Bye bye Baba

Night 3 without Cheyanne's baba and I think its safe to say we have complete success!!

If you've been keeping up with our blog, you probably know about Cheyanne and her love affair with her pacifiers she named baba and my constant turmoil with them.

Now that it's gone, which is something I've been looking forward to for months/years, I can't even lie. i miss it. She doesn't even seem to miss it but I do. Not miss it as in I want her to have it back, but I miss it because it means that she is really completely a little girl now and not a pacifier toting baby anymore.

Cue waterworks.

Isn't that crazy? Even the Giant said he was sad that it was gone because she's growing up.

For two years, I have been dreading how I would get rid of the baba. The Giant has "traumatic memories" of getting rid of his pacifier. I didn't want that for Cheyanne. I knew I wanted to get rid of it before she would create any memories but when would the be the right time? It may sound silly to you, but for me and for a toddler so attached, it could be horrific. She's never really had a "lovey," her baba was her lovey. Her baba and her blankie that is.

Well the opportunity finally arose without me even trying to plan it to move on from baba. For a year now, minus on special occasions, baba had become only a sleeping lovey. She knew to leave it in her room every morning or after nap, and she always knew it was there before bed. It was our little ritual before bed, "Chey let's go get baba and get ready for bed." Immediately, run run run to get baba. It was cute. The other day it came time for nap time and we went through the norm to get baba and blankie, but baba was gone. We both genuinely looked for it. We looked in her bed, under her pillows, under the bed, in the bathroom, everywhere. It was no where. After a slight mental Momma panic, I decided right then that is was time for bye bye to baba. I talked to Cheyanne and told her how baba was gone. We lost it. I think she took it well because she knew we had both looked everywhere for it and was just gone. She marched herself to her bed, picked up blankie and laid down on her pillow. No crying or fussing. No asking repeatedly for baba. Just simply, took it like a champ, and knew it was nap time. It took her a few minutes to settle herself but with a little cuddling, she drifted off.

So, one nap time down, but I knew that didn't mean we were in the clear. We still had night night time to battle.  Fast forward a few hours to bed time. I was still sweating the realities of no baba to signal calm down time. As I put her in bed, I reminded her that baba was lost and she didn't ask for it even once. Granted, it did take her an hour to finally fall to sleep on her own, never a cry or peep came out of her room.

Night two, she did ask for it before bed. "Where baba?" She whined for a few minutes when I reminded her it was gone but nothing too traumatic. And she hasn't asked for it since. Bed time does take a lot longer now, though. Instead of the usual ten minutes and she is out, now it takes her roughly an hour to toss and turn and settle down before finally drifting off to sleep.

I took video of this on my phone last night for you to see.



I think this one was about 25-30 minutes into bed time. I took 3 all together over 45 minutes. Finally she settled down completely and fell fast asleep for the night. No crying. No fussing. Just toddler jabber and play pretend in bed. Eventually I assume the process will be much faster but I'm so proud of her and how she's handled the no baba life.

Love/Hate Relationship

I have a serious love/hate relationship with pacifiers. I struggle with it daily. Mostly, I struggle because Peapod (and my husband) have a love/love relationship with "paci."

I love it because Cheyanne loves it. It makes her happy. It calms her down. It comforts her. We have games with it when I'm changing her diaper- I bounce it on her belly, she grabs at it and laughs hysterically.

I hate it because ITS A PACIFIER. It is this weird plastic thing that was created to take away the ability to calm herbabyself without it and it covers that beautiful smile!

I try not to take pictures with it in, but every now and then, one slips in without me realizing it.

Hate it. So, just so I'm clear- Cousin and Husband- I am speaking to you here- I completely blame you for my love/hate relationship with paci! You introduced it into my life and now I can't leave the dang house without it. Its a constant question as I walk out of the house, "Where's the paci?" UGH!

The only cute pacifiers I have ever seen are these called Wubbanubs.

If I could go back and give one of these to Cheyanne, I would because they are just too cute. The idea of her cuddling it while she sleeps, too cute! Plus it might have saved me some serious lack of sleep hours if she could find her paci on her own in the crib instead of waking up without it and crying for me to come find it and "plug her back up."

I try to not let her have her paci during the day unless we are out and about. Since she's a pretty shy little girl, paci seems to comfort her during stranger anxiety. Or there are fussy times that I have to give it to her which I loving call "plugging her up." She also only gets it if she is getting into something, which recently means paper since that is her newest obsession. Paper anything. If she sees it, she wants it. But, that doesn't go well with her other obsession of everything going in the mouth. The two don't mix. That's when paci is required again. Exception. Exception. Exception..... again ugh.

I gave in on the paci. Husband won that battle. Of course, he won and then he left so I've been here smoldering on this stupid stupid. Doesn't seem fair... But, its okay. I may have lost that one, but I'll win when its time for that paci to go bye-bye. I'm counting down the days... There will be none of this child walking and talking with a paci in her mouth. Sorry baby girl. Soon as the words start coming, the paci is leaving. We're gonna nip that one in the bud. And Hubs, decision's made. I win. :) Hopefully. 

So, readers- What do you think of pacis? Love them? Hate them? How long do you think its okay for a baby to have one?