For the last twenty eight months Savannah has found great comfort in a special friend...... her pacifier, or her "paa-paa" as she calls it! :) We've known for quite some time that the end of the pacifier was drawing near and that she needed to give it up; however, life kept us from "going through with it." At first it was, let's get through Olivia's birth because I don't want her to be jealous of the baby's pacifier. Then it was, I don't want to fly back to Saudi without her having it. Deep down, I was so nervous and was worried that when we got rid of it we would never experience another full night of sleep again! Keep in mind, that we still had an infant who was already waking us up frequently, so the idea of even less sleep was REALLY unappealing. :) Needless to say, the pacifier stuck around for longer than it should have.
When Olivia turned two and half months old we knew that we would be able to start letting her cry it out at night in the next month. Knowing this was on the horizon, made me a little concerned. I wanted Savannah to adjust to sleeping without her paci before our transition with Olivia, so that it wouldn't be a problem if Olivia woke her up. After lots of discussion wit Brent, we decided that Halloween night was the night. We knew that Savannah would be totally exhausted from all of our fun that night, so that would give her a better chance of falling asleep without it more quickly.
I decided to cut off the tip of her pacifier earlier in the day and then let her find it and make the discovery on her own. When she found her paci, she put it in her mouth, tried to suck on it, pulled it out, and was immediately confused. She looked at me and I told her it was broken. She made a few more attempts to suck on it, but quickly realized that her paci was not the same. Over and over again, she told me her paci was "broken." When it came time for bed she was not a happy camper that her pacis were broken. We tucked her in, told her goodnight, and that there weren't any more pacis. As we closed the door to her room, we braced ourselves.
I had envisioned hours of crying and tantrums with little sleep throughout the night. So imagine, my surprise when thirty minutes later she was fast asleep!! Now, don't get me wrong, she gave a good show during those thirty minutes and there were tears, but it was vastly easier than I ever thought it would be. Not only did she go to sleep quickly, but she slept all night without her paci! We were shocked!! I was again reminded that I underestimate my child too often. I am the one that tends to dread the transitions because of fearing how it will change or interrupt things, but she breezes right through them!
For the next two or three nights she would ask for her paci and fuss for a few minutes that it was broken, but after that she was done and it was no big deal. Now, she tells me from time to time, "Mommy, pa-pa is broken." Haha!
Just another sign that our baby girl isn't a baby any more and is growing up faster than I could have imagined she would. Savannah, we love you so much and are proud of you! No more paa-paa
When Olivia turned two and half months old we knew that we would be able to start letting her cry it out at night in the next month. Knowing this was on the horizon, made me a little concerned. I wanted Savannah to adjust to sleeping without her paci before our transition with Olivia, so that it wouldn't be a problem if Olivia woke her up. After lots of discussion wit Brent, we decided that Halloween night was the night. We knew that Savannah would be totally exhausted from all of our fun that night, so that would give her a better chance of falling asleep without it more quickly.
I decided to cut off the tip of her pacifier earlier in the day and then let her find it and make the discovery on her own. When she found her paci, she put it in her mouth, tried to suck on it, pulled it out, and was immediately confused. She looked at me and I told her it was broken. She made a few more attempts to suck on it, but quickly realized that her paci was not the same. Over and over again, she told me her paci was "broken." When it came time for bed she was not a happy camper that her pacis were broken. We tucked her in, told her goodnight, and that there weren't any more pacis. As we closed the door to her room, we braced ourselves.
I had envisioned hours of crying and tantrums with little sleep throughout the night. So imagine, my surprise when thirty minutes later she was fast asleep!! Now, don't get me wrong, she gave a good show during those thirty minutes and there were tears, but it was vastly easier than I ever thought it would be. Not only did she go to sleep quickly, but she slept all night without her paci! We were shocked!! I was again reminded that I underestimate my child too often. I am the one that tends to dread the transitions because of fearing how it will change or interrupt things, but she breezes right through them!
For the next two or three nights she would ask for her paci and fuss for a few minutes that it was broken, but after that she was done and it was no big deal. Now, she tells me from time to time, "Mommy, pa-pa is broken." Haha!
Just another sign that our baby girl isn't a baby any more and is growing up faster than I could have imagined she would. Savannah, we love you so much and are proud of you! No more paa-paa
