Success! (finally)

This is real life people...turn away and find another blog if you want to read about perfect moms.

So, Emma has been a pacifier (NUK) girl since day one. She LOVED it which concerned me knowing she couldn't walk the stage during her high school graduation...with it stuck in her mouth. We did all the 'right' things and slowly phased it out of car rides, daytime or basically anytime EXCEPT while she was in bed napping or sleeping. Good enough, for a while....

Then comes the mother guilt and the KNOWING you must just get rid of it so you don't have the family-paci-secret to hide all the time (yes, I have a 4yo w/ a paci...yada, yada, yada...).

We initially did the whole "Let's take your pacis to Toys R Us and buy a toy w/ your pacis" thing. The moment we got in the car, buyer's remorse set in and she was yelling for her paci (she was 2.5 at the time). Bedtime sucked, too - screaming, yelling, crying and mom NOT getting her sleep which is the BIGGEST offense. I finally caved and in retrospect am glad that I did...

And, thanks to my mom who always has common sense insight which always helps me to relax regarding the "perfect mom must have perfect kids and meet predetermined goals syndrome" (which in actuality, I really don't suffer from that much...and less and less each day).

Fast forward to about two/three weeks ago when Joel and Emma had dental appointments scheduled together. I was home and received a text from Joel saying Emma was "done" w/ her pacis. If you know Joel, he's a tender, sweet heart who's always willing to negotiate so when he definitively says something...it's a done deal. period. I totally got a pit in my stomach and starting getting nervous thinking (selfishly) how many sleepless nights I'd have to endure in the next couple weeks....ugh!

Apparently the dental hygienist gave Joel a little tongue lashing with regards to Emma still using a paci and again, if you know Joel, he's a rule follower extraordinaire, so this just didn't sit well with him and that's why I knew Emma's 4 year paci run was going to be done.

To make a short story even longer, Joel brought Emma home after the appointment, but before he headed back to his office he ran downstairs, scrounged up all of Emma's bacteria-ridden pacis and took them. He told me that he was hiding them from Emma AND me :)

The result: She protested a little bit the first night and has asked for her paci only a couple times since the dental appointment. I think it really helped that Dr. Drew, himself, told her NO MORE PACIS FOR BIG GIRLS. And, that's who we blamed when she asked for it.

Clearly Emma (and mom) wasn't ready for pacis to be done at 2 1/2 but this time, at 4yo, it was effortless and dramaless...yea! Sleeping and the very occasional nap are going great!

This Barbie pool (what she initially bought w/ her pacis)
was in our coat closet for 18 months, awaiting
a little girl to finally give up her pacis

It was the first thing she asked for the first morning she slept
thru the night w/o her paci...go Emma!