The Day We Took Away Connor's Binky.

Also known as,

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

Have you seen that movie?  Basically, everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.

Let me preface this by saying this is completely my fault.  With Jace, we got rid of the bottle at exactly a year.  We moved when he was 16 months old, and then after we'd been in the house about a month, we got rid of his binky.  So, around 17 months old.  Connor is now 21 months.  We let her keep her bottle until she was 14 months.  Knowing deep down this is probably my last baby makes it harder for me to change these things that make her seem like a baby.  I love looking at her sucking on that pacifier.  I love that she asks for it.  But, it's time for it to go, so here we go.....

We started the morning with story hour.  They were working on Hwy 36, so we got to sit in road construction for what was probably 10 minutes, felt like much longer.  She was not interested in any books, music, or anything that Jace tried to give her.  We couldn't go around the road construction because we were picking up Colton and Kyler for story hour.

Connor's reaction the night before when I told her this was her last night with the "binty".  She is not buying into this idea...

Everything was fine and dandy until nap time.  Our first time without the "binty" as Connor called it.  We sat down to rock, and she wasn't interested.  We had the blankie and "Tig-ee", a tiger with a Powercat on it's rear that Jace gave her, but that wasn't enough.  So we went back downstairs where I showed her: all the binkies were gone except one.  And it was BROKE.  I had cut the tip off it that morning.  She stared at it, she held it, she tried to put it in her mouth, but it fell out.  I convinced her to throw it away.  Then we went back upstairs to nap.  She didn't want to rock, so I laid her in her bed, where she started crying.  I went next door and laid down with Jace, telling him I'd lay there until she stopped crying.

For 10 minutes we listened to her cry.  "My binty! My binty! MY BINNNNNNNTY!  Mom! My BINNNNNNNNTY!" After 10 minutes I went back in, and we rocked and she fell asleep.

She only slept for an hour.  Usually she's good for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Around 5:30 that night we got in the car to take Jace to Blanton's field where Jed was disking.  She asked for it when we got in the car, but didn't fuss too much when I told her no binky.

Jace took this picture when we got to the field...

We got to the field, to find Jed with a stuck tractor, and a stuck disk.  I quickly told Jace to stay in the car, not to talk, and do whatever he had to to keep Connor happy so I could help Jed.  Long story short, after an hour of driving back and forth to the shop, breaking a tow rope, driving around wondering where to find another one, I was calling everything trying to find someone that was close that could come get my kids.  An hour, in the car, with no binky? Oh my.  We were on thin ice.  Morgan came to the rescue and picked up the kids, by this point they had been in the car for an hour and a half.  With no binky.  Jace was doing awesome, keeping Connor happy.  Go figure, we have a DVD player in the car but never use it so there wasn't a movie in there....

By the time we got everything unstuck, hooked back up, I helped Jed get fueled up, and got vehicles switched back around it was 10:15 by the time I went to get the kids.  Connor was O-U-T when we got home, so she went right to sleep.  She got up once during the night, which is rare for her, I rocked her for awhile (fell asleep for awhile) and she didn't stir when I put her back down.  Day 1 down.

Day 2:

I start the day thinking, it's DAYCARE DAY!  Connor and Jace would be at Barb's today, she will be dealing with the binky issue (HAHA!) and I'm gonna get stuff done today!  I dropped the kids off, ran down to Wathena, and was headed back home when Barb calls.

Connor threw up.

So, I turn around, go back and get Connor.  Sigh.  Great.  Now I have a sick kid, with no binky.

Oh, but it gets better.  I call Jed to tell him what's going on.  And, this is the first stretch of dry weather in awhile, so there are tractors/trucks/seed tenders/planters/sprayers etc. going every direction.  Connor and I end up giving Jay a ride from Troy back to the new shop, driving out to where Jed is disking at Leona, waiting there for him for 1 1/2 hours, Connor taking a 30 minute nap while we are waiting, taking Jed to get the seed tender, going to Bendena to get some lunch, and heading out to my parents' house, because I would have to go back to Leona to get him again and it made sense to just stay that direction.  After we go back to get him, we finally make it home around 2, and Connor has taken another nap in the car. 

Bedtime that night she goes to bed with a little crying, but not much.  And she sleeps all night.  

The remainder of the week was full of "on-the-go" activities where we weren't home much at naptime, and she fell asleep in the car at night on the way home from somewhere, but after about a week she didn't ask for it anymore.  We tried to push the "blankie" and other stuffed animals to replace it...but she still cries at naptime.  Not so much at bedtime.

After a few days someone asked me if we were ready to just give it back. Um, no.  Just gonna have to stick it out and we are all dealing with it!

**Update: We are almost a month since we took away the binky and doing great.  She doesn't ask for it, and even saw some binky's at Jena's and didn't care.  I'm not convinced she was ready to give it up...and I read an article by a doctor after we took hers away that listed reasons to take it away, and really, we didn't have one.  Oh well, one more step away from babyhood and into toddlerhood!