That Binky Needs to Go

...but perhaps not just yet. 

Changes have slowly been happening in this house, then as soon as I feel like I am making progress it all gets turned on its head. Let me explain. 

First I have started to cut nursing out of the daily routine. It still happens on occasion, but only about once every three days. This has been hard for me, but is not appearing to be such a big deal for our Littleman. He will still nurse if I make the effort, but he can go to bed and start his day with just a bottle of plain old milk. No big deal. No need for mommy. Breaks my heart a little bit, knowing how quickly he is growing and becoming less dependent on me.

In addition to the nursing changes, we are also working to wean him off of his binky. Let me just say, binky weaning is the pits! The "nie nie," as he affectionately calls it, has been tethered to his shirt for most of his life. He can count on it to bring comfort and solace whenever he is sad, hurt, grumpy, and tired. Therefore, as would be expected, this transition is proving to be much more difficult. For the most part we were doing fairly well keeping him off of it unless we were in the car, napping, or going to bed. The change was slow, but progressing. Then came the sickies.

 The binky weaning was suddenly made even more impossible when Littleman caught a terribly long lasting bug a couple of weeks ago. Just when we were making it through most of the day without our "nie nie" the only thing that could console this kid was the one thing we were trying to be rid of. 

Needless to say, we are pretty much starting over now that the sick bug has receded  He can go for a couple of hours without it, but then wanders around the house calling for his little pacifier friend. He asks me where it is, takes me by the hand, and I "look" for it with him while discretely carrying the binky around in my pocket. The game distracts him momentarily, but he can quickly become distraught once we have made our way from room to room with no success. I try to distract him by reading books, playing with his choo choo, and kicking a ball around. Sometimes it works. Other times I am not quite so lucky. He is persistent and my determination wears down, especially when he starts pleading.

Confession: I am so weak when it comes to his little begging voice. Recently he has even learned how to say "peas" (aka please) and will tack it on to the end of all the other words he knows. "Cheese peas," he says every time I open the fridge. "Cookies peas," he whispers when the pantry door swings open. And most heart-melting of all, "nie nie peas." How can I say no to such a polite request from that angelic little face? I can't, lets be honest. In the end he gets the "nie nie" and I get to come up with yet another new and entertaining way to distract him while also snatching away the peace maker. 

Let's just say, as of right now, the "nie nie" and I have a hate/hate relationship. I hate that my baby boy is so reliant on this bit of rubber and plastic, but I also hate taking it away and having him become a grump. Sigh. I'll say it once more--binky weaning is the pits!