Bye bye Binki.

From the time Payton was born, he became a binki baby. He ALWAYS had it in his mouth, and then 2 or 3 more somewhere close by. I really didn't mind him having a pacifier since he would have sucked his thumb instead if we didn't. He has slept great from the time he was born, and I think his pacifier has really helped. In July, when he turned one, I decided he was old enough not to have it with him at all times. So we put his binki in his crib and started telling him he only gets it at bedtime. He did great! It turned into a fun little game when he woke up. We'd pick him up and let him throw his binki (or his 4 binkis) back into the crib. He never had a hard time without it during the day. I was so nervous to take it away at night though. I wanted to when he was 15 months old, but he was getting premolars at the time, and I didn't want to mess with it when he was hurting so bad from teething. This past week, I decided it was time to get rid of his binki as well as his bottle. I had 4 days off in a row and thought I would need it to be up with him at night when he wouldn't sleep without it. Well, to our surprise it was SO easy. He has never taken milk out of a sippy cup, and all of a sudden started to this week. We put him to bed the first night with no binki, and he fussed for a couple minutes then fell right to sleep. He slept through the night, with no problems! It has been over a week and he has done great at nap times and bed time. I honestly did not expect it to be easy at all, and this was SO simple. I am so lucky to have such a great sleeper!

A few pictures of Payton with his binki.






This big step has been bitter sweet. I love that we are getting away from some "baby" habits like bottles and binkis, but I hate that he is no longer needs baby things because he is a little boy, not a baby He is starting to talk, and understanding so much. Where has the past 17 months gone?