Bye-Bye, Paa-Paa | Pacifier Detox
So, it wasn't until Addison was near 10 months old before she really began to show attachment to her "paa-paa" (pacifier) and "di" (burp cloth...the reason for that name will have to be another story in and of itself...). But, when she attached, boy! did she attach!! Though I have always tried to keep her "paa-paa" and "di" as an option only at bedtime, there were many other times that she insisted on it (car rides, tired times, hurt feelings, sickness, pain, new places/people, etc....), and often we gave in. Though she didn't always have it in her mouth, it was always nearby if needed.
Fast-forward a few months, and she's talking wayyy more {which is hard to understand with her "papNdi" (her combination word for paa-paa and di, as of lately)}...and knowing that she was about to be 2, it was time for "paa-paa" to disappear.
For the last few months, I planned to spend this week getting rid of her pacifier, as she's an "only child" at home this week (sissy's at camp and bubba's spending a week with Nana and Pawpaw). It sounded like the best option. She could "cry it out" a bit without disrupting the older kiddos (especially since she sleeps with Katie). But I tell you, the closer I got to Monday, the more I dreaded this "pacifier detox".
So, this post is more for me than you...I thought, maybe, if I can use you as my "accountability" then I would be less likely to give in to temptation (returning paa-paa). But, maybe this post is for some of you, too...if you have a little one that may one day require a pacifier detox. (Unless, of course, I fail...then I guess it would be a great example of how not to detox...but I digress). So, this entry will be more of a "journal" of Addison (and Mommy's) Pacifier Detox program...I'll just update throughout the process. Who knew it would be so hard?! My other two really weren't that attached...I never worried about this with them. Well, here we go!...
Monday, 7:00am -- Addison wakes up ready for her milk and a little cartoon time. While she is relaxing and enjoying her morning milk, I sneak her 5 extra paa-paa's to a secret location that, if I were truly honest, I probably shouldn't know (in fear that it may make it easier to give in later)...and I leave only 1 pacifier in her bed with the tip cut off.
Monday, 12:30pm -- Addison asked for her paa-paa throughout the morning, but I diverted her attention each time, never offering to get her pacifier. Lunch is now finished, and it's naptime. I'm not sure how I thought this would go, but she got in bed, found her pacifier, and immediately said "uh-oh", and showed me her "broken" paa-paa. I agreed with her that it was broken and told her I was sorry...went through our normal nap routine, and left her to it. That lasted maybe 30 seconds before she let EVERYONE know that she was unhappy and needed her "other paa-paa".
Monday, 2pm -- Yeah, so naptime was a no-go today...hopefully that won't forever be the case, since with her paa-paa she was such a great napper!! So, we opted to take a short road-trip to the toy store to walk around and redeem her birthday coupon. She did finally take a short nap in the {parked} car, but only after "sucking" on a safety sucker {I sure hope she doesn't think I'm replacing one "sucker" for another type...that'd be pointless, huh? -- instead of making crooked teeth from her paa-paa usage, I'd just aid in giving her rotten teeth from a sucker! Yeah, totally not happening... but I'll take it today, to give her at least a small 20 minute nap!! And, as she thought about it, she'd ask for paa-paa, and I'd turn it back to her as a question "what happened to paa-paa?", and she'd tell me "paa-paa broke"..."throw paa-paa away". And that, was that. (Until the next time she asked it...)
Monday, 8pm -- You know, she really didn't ask for paa-paa much this evening (we tried to keep her busy) until now...an hour past her normal bedtime. We went through her bedtime routine, and put her in bed. She cried...and cried...sometimes screaming...sometimes horribly sad whimpers (the whimpers hurt my heart more than the angry screams). I'd give her a few minutes, then I'd go back to talk to her, calm her, and put her back down. Then we'd start again. I'd lie with her...hold her hand...offer lullaby music...but all she wanted was "paa-paa". Honestly, this was HARD! It was soooo tempting to go get one of the "hidden" ones to give to her. She would've been asleep in less than 5 minutes had I done so...but she started settling down more and more, so I delayed myself. And, soon, she was asleep. I didn't know for how long, but she was asleep...and without her paa-paa.
Tuesday, 7am -- We made it through the night!! And, believe it or not, she woke with a smile, and never asked me at all about her paa-paa. It helped to know I had made it through the first 24 hours, but I can't say that I wasn't worried about how today would go...technically it should get easier...but that's never guaranteed. Time will tell, I suppose.
Tuesday, 12pm -- Until now, she has not made one mention of her paa-paa!! Wow!!! She went through her "spill" about what happened to paa-paa, and then just asked for her milk and "di". Her tiredness is kicking in now, though...and we'll be home for naptime soon, so we will see how this goes...
Tuesday, 2:30pm -- Believe it or not, I put her in bed for nap, and she WENT TO SLEEP!! No paa-paa...didn't even ask for it! She may have just been beyond tired...or maybe she's getting used to it. But either way, this Momma will take it as a victory!
Tuesday, 9:00pm -- Her bedtime is getting longer and later these days (partially because we were trying to wear her down a bit more). I think she really just doesn't know how to settle herself without her "paa-paa"....But she didn't even mention it at bedtime!! She did ask about it once while in the car, but she told "Dada" what happened to it, and that was that! I'll take this as another victory...she went to sleep on her own, with minimal crying, and with no pacifier! That's day TWO in the books!!
Wednesday, 7am -- I'm hearing less and less of "paa-paa" now. She's finally moving on without it. Granted, she hasn't seen any pacifiers either (which I'm afraid may be hard when she sees her sweet cousin with hers, since they look like hers), but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. We are T-3 days until our beach/family reunion trip, so I am in hopes that the additional days away will help her to fully move on to normality without her pacifier. At this point, I must agree that the first day is the hardest...and it's harder for the parents than the child. I thought this was going to be the worst week ever trying to detox her from paa-paa, but although I hate seeing her upset (like she was on day 1), I love seeing that smile and hearing those forming sentences (that were so hard to see/hear with her pacifier)! It's worth the trouble...
Wednesday, 9pm -- We have officially made it a full 24 hours without the mention of "paa-paa"...AND she went straight to sleep without crying or whining tonight! I'm calling it (and hoping to be right) that we are now "fully detoxed" and pacifier free! It did get progressively easier over the last couple of days. Monday was definitely the hardest...but days like today (and all following) make it worth it!!
Bye-bye, Paa-Paa!! For GOOD!
Fast-forward a few months, and she's talking wayyy more {which is hard to understand with her "papNdi" (her combination word for paa-paa and di, as of lately)}...and knowing that she was about to be 2, it was time for "paa-paa" to disappear.
For the last few months, I planned to spend this week getting rid of her pacifier, as she's an "only child" at home this week (sissy's at camp and bubba's spending a week with Nana and Pawpaw). It sounded like the best option. She could "cry it out" a bit without disrupting the older kiddos (especially since she sleeps with Katie). But I tell you, the closer I got to Monday, the more I dreaded this "pacifier detox".
So, this post is more for me than you...I thought, maybe, if I can use you as my "accountability" then I would be less likely to give in to temptation (returning paa-paa). But, maybe this post is for some of you, too...if you have a little one that may one day require a pacifier detox. (Unless, of course, I fail...then I guess it would be a great example of how not to detox...but I digress). So, this entry will be more of a "journal" of Addison (and Mommy's) Pacifier Detox program...I'll just update throughout the process. Who knew it would be so hard?! My other two really weren't that attached...I never worried about this with them. Well, here we go!...
Monday, 7:00am -- Addison wakes up ready for her milk and a little cartoon time. While she is relaxing and enjoying her morning milk, I sneak her 5 extra paa-paa's to a secret location that, if I were truly honest, I probably shouldn't know (in fear that it may make it easier to give in later)...and I leave only 1 pacifier in her bed with the tip cut off.
Monday, 12:30pm -- Addison asked for her paa-paa throughout the morning, but I diverted her attention each time, never offering to get her pacifier. Lunch is now finished, and it's naptime. I'm not sure how I thought this would go, but she got in bed, found her pacifier, and immediately said "uh-oh", and showed me her "broken" paa-paa. I agreed with her that it was broken and told her I was sorry...went through our normal nap routine, and left her to it. That lasted maybe 30 seconds before she let EVERYONE know that she was unhappy and needed her "other paa-paa".
Monday, 2pm -- Yeah, so naptime was a no-go today...hopefully that won't forever be the case, since with her paa-paa she was such a great napper!! So, we opted to take a short road-trip to the toy store to walk around and redeem her birthday coupon. She did finally take a short nap in the {parked} car, but only after "sucking" on a safety sucker {I sure hope she doesn't think I'm replacing one "sucker" for another type...that'd be pointless, huh? -- instead of making crooked teeth from her paa-paa usage, I'd just aid in giving her rotten teeth from a sucker! Yeah, totally not happening... but I'll take it today, to give her at least a small 20 minute nap!! And, as she thought about it, she'd ask for paa-paa, and I'd turn it back to her as a question "what happened to paa-paa?", and she'd tell me "paa-paa broke"..."throw paa-paa away". And that, was that. (Until the next time she asked it...)
Monday, 8pm -- You know, she really didn't ask for paa-paa much this evening (we tried to keep her busy) until now...an hour past her normal bedtime. We went through her bedtime routine, and put her in bed. She cried...and cried...sometimes screaming...sometimes horribly sad whimpers (the whimpers hurt my heart more than the angry screams). I'd give her a few minutes, then I'd go back to talk to her, calm her, and put her back down. Then we'd start again. I'd lie with her...hold her hand...offer lullaby music...but all she wanted was "paa-paa". Honestly, this was HARD! It was soooo tempting to go get one of the "hidden" ones to give to her. She would've been asleep in less than 5 minutes had I done so...but she started settling down more and more, so I delayed myself. And, soon, she was asleep. I didn't know for how long, but she was asleep...and without her paa-paa.
Tuesday, 7am -- We made it through the night!! And, believe it or not, she woke with a smile, and never asked me at all about her paa-paa. It helped to know I had made it through the first 24 hours, but I can't say that I wasn't worried about how today would go...technically it should get easier...but that's never guaranteed. Time will tell, I suppose.
Tuesday, 12pm -- Until now, she has not made one mention of her paa-paa!! Wow!!! She went through her "spill" about what happened to paa-paa, and then just asked for her milk and "di". Her tiredness is kicking in now, though...and we'll be home for naptime soon, so we will see how this goes...
Tuesday, 2:30pm -- Believe it or not, I put her in bed for nap, and she WENT TO SLEEP!! No paa-paa...didn't even ask for it! She may have just been beyond tired...or maybe she's getting used to it. But either way, this Momma will take it as a victory!
Tuesday, 9:00pm -- Her bedtime is getting longer and later these days (partially because we were trying to wear her down a bit more). I think she really just doesn't know how to settle herself without her "paa-paa"....But she didn't even mention it at bedtime!! She did ask about it once while in the car, but she told "Dada" what happened to it, and that was that! I'll take this as another victory...she went to sleep on her own, with minimal crying, and with no pacifier! That's day TWO in the books!!
Wednesday, 7am -- I'm hearing less and less of "paa-paa" now. She's finally moving on without it. Granted, she hasn't seen any pacifiers either (which I'm afraid may be hard when she sees her sweet cousin with hers, since they look like hers), but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. We are T-3 days until our beach/family reunion trip, so I am in hopes that the additional days away will help her to fully move on to normality without her pacifier. At this point, I must agree that the first day is the hardest...and it's harder for the parents than the child. I thought this was going to be the worst week ever trying to detox her from paa-paa, but although I hate seeing her upset (like she was on day 1), I love seeing that smile and hearing those forming sentences (that were so hard to see/hear with her pacifier)! It's worth the trouble...
Wednesday, 9pm -- We have officially made it a full 24 hours without the mention of "paa-paa"...AND she went straight to sleep without crying or whining tonight! I'm calling it (and hoping to be right) that we are now "fully detoxed" and pacifier free! It did get progressively easier over the last couple of days. Monday was definitely the hardest...but days like today (and all following) make it worth it!!
Bye-bye, Paa-Paa!! For GOOD!