Bye Bye Binky

We finally bit the bullet a couple weeks ago and began Binky Detox!  MJ has only been using his pacifier for night time and nap time since his first birthday, but we had been discussing trying to get rid of it alltogether.  Mat probably would have been ready to do it sooner, but I was a bit more relcutant.  I'm sure there are many schools of thought on it, but I had just read an article about how the optimal time to try to break the habit is between 12 and 24 months.  The reasoning was that at around 2 years of age it becomes less and less of a comfort and more and more of a habit which becomes harder to put an end to. Who knows if the article had much evidence behind it, but I think it was the motivation I needed to give it a shot, so randomnly one night I suggested we give it a try and Mat was on board.  This was the last photo I took of MJ with his binky.  It was taken one afternoon right before naptime.  This was actually during Binky Detox week when he was still doing his best to suck on that little pacifier with all his might! 

I had read an idea, and also heard of other friends who tried this method, and it seemed like a more gradual and gentle idea.  I took scissors and cut the tip of the binky down just a bit the first night.  He immediately noticed something was wrong with it and tried handing it back to me as if to say "Fix this, mama!"  We left him with his binky as is and said goodnight as normal.  Unfortunately he put up a pretty good fight and cried off and on for about 40 minutes.  Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, and was about to go in and swoop him up, he crashed.  Phew!!  That was really the only hard night.  The next day we snipped the binky a bit more and the next day more and so on.  His fussing about it only lasted about 10-15 minutes each nap time or bedtime and then he slept soundlly without ever waking.  By the end the binky was just a nub.  He was persistent though, and would use his two little hands to try to hold the pacifier in his mouth.  There was nothing left to suck on!  We kept giving him lots of praise and encouraging him and reminding him that "binky was broken", and after a few days Mat asked if MJ was ready to throw his binky in the trash.  He did it all by himself!!  That night I think he must have wondered what kind of crazy decision he'd made because he cried and reached for the trash, but we reminded him that it was all gone, and it is!  That was all it took-we started on a Friday night and by the following Wednesday it was in the trash!  Night times have been effortless every since.  He still goes right down to bed with no problem.  Nap times were pretty rough for about a week but seem to have finally gotten back to normal (fingers crossed). 



How cute is this?  I snapped this just the other night, as I tucked him into bed.  Hands were folded as we said our bedtime prayer.  He's sporting his fave red silky Christmas pajamas and that wild curly hair.  Sigh.  Enough to melt my heart!  Now to break him of Cuddle Bear?!  No way!  Let's not get crazy now!  :)