Oral Fixation

This girl.

Oh, this girl.

Our little binky-loving girl.

So, both of my daughters are rather, um, oral. Charlotte is an avid thumb-sucker (by the way, the suggestion box is closed on that, folks--the pediatrician's advice, the dentist's input, and my own thumb-sucking childhood are steering our parenting of Charlotte and her thumb, thankyouverymuch.)

Lorelei never sucked her thumb. But good lord, she loved herself a good pacifier. As she aged, we really only used the binky during sleep (at home--yes, daycare is better at parenting than we are--no paci there!), story time/evening routine, morning diaper change, etc. We'd also bring them to church, so whatever poor soul had to mollify her in the church nursery had at least one sure-fire tool at their disposal to calm her.

But Lorelei got increasingly intelligent, and with her big-girl bed, she now had access to her pacifiers (mainly because we were too dumb to put them up high where she couldn't reach). So, she'd disappear for a minute and then reappear, toy seahorse (her FAVORITE TOY IN THE UNIVERSE) in hand, pacifier in her mouth, suck suck sucking like Maggie Simpson. With defiance blazing in her eyes.

"We're so freaking screwed," we said.

Over the long weekend, we finally committed to Operation No More Pacifier. We followed the pediatrician's sage advice and after Lorelei's nap, we had her gather up all her pacifiers and throw them in the trash can, saying, "Bye-bye, pacifiers!" and waving adios. She happily threw away all of them--except the one in her mouth. FINALLY, pop! out it came. She tossed it, waddled down the hall with her distinctive Lorelei cadence, had second thoughts, and bolted back to her room and into the garbage can.

So, I removed the trash can from her room.

The evening routine and bedtime was, well, LOUD. So. Much. Crying.

Each night has improved, big time, along with nap times, so we're optimistic that we've actually, like, succeeded.

Nighttime wake-ups have been a little tricky, because we can't just swoop in and re-plug Lorelei with a pacifier. So far, though, she's coping very well. We rub her back and cover her up with a blanket (if she wakes, it's usually because the AC kicked on and she's cold).

Ironically, as I type this, she has woken up, crying, and my little trick of back rub + blanket has yet to . . .  oh, wait, yes. Yes, it DID work. Freaking AC vent blows straight down on her.

Anyhoo, Lorelei has accepted that pacifiers are no longer part of her life. I'm relieved. Very, very relieved. Her dependence on them wasn't as acute as perhaps we thought, which is why we kept delaying the cold-turkey removal. I'm weirdly proud of her, too, for coping, adapting, becoming just a little more of a big girl.

And the other thing? I get to see her pretty face so much more when there's no pacifier blocking my view! That sweet, giggly morning diaper change? I actually SEE her smile. At night, she gives me all her signature Lorelei looks, unencumbered, and I just want capture every expression. During stories, she talks, WE talk, and instead of the binky acting as a plug, she's creating freaking WORDS. And when I finish singing her a lullaby, she looks up at me with those gorgeous blue-green-gray eyes (her eye color changes by the hour, just like her daddy's) and says, crystal clear with no obnoxious fake nipple in her mouth to muddle her speech, "More, Mommy. More."