Goodbye Binky!

Brooklyn was born a "binky baby". She loved that thing! And quite honestly, so did I! It was nice to have something to calm her down and to fulfill her need to suck. At about the age of 1, I decided she could keep the binky, but only for naps and bedtime. She did really good with that, but she occasionally had it when she wasn't feeling well or just needed help calming down. I didn't think that was a bad thing.

I had always wondered how and when we would get rid of it. It became a crutch for me. I worried she wouldn't sleep well anymore and that nap times would be over. It was easy to get Brooklyn to bed. She knew she would get her binky if she laid in her crib so she actually started looking forward to sleep times. She became a really great sleeper and I didn't want that to stop. After having a newborn, you cherish a full-nights sleep. So all these thoughts entered my head. I always hoped she would eventually not want it anymore, which she might have had I kept it long enough. I also started thinking how weird it would be to have a potty trained child who sleeps in a big bed (our next steps) and still needs a binky.

So, on Wednesday (March 5th) her binky had fallen out of the crib (a reoccurring nightmare) and she was whining a little for it, but eventually fell asleep for her nap. She had fallen asleep several times on our vacation without it as well. So I thought to myself, I think Brooklyn doesn't need her binky anymore. I had saw a Super Nanny (yes, I love that show) where Jo helped get rid of a binky for a 3 year old. She mailed the binky to the "binky fairy" and then the fairy mailed something back to the kid. I decided Brooklyn was old enough to understand this so I tried it out. I asked her if we could mail her binky to the binky fairy and Brooklyn said "no, the lions". I'm not sure where she got this idea, but we put her binkies in an envelope and mailed them to the lions. She was very excited about this! She even walked out with Marty and put it in our mailbox and came inside telling me all about it. We made sure she knew that the lions would mail her some treats in return.

Brooklyn did great until it came to laying down and then she began asking for the binky. We reminded her several times that she mailed them to the lions and that she was a big girl now. She had a rough night the first night and cried for 45 minutes before falling asleep. I laid awake most of the night wondering what I had done. I felt guilty and thought so many times of giving it back (I now see why most parents throw them away).

She slept well and woke up to her present from the lions. She received a box of fun treats: fruit snacks and mints (her favorite things) and Princess accessories for her Potato Heads (we had originally purchased these for Easter). She was so excited! All that day, I wondered if I should give it back and still felt guilty. I started reading books about how kids will give them up by 3 and was seriously tempted to give it back.

Instead, I asked Brooklyn if she wanted to be a big girl and keep her gifts from the lions or go back to having her binky. She wanted to be a big girl! I know she seriously wondered what she had done a few times herself, but she's doing really good now. She had a little bit of trouble the next day at nap too, but other than that she has fallen asleep pretty fast and doesn't ask for the binky anymore. Sometimes she does talk about it; she says she gave her "binky to the lions" and that she's a "big girl now". I'm glad she's doing well and so the story ends..... "goodbye binky!"