binky trouble

We've been trying to get rid of Peyton's binky for several months now. I've been telling her that if she wants a bike, she can't have her binky; that if she has a binky, the people at the bike store will think she's too little for a bike. I have been pointing out to her that her cousins who have binkies do not have bikes, and all of her cousins who have bikes do not have binkies. She totally is on board with my logic, she just doesn't care to give up the binky. Well, Monday (11/1) we put Peyton to bed, only to hear her crying hysterically 25 minutes later. This is very out of character for her, as she always goes to sleep really well, so we went to check on her and guess what- she had bitten or sucked a hole right into the binky! I thought that was the perfect solution to our binky problem because she was the one to do it (as opposed to me taking them away or cutting a hole in it when she wasn't looking). So we had a big talk about how that was her only binky, and she could choose whether she wanted to keep it or throw it in the trash can since it was broken, and if she was ready to give it up, she could get her bike. She chose to keep the broken binky and used it Monday night to Thursday at nap. She wasn't sleeping as well as normal, but I figured that was probably to be expected. Then Thursday evening she told us she was ready to get her bike. So we made a big show of having her throw away her binky and giving her the bike. Everything was great- she rode it around the cul-de-sac and was as happy as could be. Then it was time for bed. She cried for almost 2 hours. I had a dilemma. My problem is that Peyton sleeps SO well, I didn't want to give up her 3 hour naps and 12 hours of sleep every night. I figure if having her binky helps her sleep that well, then I don't really care to take it away from her. I could just tell that she would not sleep the same if she didn't have her binky- especially since she's at the age where lots of kids stop napping altogether. Well, I went in her room and asked her if she wanted me to take the bike back to the store and get her another binky, and she said yes. So we made a big show of loading the bike back in the car and getting her another binky. We haven't heard a thing about the bike ever since. Too bad. It was a good try.