Pacifier Weaning at 2

 

It is hard to believe that I have a two year old, but I do. A potty trained (read this post here) two year old who is just now going through a traumatic ordeal---the breaking of the pacifier! Can I say that he is not having as bad of a time with it as I first imagined...shall I even say those words? Even if it is only day two!?
Our goal was to wean before his second birthday, but I did not want to do it. Conrad was ready, of course...but I really really enjoy my sleep! So this is how I approached it.

A few months ago I decided to buy him a rotating star night light projector for his room. You can find it here. My thoughts were to take away his pacifiers, and introduce this new cool and exciting thing. I thought that it would distract him from the fact that he didn't have his pacifiers anymore, and he could watch it as he drifts off to sleep. Conrad and I argued about the setting I should leave it on until we decided to put it on the rotating stars and moon, with the darkest light possible. Before bed we had him throw away his three pacifiers. We told him that he was a big boy now, and big boys didn't sleep with pacifiers. He went to the trash and threw them away immediately. Afterwards, I talked to Conrad about another idea that I saw...tying the pacifiers to balloons and letting them go! Micah has one balloon and he didn't let go of it the rest of the evening. Conrad kept joking that he had heard what I said and didn't want that balloon out of his sight! 
When bedtime came I was so nervous! I was prepared for the worst ever! But we went through his normal routine, and instead of giving him his pacifier, we gave him his little owl and let him turn on his AWESOME new light all by himself! I rocked him as we prayed, and then I put him in his crib. He called for us twice, and we went to comfort him, but after that he slept...and he slept all night! 
Today, his nap time was even better. He went to sleep pretty quickly, and has been sleeping over a couple of hours now! He put his star projector on for his nap, as well. I hope that this continues, because never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it to be this easy. I've read the horror stories!

The potential problem with the Star Projector approach: We have to take it with us wherever we go, just like we do his noise machine. This isn't really a problem for me, though. 

Micah is in an ActiveME Camp. He just started last week, and he goes two days a week for three hours. I will only keep him in it for a month, unless I can figure out a way for them to let me take him one day a week because it is expensive. He had a hard time adjusting the first day, and he cried when I left! However, when I arrived to pick him up they praised him, and said that he did great the moment I left! I am excited to see how he does next week. 
I have a test on Thursday, so I wanted time to study and take the test, and this helps me out a lot for this! 

The main reason he is going to this ActiveME camp is because he has been going through an aggressive phase for several months now, and I thought if he was around other kids consistently it would help him to get over this. He has been doing a little better, but we will see after the month if there is any improvement. This phase (I call it the hitting phase) has been the hardest for me to get through, for sure. I even stopped hanging out with some of my friends because I was embarrassed! Our doctor told us the best thing to do is to put him in timeout for two minutes every single time he does it, no matter where we are. 
I realize at the age of two it isn't detrimental that he is socialized, but I know that it helps me with my sanity if I am socialized :)

Anyway, he is the BIGGEST blessing of our life. He brings so much joy to our lives, even if he is a little aggressive ;) ! We have been having so much fun with him, and he is talking up a storm! He is starting to get good at singing along to songs. He knows a few shapes, a couple of colors, and can tell you names of people, even if he hasn't seen them in a while! He traveled with me to Omaha to visit family, and he did wonderfully, and really is a good boy!I realize he picks up on everything we say and do (hence him not letting go of the balloon yesterday). 

         

Let me know if you have any questions! 

Oh, and I started running again. It has taken me a while to get back into it because of my back, but I figure that it isn't getting any better when I don't run. I will go to the doctor this month to see if there is anything that can be done for it. I missed training for a race, so I am going to sign up for the Sweetheart 10k. It should be a good one. This is me getting back into it... #momlife