Bye Bye Binky

(That title is a total misnomer, BTW, but it's just too alliterative to pass up. We never called pacifiers "binkies" and we also haven't said an official goodbye.)

Good news! Operation Gently Limit Pacifier Usage was a success! Honestly, I can hardly believe it worked. I was sure I was going to be surrounded by much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but the whole thing went rather smoothly.

Since I know you're curious, here's how it went down. Yes, I took notes. Detailed notes. I cope with stress by collecting data and being analytical, ok?

Saturday (9/23/17)
Watch Sesame Street video clip of Elmo getting rid of his pacifier. (Episode #4264, if you are wondering. I could only find a bootlegged version on YouTube that I shall not link to, so as not to incur the wrath of the copyright police.)

Talk about how Gus and Gibson are going to keep their pacifiers in bed from now on, not walk around with them in their mouths. They look worried and say, "no."

Sunday (9/24)
When I pick them up from the church nursery, Gus is whimpering and asking for his pacifier, which he somehow lost over the course of the morning. Seeing his sad face makes me more committed to my goal, because I know he can have fun playing in the nursery without a pacifier.

After nap, watch Elmo episode again. Sing the "Bye, bye Binkie" song. [Aside: it is not to the tune of Bye Bye Birdie, although you'd imagine it would be...] I tell them that tomorrow, the pacifier has to stay in bed and they can only use it during sleep time. I say that I want to hear them talk more. They say "ok" but keep happily slurping away on pacis.

Eat frozen bananas for dinner. That's it.

5:55pm (as my stress level rises, the log gets more detailed)
Sing Bye Bye Binky again. Tell them again about leaving pacifiers in bed tomorrow. Apparently they don't understand "tomorrow," because they both take pacis to bed and drop them over the side. Then they ask for a popsicle. Wow! High fives all around!

We then successfully go to the grocery store without pacifiers, which is totally shocking. I have some in my pocket but never have to pull them out.

7:15pm
Back from the store. Boys look at pacifiers in bed and repeatedly ask for them. I try comforting them with toys and blankies, but it doesn't work. I explain if they need pacifier time, it's ok, but they have to stay in their beds with pacis.

7:20pm
Gibson up for a snack

7:24pm
Gus jealous that Gibson got to go on the balcony, so he gets up too

7:43pm
Both back in bed with pacifiers. Gibson was the instigator.

7:44pm
Gus wants more melon. Gibson stays put.

7:46pm
Gus back to pacifier

7:49pm
Both up to play choo choo (where they line up their toy boxes and pretend it's a train)

Pacifier-free until bedtime at 8:30pm

*I'm now going to abbreviate pacifier as P*

Monday (9/25)
7:35am
Gus gets up and leaves P in bed. Gibson up a few minutes later

7:50a
Gus asks for P, back in bed

7:53a
Gus up because he wants to watch me make coffee

8:03a
Breakfast time, then no one asked for P afterwards!

8:50a
Still no Ps! They have stripped themselves down to just diapers but whatever works!

9:09a
They're playing nicely in their bedroom. I say, "I really like hearing you talk more!" They respond by asking for Ps. Oops, guess that backfired.

Gus gets up for about 10 minutes to get dressed and play, but Gibson won't budge.

9:26a
I try a new approach - I leave their room while they sit in cribs with Ps. Tell them to let me know when they want to get up.

9:34a
I hear giggling. Go in to find that Gus has taken off his diaper and, well, you can guess what he's playing with. Good Lord, now Gibson is copying him!

9:41a
Both finally up and dressed, no Ps. Eating popsicles.

Go to library for art time. This turns out to be an extreme test of my patience and willpower, but we make it without Ps. Have to let them cry in the van on the way home and empathize that their Ps are at home in bed.

11:30a
Gus requests P when we get home but only stays in bed for one minute. Tell him I'm proud of him. Gibson is eating lunch, no P.

11:55a
Gus slightly bumps head and requests an ice pack (not P)!

Afternoon nap with Ps, get up after nap time with just a few extra P minutes

3:25pm
I tell them we need to go to Costco. Gus replies by asking for P. Gibson also wants P time, then drinks juice.

No Ps from 3:40-6:10pm but OMG very stressful outing! Ice cream everywhere! I try to take them to the snack bar to get dinner. They see a picture of ice cream on the menu. Silly me, I order it, thinking we can have it for dessert after they eat pizza. Instead, Gibson only eats ice cream for dinner, and that's mostly with his hands rather than the perfectly functional spoon that was provided. Gus eats ice cream first, then wants pizza. Gibson is not interested in sitting around waiting for Gus to finish, so he plays with the garbage cans instead. (Also, FYI the Alhambra, CA Costco is a total zoo no matter what time of day you go there.)

6:10pm
Both are screaming when we get home. I suggest P time. They calm down in a few minutes.

7:40pm
Gus needs about 2 minutes of P time after bath. He is usually really grumpy about getting out of the bath, and tonight is no exception.

8:30pm
Ps in for the night.

Observations:
They seemed to fall asleep faster today for nap and bedtime than usual
Total (awake) pacifier time estimated at less than 1 hour. Whoa! I thought it would be way higher

===
Ok, if you have read this far, I think you're part of my hard core fan club, so I thank you for your support and patronage! :) I'll just summarize the remaining days here for you.

Tuesday (9/26)
Both boys ask for P during breakfast. I feed them more food and that seems to work.

I put them in bed for 5 minutes of P time so I can finish vacuuming. Who's the real addict here??

When they are screaming, I ask if they want Ps, but they say no. Play with Kindles instead.

Both in cribs with Ps, and they each have one leg up over the side. They haven't figured out how to climb out of cribs yet. Oh dear...

I make sure to praise them at bedtime for how they are doing so well at leaving Ps in bed, talking more, and being big boys.

Wednesday (9/27)
I have a moms' group this morning, and the boys go to childcare with no Ps and no drama. I'm shocked!

Now that they can talk more, they're sort of driving me insane. I bet they said "Mommy" 100 times each during our evening trip to the park...

Just a few short incidents of pacifier time today. Usage is definitely decreasing.

Thursday (9/28)
Both suddenly request P time while watching TV in the afternoon. It was after two repair people had come to fix something in the apartment. Related?
=====

And now, here we are, October 6 and the boys seem like they've adapted to the pacifier restrictions. They hardly ask for pacifier time at all during the day. They're still pumped to get a paci for sleep time, so I hope we're back to that item being a sleep association. I'm in no hurry to 100% get rid of pacifiers. That will come when we're all ready.

Overall, I'm surprised that it went as well as it did. This was my first real attempt at explaining something to the boys and then having them demonstrate they understand by their actions. (I mean, a complex idea like "Pacifiers stay in bed," not "Throw this wrapper in the garbage can." It gives me hope for the future that, someday, we'll be able to have real conversations where we actually communicate with each other!