The Binkie Chronicles

1 month old - "Don't you dare take my binkie!"

The decision was made:
After much debate, it was decided that the binkie needs to go. Although Jennie had "good" binkie habits - only in the crib for nap and night time - we wanted to end the binkie habit all together. Our goal was by 2 years old, but we realized this inconveniently coincided with the arrival of her new baby brother or sister and our need to get her into a toddler bed. Way too many transitions to do at once! I didn't have a hard and fast date for dropping the habit, but then on Saturday night, October 8, Jennie woke up twice in the night crying and calling my name. When I arrived in her room both times, the light was turned on and she was begging for the binkie that had fallen out of her crib onto the floor. She had never done this before - but I think she was getting anxious about all the talking we have been doing about the binkies going away. Two things happened after Saturday night:
1. I moved the crib over about a foot so that Jennie could no longer reach the light switch.
2. It was decided that Sunday night would be the first go at ditching the binkie.

Day 1 - Sunday, October 9

7 1/2 months, middle of July wrapped up
in her beloved fleece blankie and a binkie

We had a fun filled day of apple picking, pumpkin selection, and other festivities at Lookout Farm in Natick, MA. Great family place if you've never gone! Way over priced for the fruit, but had everything you could imagine for little ones including a train that takes you all over the farm. We got home around 1:45 pm, which is rather late for her nap time. Jennie went to her crib with the usual binkie and blankie. You know, one last "ha-rah" with her binkie. However, we missed her fall-asleep-window, and nap time never came. If only she knew it was the last of her binkie naps! At 3:15 pm, she came out of the crib. When she was distracted later that afternoon, the tips of her binkies were snipped off.

9 months old,snuggling up for bedtime

Later that evening, Jennie was practically begging to go to bed. We went through all her usual routine, and when it was binkie ime, we explained that the binkies were broken, like we had talked about for a few weeks. She didn't seem to care at first - until she tried using it a few times, and it obviously wasn't quite the same. She asked if she could throw the broken binkies in the trash, and I told her she might want to hang on to it for the night, just in case. Into the crib she went, and there wasn't any trouble... yet. After about 10 minutes in her crib, she started crying for something incomprehendable. I went in, and she was asking for her Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animal. No problem - I gave it to her and told her to go to sleep. Done deal.... no joke! She passed right out. Not taking a nap in the afternoon may have actually helped her to fall asleep with out a "working" binkie. However, later that night, around 10:30, she woke up and was wimpering. I went in and she was half asleep sitting up. I laid her back down, and whispered that it was nite-nite time. She was clutching the "broken binkie" saying, "Mommy, binkie, binkie. Binkie broken. Binkie broken." It was so sad! She turned her head over on her pillow and fell asleep for the rest of the night.

Day 2 - Monday, October 10
Down for her usual nap about 12:45 pm. Asked for her binkie, and when she got the broken one again, she said, "In crib." Didn't want to use it. However.... for the next 45, she talked, sang, called my name, and asked to come out. After that, she started to cry inconsolably. First try at a binkie-less nap = FAIL.

Bed time went great - fell asleep super fast. Again, after no nap, she was so tired by the time bed time rolled around that she was practically begging for her nite-nite time. No waking in the night, but she was up an hour earlier than usual in the morning.

13 months, binkie and her "hoodie-footies"

Day 3 - Tuesday, October 11
Talked in her crib for about 10 minutes once down for her nap - then fell asleep! Only lasted an  hour, but no tears. Things are looking up?

Bed time went great - was still over-tired, and fell asleep quickly. Woke up at 6:30 am (only 30 min earlier than her previous norm).

Day 4 - Wednesday, October 12
Nap time hit its peak of disaster today. Auntie Lauren was over to witness the melt down, and it wasn't pretty. As I put her down in the crib, she said "Mommy, out." I knew that was trouble. She then started crying as soon as I shut the door. I spoke to her, but the crying only increased. She wasn't asking for a binkie; she was confused as to why she had to stay in her crib when she didn't feel tired. After 20 or so minutes of serious yelling, I went in and rocked with her, and sang to her. She was still letting out some sobs as she slept in my arms. I had tears running down my face as I sang to her because it was so sad. I kept thinking - what on earth and I doing to my baby?? I put her in her crib and she slept for 90 minutes. She woke up and smiled at me, so I felt a little better.

Bed time = success. I think that part of this process is all set. She slept until 7 am.

Day 5 - Thursday, October 13

21 months

This morning, Jennie took a big step and threw away her "broken" binkies. We then went to Toys R Us and she picked out a "binkies all gone" present. She chose a shopping cart with play food in it. She proudly tells anyone she sees that, "Binkies all gone! In the trash."

I added some extra singing and rocking to her nap time routine to help her relax and get into nap mode before I put her int he crib. Seemed to be successful - feel asleep after 5 min or so of protest. Slept a little over an hour. Bed time was great, again. Doesn't seem to need the broken binkies. When she mentions it, I remind her that she threw them in the trash, and she is totally OK with that.

Day 6 - Friday, October 14
Keeping up with a longer soothing routine, and she feel asleep with NO PROTEST, for 90 minutes. Is this really the end of the battle? Bed time was just as good as it has been.

Day 7 - Saturday, October 15
Daddy was in charge for the day while I had an outing with my sister at the Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield. Went great! No nap protest, and she slept almost 2 hours. Bed time was great, too of course.

Getting ready for nap time with Grammie and her cousin, Addy

It is now Monday, and naps have been good, bed time even better. She still has a little trouble settling down at nap time (esp if she thinks she's missing out on something, like Nana and Papa hanging out in the living room on Sunday while she's supposed to be napping) but otherwise she keeps falling asleep and taking great naps. As I type, she is working on over 2 hours! I am so proud of her. I knew it would be tough for her, but I wasn't expecting it to be so taxing on me too. However, what kind of mom would I be if my little girl's emotional troubles didn't bother me, too?

Justin and I have a friendly over-under bet on when she'll have a whole day without mentioning her binkies at all - Thursday, Oct 20th. I took the over, Justin took the under. Either way, we are apparently free-and-clear of binkies and it feels good. Onward to the big girl bed....

Up, Up, and Away!

Can't wait to take off!

Jennie went on her first plane ride on September 24th and thankfully Jennie and all her co-passengers lived to tell the tale!

My mom (Nana), sister (Auntie Kiki), and I (Mommy, haha) took Jennie down to Florida to visit my brother and his girlfriend (Uncle Michael and Shelly). They live in Gainesville, so we flew direct from Boston to Jacksonville and then drove to them.

Pointing out Airplanes

Jennie was a great traveller! I am not sure what I was expecting, but I always seem to underestimate her ability to adapt and be well behaved. She is an amazing little girl. We did a lot of "prepping" for the big trip by reading books about flying on airplanes what happens at the airport, so Jennie was ready to go - in fact, she was narrating the whole experience. We got up to the ticket counter to check bags, and Jennie said, "Giving bags to nice lady!" We went over to security, and she was saying, "Bags on belt, like grocery store." It was quite funny to see that she was disappointed when she wasn't required to take off her shoes. Ready for everything!

Since Jennie is an avid airplane watcher (she never misses one, no matter how small, up in the sky), she LOVED seeing them in  person out the windows of the airport both on the way down, and on the way home. By the time we were ready to board the plane Jennie couldn't wait to see the inside and do all the fun activities that were promised to her; things like eating snacks, reading books, coloring, and playing with toys. Who knew these things would be so exciting when put in context of a plane ride?

Reading her Doggie a story

During the flight down, we were quite fortunate to have the two rows ahead of us empty. Jennie did great sitting in her seat (had her own with a travel car seat), but also liked roaming about a little. Interestingly, she really liked the experience of getting her diaper changed in the minuscule airplane bathroom. She probably thought it was funny to see her Mommy (with a 6 mon preggo belly) try to finagle the whole situation. She kept asking for another diaper, even though she clearly didn't need one.

There were no problems with her ears on the way down the FL. Jennie was certainly in her own little heaven when she got to use her binkie on the airplane. Usually, it is strictly reserved for in her crib, but I really wanted to help her with her ears. Now that the trip is over, we are currently preparing to shed the binkie - but that is a whole new blog post that will (hopefully) be coming soon!

passed out cold after a long morning of travels!

Once we arrived in FL, we got into the rental car and drove to Gainesville. Jennie was a trooper - it was a lot of sitting in one day for a little girl! Thankfully, the drive was quicker than we expected, and then our visit could really start. We gave her a little time to see the house and check out the place, but then it was definitely nap time. She passed right out and slept for over 3 hours - by then I needed to wake her up so that there was any chance she would go to bed that night! Jennie typically naps for about 1.5-2 hours, so over 3 is unheard of. Travelling makes everyone tired though, right?

Jennie LOVED that Uncle Michael and Shelly had a cat and a dog. She instantly bonded with the furry friends and even gave them kisses and hugs each night before bed. She also really enjoyed their neighborhood pool. She went swimming every day - jumped off the sides of the pool with Auntie Kiki and Shelly, fished out the "buggies" with Nana, and practiced kicking with Uncle Michael. The weather was certainly good for swimming - sunny, hot, and very humid every day. We also ventured out to see some local botanical gardens and to a butterfly "rain forest" at the University of Florida. Jennie loved this - butterflies landed on us, and there were fish and turtles to see in the water. The four days went by so fast. It was hard to leave after having so much fun!

Playing on the people-mover with Nana
while we waited out our delay

The flight home was a little more difficult - we got delayed for over an hour in the airport which had us boarding at Jennie's typical bedtime. However, Jennie did not fall asleep on the plane. She was way too excited and interested in the whole experience. Oh, and she really wanted her diaper changed again in the miniature bathroom, hehe. Her ears hurt a little when we were landing this time. I think it was partially due to how overtired she was. She had hardly napped that day, and it was 10 pm. My heart just broke when she looked at me, her eyes welled up, and she said, "Mommy, ears!" and pressed her blankie to the side of her head. She only cried for about 5 minutes, and then just snuggled with me for the last few minutes of the flight. What a trooper!

We went to go get our bags, and Daddy was there waiting for us! Jennie was so excited - babbling about her trip, and she even remembered to wish Daddy a "Happy Birthday!" like we talked about on the plane. Once in the car, Jennie lasted about 30 seconds before passing out cold. 

I was so impressed with how Jennie behaved and handled the travelling. She was curious, interested, adorable, and quite simply a little angel. It'd be nice to think that Justin and I have something to do with it - but I honestly think she is just an easy going kid who loves new experiences. Hopefully our future children will be a lot like her!