Adios My Old Friend

Finally. The day has arrived. I thought it might never come, but to my surprise and much awaited delight, the last days of the dreaded pacifiers have come to it's end. Just over two years ago, little Alex (not really so little as he was born at a whopping 9 pounds) was born and within 24 hours of his birth, I did the ultimate 'no-no'. After 29 hours of labor and hours on end of crying, a very tired mama (that's me), decided to give the little guy his first pacifier. It worked, and I slept. It was wonderful. Over the last two years, the pacifier has been Alex's best friend. In the night, he would happily suck it non-stop for his comfort (and mine). During his many trips to the hospital and doctors, he would calm down quickly with a pacifier to ease his distress. During colds, the pacifier would ward away his tears as he combated his snotty nose. It was his his true blue friend for two whole years. And then the pediatrician said it must go. We opted for the Pacifier Fairy for our battle to rid the house of the sucking monstrosities. It worked...for awhile. For two weeks, we were to say good-bye to one pacifier every third or fourth night. Alex would choose which of the 5 pacifiers he would never see again and place it in a basket. And the next morning, the Pacifier Fairy would leave a nice toy in his basket as a trade. 5, 4, 3, 2,....and then there was one. Upon this last night, utter horror broke loose at bedtime. Alex refused to say goodbye to his last orange pacifier. All hope was lost. I feared that I would infact have a 16 year old still hooked on this devil's chew toy. Then earlier last week, I sat down and had a nice talk with Alex. I explained how he was a big boy and that he wouldn't want to go see his cousins for Thanksgiving with a pacifier. And if he were to get rid of it, that next morning when he woke up, we would celebrate with a candy and ice cream breakfast. I, of course, was just floored when he looked up at me and said, "Okay, mommy. By Paci!" And that, my friends, was the end.
He slept without a pacifier for the first time in 2 years. The first thing he said to me when he woke up was "Ice cream and candy, mommy?" So we celebrated his 'big-boy' day with ice cream shakes (soy ice-cream), candy, and ice-cream cones. Prouder, I could not be. Here is my big boy with his celebration breakfast.

Abby has never really caught on on the pacifier. She is a thumb-sucker all the way. And I couldn't be happier. If a third kid is in the picture, I do believe I will avoid the pacifier. It may have a few pleasant advantages, but the side-effects can be a royal pain in the...um...mouth. And here is a picture of miss Abby. Ain't she just a doll?