Kicking the Habit

Well, we did it! After many failed attempts, we finally got rid of Peyton's binky! I know, it was a little ridiculous that she had it this long. Trust me, I never thought my almost-4 year old would still have a binky. In my defense, she only had it during naptime and bedtime- never during the day, and never out of bed. She knew she didn't need it, too. I would ask her when she was going to get rid of it, and she would say, "I'm going to keep it forever." If I pointed out that she didn't need it anymore, she would say, "I know I don't need it; I just like it." In the past, when I would try and get rid of it, it resulted in naps going from 3 hours to non-existent, and sleep going from a solid 12 hours every night to about 9. It just wasn't worth it to me. Finally I made a pact with myself. I was going to get rid of that dang binky by the time she was 4. I started talking to her about all the privileges she could have when she was 4, but only if she didn't have a binky, because binkies are for little kids, not big kids. I also told her that she could have the [ridiculously expensive] French baby doll that she had been begging for at the toy store, but since the doll came with a toy binky, she couldn't get it until she got rid of her own binky. Finally one day she just decided she was ready, and took me up on my offer. When Jade got home from work, we took her to the Frozen Yogurt shop and made a little celebration of getting rid of the binky- in the dumpster by the shop, so she knew she wouldn't be able to get it back. She then got frozen yogurt and was totally happy with her decision. Until bedtime. She was a little sad, but understood that she wasn't getting her binky back. Then she told me I could just buy her another one. I hadn't seen that one coming. We stayed strong, and even though it took a couple days for her sleep to go back to normal, she adjusted just fine. She does still tell me once in awhile that she misses her binky, or that she just wants one, but she's pretty much adapted to life without a binky. Although she did tell me that when she's 89, she will get another binky.