The Robison Round-Up: Paci-Free

Back when we were the perfect parents with no kids, we said that we'd never offer our children a pacifier. If they didn't know it existed, they wouldn't need it, right? Then Mason was born. And on night one of his sweet little life I demanded that Sean go home and get the emergency pacifier out of Mason's dresser and bring it to the hospital, STAT. What a wonderful, $3 miracle it was.

We said that by month six he wouldn't need a soother anymore and we'd get rid of it then. But when six months rolled around we were really enjoying our full nights of sleep and didn't want to disrupt them. So we said we'd do it at one year instead, and stop using it in public. The public part of the deal was upheld, but his first birthday came around and there was no way he was going to part with it anytime soon. He had even named it. We're not sure where the name 'dada' came from, but I think it was his way of telling us that his paci was important to him, so important that he would give it the name of the man he loves more than anyone. So we compromised and starting only using it in the carseat and crib. It was the first thing he asked for in the car and the first word he'd say in the morning. He doesn't sleep with anything in his crib other than a little giraffe noise machine that's strapped to the side, so his paci was a large source of his comfort. Our goal was pushed back again to 18 months.

Then last week happened. Mason started a naughty little game where he'd throw his paci out of his crib/carseat before we were even out of the room/backseat. And then he'd scream. And scream. And scream. He's done this many times before so I did what I've done in the past which was go back in, give it back to him, and firmly tell him that I loved him and he needed to go to sleep. This worked for a couple of days, but then he became relentless. My frustration level escalated and I decided to see how long he could scream. Turns out he can do it for his full three hour nap period. This boy is stubborn (no idea where he got that). ;-) Sean and I discussed it, and decided that we were done giving in. If he threw it out, it was gone. Of course he threw it out at bedtime that night, and we stuck to our word. He cried for only 45 minutes this time, then slept until morning. At naptime the next day he only cried for five minutes, and at bedtime that night, for one minute.

I'm happy to report that it's now been a full 72 hours with no paci and he's doing great! He's actually much happier in the carseat, probably because he has no thrown paci to cry about. We promised ourselves we won't go back, because this can't get easier with time and the process was pretty easy compared to other stories we've heard. We're so proud of our big boy!

Here are some Mason & paci pics from the beginning (keep in mind we stopped using it in public a while back so these are all of his 'young' months!):