Operation No More Binky!

It was a tough night over here!  It all started yesterday when Emma repeatedly told us that her teeth were hurting. When I asked her why she said her binky was hurting them.  Oh no!  I have known we needed to get rid of the pacifiers for a little while now but I also wasn't in a hurry since I knew what a nightmare the weaning process would be.  Emma has been a really good sleeper for the past year or more - why mess with a good thing?  I really had no plans to force her to part with her beloved binkies (which she was only using for sleep at this point).  She has been so attached to them since she was a newborn.  She had to have 3 in her crib at all times - one for each hand and one for her mouth.  If she lost one she couldn't sleep!  

After her telling me her teeth hurt I knew we had to get rid of the pacifiers ASAP!  I talked to her about giving them to another baby (one without teeth) and she was excited about that idea.  We went up to her bed and found all 3, which she gladly handed to me without one thought.  We put them in a baggie and I told her I was going to put them in the mailbox to send to another baby.  I even went as far as going into the garage and pretending to put them in the mailbox. She never made a peep.  Then came bedtime....

She did the normal routine just fine but when it was time to go to sleep she lost it.  My heart broke!  I reminded her over and over how her teeth were hurting from the pacis and that we had mailed them to another baby.  I would calm her down and then walk out again.  I'd let her cry for a minute or two and then repeat the soothing process.  It broke my heart and I very seriously thought about just giving it back to her.  If it weren't for her saying that they hurt her teeth I definitely wouldn't have taken them away to begin with!  It took her an hour and 45 minutes to finally fall asleep!  Whew!  But the night wasn't over.  She woke again at midnight and was a mess for 30 minutes.  I soothed her (or at least attempted to) a few times until she finally fell back to sleep.  Amazingly she then slept until 7:30am.   

It was a tough night emotionaly for me too.  I hated to see her so upset over something I could have easily "fixed" but I knew it was time before her mouth became permanently damaged.  How could I give her something that I knew was hurting her?  It was also emotionally hard to know that my baby is growing up!  Emma is most likely our last baby so all the 'firsts' and 'lasts' are especially difficult.  How is my baby already 2.5??

I am dreading naptime today and am fairly certain she will never nap again. So sad!!  She has been a great napper since she was born so losing that will be really tough!  I know she still needs a nap so I'm praying that once the initial shock is past she will eventually nap again.  🙏  I'll be sure to update soon!