Paci-geddon

Pray for us.

As of this afternoon, we are a pacifier-free house.

We may never sleep again.

Keegan and Audrey still both use pacifiers at night (as well as naptime for Audrey).  I’m not that worried about Audrey.  She is ready.  We have been talking about what she wanted the “paci fairy” to bring her.  Immediately, Audrey said she wanted a pink bike and stuck to that story.  We knew we needed to do it with her before her third birthday.  We had the intersection of three “big girl” milestones coming though (pacifier, big bed, and potty training) but hardly knew which to do first.  

Keegan solved that problem for us.  He is about to lose his first tooth!  You see, we never took Keegan’s pacifier away.  He didn’t eat for so long that it satisfied his need for oral fixation and also kept his jaw muscles from atrophy.  In addition, it provided him with comfort during some very difficult times.  The dentist backed us up.  As much as it is recommended to get rid of the habit before children get past 2 years old, the dentist said no real harm would come of it until his permanent teeth came in.  If it gave him comfort, let him have it.  Well, push has come to shove, and that tooth is about to come out any day.

So today, we packed up the pacifiers, went to the store, and “paid” for two shiny new “big kid” bikes.  The cashier kindly told the kids that the “paci fairy” would come tonight and pick up the pacis.  Audrey had difficulty going down at naptime.  She cried a bit – more of a “woe is me” cry, than a “I can’t stand this” cry – but slept well.  Keegan was a trooper at first.  He made it through his central line dressing change without so much as a mention of the darned thing, but then it was time to get into bed.  His meltdown was definitely of the “I can’t stand this” type.  Audrey was beyond sweet trying to console him.  “It’s ok, Bubby.  We traded them for new bikes, ‘member?  You’ll be ok.  Just go sleep now!”  She didn’t fuss at all at bedtime but took some time to fall asleep.  Keegan took awhile but ultimately went down much sooner than we anticipated.  There may or may not have been some benadryl involved.  I plead the Fifth.  

Now, sleeping through the night will be a completely different story.  I fear we will not get one solid night of sleep for quite some time.  I can only hope that it will be short-lived!

Audrey can pedal, but often she just prefers to push her babies along.

The best part of Audrey’s determination to ride a bike?

Something Keegan has been working very hard on for the last two years.

It finally clicked, and we couldn’t be more proud.