Binkies are not Forever

My goal for the summer, aside from perfecting a life of leisure, was to rid my son of his binky.


Now looking back I must have been crazy...when David came home to us in February 2008 he didn't take a binky. However, for some strange reason my husband and I thought he had to have one. I guess it was our amateur parenting skills thinking: "if it was made for a baby, then a baby must have it!" What ever did the pioneers do? Alas, we tried and tried with a variety of binkies and he would refuse each one. Finally, perhaps just to placate our own desires, he took a binky. I really do believe he was really taking one for the team. He must have figured, "Maybe these people will stop shoving non-food items in my mouth if I just suck on this silly little thing." What a great sport that kid is! So, here he is a binky baby now. And, of course, the binky he preferred was apparently unpopular amongst babies and thus rarely found in stores. Great!


So, now, at almost 2 years old, mom believes it to be time to say good-bye to the bink. My plan was to ween him off the binky by only allowing him to have it at nap and bed times. A reasonable plan that went fairly well. Until we traveled, that is. In order for a parent to maintain their sanity and for a toddler to not go "postal", a binky is a must have item on a long car ride. We made it through a few trips and with our summer traveling seemingly over for another year, it was time to get serious. I was initiating Operation: Cold Turkey.


We got home from our final adventure on Friday afternoon. David got his binky that night for bed, but the next morning, little did he know, but he would be sucking on that little silicone thingy for the final time. On Saturday morning, upon waking, I took the binky, changed his diaper and haven't looked back. David had 2 binky-less naps on Saturday (mind you he did have a slight bit of trouble going to sleep, but he managed), and went to bed that night for the first time with an empty mouth.


Now, I hope I haven 't jinxed myself, but I think we did it...SUCCESS! We are entering a new season in our household...it's back to school time for mom (and David), little man turns 2 in just 8 weeks, and we have said good-bye to a loyal friend. It is bittersweet...the binky kept him a little baby in mama's eyes, but alas, binkies (and babies) are not forever. My little boy is growing up!


R.I.P., Binky.