has been trickier.  I think it's been hard because not only do they want their pacies at bedtime, they also want to get out of bed at night using manipulation of false potty alerts since we've been potty training.  So we have a combo crying of "paci, paci" and "poopie, poopie" which is loads of fun (the latter is totally bogus unless it's from the baby). 

We started Sunday night.  We've been telling them that pacies are for babies, and they are big kids now that they can go potty and go to school.  And whenever asked what Elmo says about pacies, they say, "no, no, no, no."  Sometimes even with finger wagering for emphasis.  So on Sunday night, we watched our little Elmo video on You Tube about giving up the binky, sang the song about being a big boy or girl and saying goodbye, and watching about the emotions we might feel after saying goodbye.  Then we took a break to get a pretty gift bag for a baby and went around the nursery gathering pacies and putting them in the bag to give away (I said we were giving the pacies to the next door neighbor's baby, which clearly I didn't do because who wants a bunch of really used pacies, so I'm hoping in the parental allowance guide this is a permissible white lie).  Then we took our bag to show Elmo on the computer, and he did a little "I'm proud of you" party for giving up our pacies.  That whole process was seamless.  The rest has been a little sadder. 

They ask for them every night.  Last night they were hysterical because I would not rock them any longer (I'd already rocked them all), and I wouldn't let them out of bed for a THIRD time to go potty because there couldn't possibly be anything left.  Inconsolable.  I was tempted to pull out the pacies because I knew it would calm them down.  BUT.........I resisted because (a) that would blow my story about giving them to the baby and they'd never believe me, and (b) they're really starting to mess up Lillie's teeth and the dentist said they should go back to whatever they should be when we stop using them.  So keep your fingers crossed that they start self-soothing this weekend because after a week of 4:30 am wake up calls for boot camp and late night potty runs, I'm shot.