Two weeks ago Noah goodbye to her pink paci.  It wasn’t really planned but now that she has adjusted well to Esther being home and sharing a room with her I figured we didn’t really need it anymore.  The only time she used it was at sleeping times and when she was in the car.  Not that bad but we always had to make sure we brought her “pink paci” with us wherever we went.  So, I woke up two weeks ago on a Sunday morning and decided today’s the day.  Today Noah says bye bye to her pink paci.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy and that the first few times going to sleep might be rough but what broke my heart was when I told her that she had to say goodbye to it forever.  She instantly broke down in tears and then said, “I’m sorry, Mommy”.  My heart melted and I hugged her and let her know it wasn’t anything she did.

We had a little ceremony later that morning.  Michael Luke found a small, cute gift box and we had her place both her pink paci and Liberty, her paci attached to a lamb, into the box.  All in all she did pretty good and seemed excited to be praised for her big girl efforts.

Naptime was a little tough.  Mostly because she doesn’t really know how to fall asleep without her paci. So it took about an hour that first day… and we accepted that as a good sign.  That night the girls were laying in their beds getting ready for the bed time story when Noah said, Pink paci, please.”  We reminded her that it was gone and that she wouldn’t see it ever again.  It was then that she broke down into deep heartfelt tears.  Grieving for her paci. And why shouldn’t she?  Her paci had brought her lots of comfort and helped her get to sleep every night. What was she to do now?

I reminded her that she still had her stuffed ape, Armstrong, and that she could still twirl her hair to fall asleep. It seemed to comfort her a little and again she was asleep in less than an hour.

The next day we celebrated her victories of falling asleep without a paci by taking the girls to Toy R’ Us and buying them Candy Land.  The girls were so excited and we made sure that Noah knew this was a special occasion because of what a big girl she had been.  That night we attempted to teach the girls the rules of Candy Land and celebrated everyones victory of making it to the Candy Castle by promising them candy the next day.

Over the past two weeks Noah has done really well.  She’s starting to fall asleep a lot quicker… especially at nap time.  She also asks about her pink paci less and less.  Except for today (Thursday). This afternoon was extremely difficult for her.  She just couldn’t fall asleep and repeatedly went through periods of deep crying.  It’s important for me to remember that as small as the pink  paci is to me it was a big deal for her to say good bye to it forever.  That it really has changed the way she fall asleep.  And that she was emotionally attached to her pink paci.

I remind her that we can still think about her pink paci.  We can remember how it helped her fall asleep, how much she loved it, but I also remind her that she’s a big girl now and won’t be able to see it again.  It was a sad milestone for Noah but I am so proud of her for how well she is doing.

Do you remember having to give up anything special to you because you were getting too old for it?  Have you had to do the same thing yet with your children?  I’m sure we have many more instances just like this coming up.

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