We woke up the day after Christmas and as we were eating breakfast, we decided today was the day. The day we would get rid of Hannah Cate's beloved paci. We had been to see the pediatric dentist a few weeks before and he suggested that it was time. He said that if we would just go cold turkey and throw them all away, that it would take 48 hours and Hannah Cate would be "done". The thought of taking them away was just heart breaking for me. They are just such a source of comfort for her and such a source of sanity for us!
We decided that our best bet would be to keep her on the go as much as possible that day. So we headed out after breakfast to run some errands and then we took her to a place in Spanish Fort that I had been eyeing for awhile, Kangarooz. If you live in the area, I highly recommend it. It took Hannah Cate a little while to warm up to the jumpers, but once she did she had the absolute best time. Her very pregnant Mama may or may not have even gotten in a few with her for some fun! It was the perfect thing for us to do in an effort to keep her distracted and wear her out.
By the time we finished jumping, it was time for lunch and for us to head to Orange Beach for dinner with Matt's family. It was also quickly approaching Hannah Cate's nap time. In my mind, this would be the true test.....could she go to sleep without the paci? We decided to head home for lunch and time it so we would be in the car about the time she normally goes to sleep. She's always sure to fall asleep in the car if it's her nap time, so this seemed like a sneaky way for us to get around having to put her down without the paci. Good plan, except it didn't work. By the time we got to about Foley (been in the car for about 30 minutes) she was still awake but getting really sleepy. Instead of falling asleep she cried and cried and cried. A pitiful, heart breaking, "I want my paci so I can go to sleep" cry. I wanted to give it to her so badly. Matt was the strong one and held me off. We stopped at Lowes to divert her attention and it worked. Needless to say she ended up skipping her nap that first day. We got to Nini and Deeda's and she was great for the rest of the evening. She stayed and played with Nini while the rest of us caught an afternoon movie. When we got back from the movie we all ate dinner together and then it was time for us to head back to Fairhope.
Again, we thought we had been so sneaky and that surely since she had skipped her nap (and had such a full day of playing) that she would fall asleep in the car and we could easily transfer her (like we had a million other times) from her car seat to her crib without the paci. Again, good plan, but it didn't work. About half way home we experienced the same excruciating crying from the oh-so-sleepy girl. I sat in the back with her, trying to console her and trying not to bust out crying myself. About five minutes from home she finally gave it up and fell asleep. Victory! I managed to get her out of her car seat while she was still sleeping, but as soon as I laid her down she woke up and resumed her I NEED my paci cry.
We tried to remain strong and left her to cry for 15 minutes. No such luck. Hannah Cate has never had to "cry it out" and so I just knew that strategy was not going to work for her now at 18 months, especially since by this point she was so upset that she could hardly breathe. I went in to get her and rocked with her for awhile. It was the first time in her life that I can remember her crying uncontrollably while I was consoling her. I cried right along with her for a few minutes before I caved and gave her the paci. Even then it took her awhile to get a hold of herself before she crashed.
So, from that point forward, we've been paci free during the day and it stays in her crib for nap and bedtime. A bit of a compromise from where we started, but I think we've done remarkably well.
We decided that our best bet would be to keep her on the go as much as possible that day. So we headed out after breakfast to run some errands and then we took her to a place in Spanish Fort that I had been eyeing for awhile, Kangarooz. If you live in the area, I highly recommend it. It took Hannah Cate a little while to warm up to the jumpers, but once she did she had the absolute best time. Her very pregnant Mama may or may not have even gotten in a few with her for some fun! It was the perfect thing for us to do in an effort to keep her distracted and wear her out.
By the time we finished jumping, it was time for lunch and for us to head to Orange Beach for dinner with Matt's family. It was also quickly approaching Hannah Cate's nap time. In my mind, this would be the true test.....could she go to sleep without the paci? We decided to head home for lunch and time it so we would be in the car about the time she normally goes to sleep. She's always sure to fall asleep in the car if it's her nap time, so this seemed like a sneaky way for us to get around having to put her down without the paci. Good plan, except it didn't work. By the time we got to about Foley (been in the car for about 30 minutes) she was still awake but getting really sleepy. Instead of falling asleep she cried and cried and cried. A pitiful, heart breaking, "I want my paci so I can go to sleep" cry. I wanted to give it to her so badly. Matt was the strong one and held me off. We stopped at Lowes to divert her attention and it worked. Needless to say she ended up skipping her nap that first day. We got to Nini and Deeda's and she was great for the rest of the evening. She stayed and played with Nini while the rest of us caught an afternoon movie. When we got back from the movie we all ate dinner together and then it was time for us to head back to Fairhope.
Again, we thought we had been so sneaky and that surely since she had skipped her nap (and had such a full day of playing) that she would fall asleep in the car and we could easily transfer her (like we had a million other times) from her car seat to her crib without the paci. Again, good plan, but it didn't work. About half way home we experienced the same excruciating crying from the oh-so-sleepy girl. I sat in the back with her, trying to console her and trying not to bust out crying myself. About five minutes from home she finally gave it up and fell asleep. Victory! I managed to get her out of her car seat while she was still sleeping, but as soon as I laid her down she woke up and resumed her I NEED my paci cry.
We tried to remain strong and left her to cry for 15 minutes. No such luck. Hannah Cate has never had to "cry it out" and so I just knew that strategy was not going to work for her now at 18 months, especially since by this point she was so upset that she could hardly breathe. I went in to get her and rocked with her for awhile. It was the first time in her life that I can remember her crying uncontrollably while I was consoling her. I cried right along with her for a few minutes before I caved and gave her the paci. Even then it took her awhile to get a hold of herself before she crashed.
So, from that point forward, we've been paci free during the day and it stays in her crib for nap and bedtime. A bit of a compromise from where we started, but I think we've done remarkably well.
2 comments:
My second child was a paci addict. For the first 14 months of his life he was almost never without it. At 14 months (after a Disney trip) we made it just for naps and bedtime. I thought it would be awful, but he really made the transition fine. My pediatric dentist said it was no big deal until they had their permanent teeth (I don't know if that is right, but I went with it.)
We had a baby coming so I wasn't about to take it away from him, since he slept great. Shortly after the baby came home we lost it (the last one) in all his blankets, stuffed animals and other sleeping buddies at bedtime. He went to bed without it fine, and he has never looked for it again. I found it changing his sheets and put it away "just in case" and have never had to use it. Hopefully when she is ready your transition will be just as easy. My oldest sucked his thumb and around age 1 just did it at sleepy times, and around age 2 gave it up completely. I kind of think they need that comfort until age 2.
Jack still has his paci! We switched to just naps and night time around one or so but we still let him have it during those times. I'm with you, he takes such comfort in it I just get too sad thinking about taking it away!
Sweet story even though it was a sad one!
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