Bye Bye Baa

 

 

A few weeks ago we pulled the plug on Bailey's plug.  We got rid of Ainsley's paci when she was a little over 2 but I have really been dragging my feet with Bailey.  I can't even count the number of times in the past 6 months that I have said, "As soon as XYZ happens, we are going to crack down and get rid of his baa."  But inevitable he was sick so much this summer and then we started occupational therapy and they told us to hold off because he was having some oral motor sensitivity issues and so they didn't want us to nix his oral comfort item.  And trust me, I was happy to hold off.  He just loved them so much and I wasn't looking forward to the battle or making him give up something that was so important to him.  But I also was hoping to get rid of them before we had a new baby and then we eventually got down to only 2 that didn't have a hole in the nipple and I was sick of hunting those down all the time.  And then OT gave us the go ahead, so I knew it was time for all of us to grow up a bit. 



 

 

 So a few weeks ago, we made it happen.  I took these pictures the afternoon before the event so that I was sure to have a few to remember this stage.  Then that night, we removed them all from his bed except for one that had a small hole in it that he had previously refused deeming it 'broken'.  Then at bedtime during our nightly stories when he asked for his baa, we gave him the broken one.  He put it in his mouth and then promptly removed it saying "blagh."  We told him his baa was broken and he continued to refuse it saying "blagh."  That first night he shed a few tears for his baa but mostly he was just mad about it.  It took him over an hour to fall asleep but he wasn't overall distraught, more just trying to figure out how to comfort himself without his paci.  He called out for Dadda several times during this process and when George came in, he was just mad about not having his paci and not being asleep.  George would say calming words and Bailey would just yell "NO" and throw things out of this crib and then throw himself down and pout.  Of course I felt bad for him, but it also gives me a further glimpse into this little guy's personality.  Yikes! 

 

It took him longer to fall asleep for bedtime and naps for about a week but oddly, he only asked for it twice during that timeframe.  We took it away on a Friday and he didn't ask for it until Monday at naptime and then again the following Friday.  Don't get me wrong, I was happy about that because it felt less traumatic, but it is also so odd to me that something that has been such a daily staple his entire 2.5 years could so easily be out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  It did make the whole process feel reaffirming in a way though.  And I'm not sure if it is coincidence or not, but since then, he has actually been sleeping more soundly through the night now that he doesn't have his paci.  But another change is that it seems like he isn't as attached to his lovey as he used to be.  In the picture above, he is snuggling his lovey while sucking on his baa and although he still has and wants his loveys in his bed, he doesn't snuggle and love on them like he used to.  :( 

 

All in all, it was a positive transition for all of us.  Now I'm just praying that there isn't a back-slide when the new baby arrives and has a paci!