Kathy said during breakfast time on April 22, 2008

There is one thing I really dislike about parenting.  Tough love.  I can take the sleepless nights (ask me that again one day), the crying, the scraped knees, the splinter removals, the tantrums… I can even take my fair share of poop under the fingernail.  But this part, the part that requires me admitting I know what’s best for him even if it means my heart breaks into a tiny million pieces.  Of course, this is nothing on the grand scale.  As Joelle put it “Wait until he is 16 and screaming YOU RUINED MY LIIIIIFE!!!! because you took away his Wii privileges”.  And she is totally right.  There are worse things about parenting to come.

But at 10pm when your 2 year old is crying pitifully in his bed for his binkie and you can’t give it back because if you do, you’ll make things worse rather than better, you just feel like the worse Mom on the planet.  That’s right, we’ve begun Project Binkie Removal™. I never intended for my kid to get hooked on a binkie.  I never gave him once since I breastfed but one day he just took one and never looked back. He loved it since then and I thought he’d get bored of it just like he got bored of bottles.  But he didn’t.  It was never allowed outside his crib, so it’s not an issue impeding speech (he never stops talking....ever....) or blocking any social interaction.  He had it for naps and bedtime.  But he’s 2 years old an then some and I have had this sinking feeling it was just time to start the process seeing just how attached he’s become to it.

Night 1: Cried, in waves...especially when he couldn’t find it (because it wasn’t there)… then stayed up until 10 reciting colors, the alphabet, counting and singing songs.  Was restless through the night but didn’t get up.  Got up a little earlier than usual but was cheery and bouncing up and down in his usual mood.  If that’s the worst of it, we’re in good shape.

Now if I can still get his usual 3 hour nap without a binkie I’m golden.  I think my luck might run out on that one but we’ll see how it goes today.  If I blog again later drunk you’ll know the outcome.