If you would have asked me two weeks ago when we were going to break the "bobo" habit or ditch the crib for a toddler bed with my youngest, I probably would have laughed. My answer would've been something like "I'm not sure about the crib, but the "bobo" will probably go to college with him, and I might have to go with him so he can hold my hair while he sleeps"
That was two weeks ago.
It's amazing how quickly and unexpectedly things can change!
Mr. L. has always been a "bobo kid." As an infant, they were a near-constant companion. His big brother rarely used a pacifier; he preferred his thumb as soon as he had the muscle control to put it into his mouth reliably. It was cute at the time, and it was a great self-soothing method. It's been a constant struggle to keep the thumb out of his mouth, since, though! When baby #2 preferred a pacifier, I was thrilled. I could take it away when the time comes (
I thought) and breaking the habit would be a million times easier (
I thought).
How wrong I was! For the first year of his life the "bobo" was always within reach, and a back-up wasn't far away.
They seemed to help quell Mr. L.'s absolute hatred for car rides which made them worth their weight in gold. The fact that they also frequently calmed my seemingly un-cheerable little one was a bonus.
At daycare, they were used sparingly outside of nap time, which I was more than fine with - all the easier to drop the habit later. When he moved up to the next room at a year old, they were a strictly "crib only" soother. When he moved up again at 18 months, we were told they would be slowly and gently weaning all toddlers from their pacifiers. I panicked thinking my baby would never nap without it, but the awesome women at his daycare made it happen almost seamlessly!
Still the "bobo" was a must as we prepared for bed at home and whenever we rode in the car. Even after the pediatric dentist chided me for the damage they were causing and warned me about the need for braces, I wasn't ready to just force him to quit cold turkey. I read all kind of articles about toddlers and even preschoolers who still used a pacifier at bed time. I read about how to break the pacifier habit.
I read anything I found on the topic, and still felt strongly that the time just wasn't right for us.
Then I had a giant mommy fail.
All of the pacifiers in the house ended up in the dishwasher at the same time. The dishwasher was in the middle of running.
It was bedtime and I had ZERO "bobos"! *GULP*
You know what?
Mr. L. handled it like a PRO! He asked several times for his "bobo", and each time we explained that they were all being washed, and we didn't have one to give him. He checked the usual storage places a couple of times, and made a trip to his room to confirm our situation. That was it.
He tossed and turned a little bit more as he fell asleep that night, and he twirled my hair like there was no tomorrow, but he did it! He fell asleep without a pacifier!
The next morning, I knew we couldn't go back. My husband and I quickly made sure all stragglers left in the cars were out of sight, and resigned ourselves to a long car ride to school. Mr. L. surprised us once again! He again asked several times, but was receptive to our explanation that there was no "bobo" to give him.
Over the next several days, he asked less and less frequently.
The transition was so much easier than I ever pictured in my mind.
Feeling like a big boy with no pacifier, must have taken over Mr. L.'s brain -
only a few days later her figured out how to climb out of his crib. Luckily, I happened to be sitting on the floor when it happened, or he'd have fallen right on his head!
That afternoon, Mr. L. helped daddy convert the crib to a toddler bed.
My baby is really growing up! (Now if only it would spill over into potty training!)
The moral of the story?
If you're struggling with something, hang in there. It might seem like the necessary factors you need are impossible right now. But, tomorrow, they might be waiting for you on the door step. Never give up the hope that life you dream of can be yours - be that sleeping through the night, starting your own business, fitness, or anything thing else your heart desires.
Change happens so quickly and unexpectedly. You never know what tomorrow holds. Keep doing the things you know you need to do, but don't stress about the parts you can't control.
Both boys were super excited for this new adventure. At first, they were grabbing any apple they could reach. We paused for a minute to talk about which APPLES we wanted to pick, and which we needed to leave on the TREES to keep growing. We also talked about the apples we needed to leave on the ground because the were rotten, and covered in BUGS. From there, they both did a pretty good job of picking great apples, and not tasting any apples they found on the ground.
There's problem solving: I want to climb up and over this rope net, but I can't reach to go the most obvious way. Is there another way I can go? I want to get to the top of this pretend tree, how do I get there?
There are endless opportunities for signs to be used: HELP, MORE, ALL-DONE, SIT, SWING, and SLIDE are part of every trip. Sometimes we talk about colors or counting. Occasionally, we have to use GENTLE and I'M-SORRY, too.
On our trip, Mr. L. loved the tray tables that pulled out so he was able to reach them. He was really enjoying using his little personal table to play before we took off. Then came time to put the tray tables up for take off. Without the experience to tell him what would happen next and that he would, indeed, get to play again, my tiny two year old got mad pretty quickly. (Hey, you would too!)
