Another Milestone - Gone with the Pacifier

After a week and a half, I feel comfortable saying that Oliver no longer uses a pacifier.  For a few months now he's gone without one at nap time and nighttime sleep was the only time he was allowed to use it.  But Chris and I just didn't have the energy to pull the plug for good.  Until relatively recently, Soren was getting up really early and imagining Oliver crying for hours at night and then at the other end of the night having Soren rise at 5:00 a.m. made me want to cry too. 

I actually considered hiring a babysitter for a couple nights in a row to cover bedtime based on the strategy that kids listen to everyone else better than their parents.  Our nanny decided one day that Oliver didn't need his pacifier at nap and he obliged with very few tears.  However, for three straight weekends, Oliver screamed and threw himself about refused to nap without his pacifier.  The reason Chris and I were able to resist giving in and allowing him to have his pacifier so we could all enjoy peace and quiet is because we knew based on the nanny's success with the no pacifier rule that Oliver was clearly engaging in a hard-fought power struggle.  He didn't need the pacifier.    But again, it was a nighttime power struggle I wasn't ready yet to subject myself to. 

Then it occurred to me that ever since our family has settled into a more manageable schedule and I'd been getting a little more sleep, that there wasn't going to be a better time to take away the pacifier for good.  At dinner that night I explained to Oliver that he wasn't going to get his pacifier at bedtime, but that he'd have his brown bear to snuggle with.  Oliver barely batted an eye at the news.  An hour later we got ready for bed and he asked for his pacifier as usual, but I reminded him of our discussion at dinner and that he had his stuffed animals.  I distracted him with picking out a bedtime story and when we were finished, I kissed him goodnight, turned out the light and closed the door.  I waited outside for him to get out of bed and start crying for his pacifier, but his room stayed quiet.   

Sometimes parenting cuts you a break.  Giving up the pacifier can be a battle between many parents and their toddlers, but for whatever reason, Oliver was not going to make this one of them.