Broken Paci - Day ??

Can I admit something to you?

I'd nearly forgotten we were getting rid of the paci. It hasn't been as rough the last few days.

Lets backtrack. Last week, Edward wasn't sleeping. And we had the occasional meltdown.

I'd planned to snip off more on Wed. But that morning, while we were having playgroup at our house, Edward spiked a high fever. I couldn't bring myself to make life any harder for him while he was already so miserable. So snipping was put off.

On the plus side, the fever made him so lethargic that he caught up on his sleep. (I have to admit that I chose to not medicate him and let the fever run its course specifically so that he would get some rest. Two days of intermittent high temps did the trick.) He has continued to nap just fine ever since. My sleeper is back!

How did the next cut go? Much more smoothly. The cut pacis have an edge that makes it hard to suck on, so Edward had already switched to simply holding it in his mouth. Cutting off more made it feel different, but he didn't have to break the sucking habit again.

For the last several days, Edward has used the pacis less and less. Except for when he goes to bed, he rarely has one in his mouth. And I'm making a point of redirecting his attention when he does ask for one.

All in all, I think it's going really well and hasn't been the ordeal I expected. I think that the next cut might be when we talk to him about throwing them out.

(Thanks Staci for reminding me to update!)

Broken Paci - Day 5

It hasn't been easy. But it also hasn't been horrible.

During the day, he'll occasionally carry one around to chew on or hold on the side of his mouth. It seems that he has a harder time talking with the broken paci in his mouth, so he's pulling it out to talk. Frequently, he puts it down and forgets about it.

That's the good stuff.

The bad?

He has yet to nap since I cut the pacis. Bedtimes involve lots of crying. But because he hasn't napped, a little snuggling or hand holding puts him right out.

Oh, and we did have an incident when he found an undamaged paci. I managed to distract him with a snack and cut it, but when nap time rolled around and he couldn't find it again, all hell broke loose. We have now thoroughly checked his room and think we've found them all...

Ultimately, I think it's working. It just might be a while before our great sleeper makes a reappearance.

Broken Paci - Day 1

Constantly switching pacis to try to find one that isn't broken.

2 hours of crying before he finally fell asleep.

Hope that Edward will decide the broken pacis aren't worth it before weeks of crying drives his parents insane.

(For anyone who's curious, I broke the pacis by snipping off just the tip. If he still wants them, we'll continue to cut off a little every week until there isn't enough to suck and he throws them out. And yes, I cut them all. There is no going back...)