My theories on Binky Breaking

I've noticed something about myself. I'm not as idealistic a mother after 3 kids as I was after 1. For instance, Hannah was potty trained early in her second year, and with Carter it took me until he was 3 to really get serious about it. Hannah wore a bib EVERY time she ate ANYTHING. Yeah, not so much with the boys. They both end up with little food stains on their clothes throughout the day, and I don't change them when they get messy. And I'm thinking, "do you know how much MORE laundry I'd have to do if my kids wore two outfits a day?"

Anyways, this brings me to binky breaking. I broke Hannah of her binky at 13 months, and it went fabulously. Carter was a teeny bit older, 15 months, but it went just as smoothly. I've watched several people go through the ringer with their kids and binky breaking. 2 and 3 and 4 years old, and still unable to sleep without the paci. Oh, I've thanked the stars that I broke them young because it was SO SIMPLE. Everything is easier when you do it young. Hannah potty-trained in about half the time as Carter.

So Ethan. He's kind of an anomaly because he never took a pacifier his entire first year and then found one and about 12 1/2 months, stuck it in his mouth and it's been a permanent appendage ever since. So now, he's almost 16 months. And with the house on the market, and Craig leaving I've kind of been making excuses for myself. "Oh, I just CAN'T handle doing it right now."

I like to think of it as a little more lax, or I guess lazy.

Ethan, by the way has a talent for losing binkies. And yesterday, the last one went missing. Craig took the kids out for the evening so I could do two showings on the house. On his way home he called me and asked if I wanted him to pick up some pacies. I took a deep breath and said no. Then I buckled up and got ready for some crying.

But it went okay. He cried a little more than usual. But then he went to sleep, and didn't wake up wanting his binky in the middle of the night, which was nice. He'll probably whine a little more than I'd like today. But then he'll stop and we'll move on in our binky-less life.

I think I've decided that it's better to bite the bullet now, than to deal with a big dependency later. And I'll be glad I did two months from now, or whenever, when we move and I don't have to deal with all the changes AND breaking the binky.