Konner has always been attached to his binky, which fairly surprised me because his older sister absolutely refused one! When we were in the hospital the nurses gave him one during his little "procedure" and he fell in love with it. I could never get it away from him. There are hundreds of pictures I have of him with the binky stuck firmly in his mouth. I always said that he would never have the binky past age 2, because something about an older child with a binky hanging out of their mouth always bugged me a little bit. ....And then I became a mom of a child who was in love with their binky, and everything changed. He never was attached to a blanket and he was never attached to a stuffed animal, so the binky was the only thing that gave him comfort. It helped him to fall asleep and it helped him feel better when he was hurt or upset. There was nothing he wanted more than his binky.
There was one point when he was around 2 1/2 that I decided the daytime binky needed to go. He was allowed to have it at nap time and bedtime, but during the day I didn't want him to have it. Granted, his big, brown, puppy dog eyes sometimes got to me and if we were at home, I gave in, but for the most part, he only got it when he was going to sleep. However, this little boy is a very smart little boy and would tell me that he was tired and wanted to take a nap so that he could have his binky after I told him he couldn't have it. It always made me smile, that he would think of something like that just to get his binky.
But the day came, he wouldn't keep it out of his mouth, even after repeatedly telling him to. And I knew that he could go to sleep without it, because there were times where he fell asleep before he put it in his mouth. So I knew it was time. That and the fact that he is almost 3 1/2, it needed to go. I was a little nervous about actually following through with it, as I had seen on Super Nanny, taking away the binky is not a fun thing to deal with. Kids cry and scream and throw giant fits for days afterwards. I was NOT looking forward to having to watch my little guy go through this. But I knew that if I didn't do it he would be going to kindergarten with a binky, which I did not want!
So Greg and I decided that we would use the "Binky Fairy" to come take his binkies. This way mommy and daddy didn't seem like the "meanies taking his binkies." In exchange for his binkies, the Binky Fairy would bring him a surprise. We asked him one night before bed if the Binky Fairy should come and take his binkies. He surprisingly said yes, although I don't think he was sure exactly what he was saying yes to. We told him that she would come and take his binkies and give them to new baby boys that needed them and in return would bring him a present. He seemed o.k. with this idea, I mean, who doesn't like presents? He had been in love with the new Mater Tale on TV, Monster Truck Mater, so we found a play set at Target that came with Frightening McMean, it was perfect. So the next night, we got all his binkies, put them in a bag and left them for the Binky Fairy. He was a little upset about this because he didn't realize that meant he couldn't actually have one that night. So daddy had to lay with him for awhile, which is o.k., daddy secretly likes it. :-)
The next morning he woke up and I asked him if he wanted to see what the Binky Fairy brought him. He got this huge smile on his face as he remembered there was a present waiting for him. He was more than ecstatic! He LOVED it! Of course I had to immediately take it out of the box and put it together. He started playing with it right away and wanted to watch Monster Truck Mater while he played with it. It was very cute and I was very happy that things seemed to be working out alright, he must have been ready to give up the binky....and then nap time came.....and along with nap time came the fit!
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| Inspecting his loot |
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| Overwhelmed a little by the fact that the Binky Fairy actually came! |
We actually got off pretty easy I think. He did cry the first 3 days or so, but only at nap time or bedtime. He always asked for his binky, to which we had to remind him that the Binky Fairy came and picked them up to give to the new little baby boys. He would always respond with pouty eyes and crocodile tears. Nothing makes a mommy feel worse than her little boy crying because of something she did. It was my fault that he was so upset and there were times I wanted to give in and give them back to him, it didn't help that Greg didn't think it was time to do this to him so I had no one on my side, but I held my ground. And to my surprise, after about 3 or 4 days, he stopped asking for it and to this day he hasn't asked for it once. I think it helps that his little brother also doesn't take a binky, so I don't have to worry about him trying to steal his.
A few days after we quite the binky habit, just by coincidence, we got him his Build-A-Bear, which is a wolf we named Wolfie. And he has become his new comfort object, taking the place of his binky. When he's sad or upset, he wants Wolfie. When he goes to sleep, he has to cuddle with Wolfie. Wolfie goes pretty much anywhere that he goes, he might even have to go to preschool with him! So the binkies are out and the wolf is in! Giving up the binky habit wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be, I honestly thought he would put up more of a fight, but he didn't, and that makes me feel soooo much better and happy. The Binky Fairy came, left him a present and we are now binky-free! I still somewhat miss my little boy who cuddles on my lap with the binky in his mouth or seeing him smile behind his binky. He seems so much older now that he doesn't use it...and of course I hate the fact that he is growing up so fast! But it is all for the better and he seems happy and healthy without it. Thank goodness it was easier than I thought it would be and thank goodness for the Super Nanny for giving me the Binky Fairy idea! Oh, Binky Fairy, how I love thee! What would we have done without you?!
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