Another Milestone
Today, Leda gave up the binky.
Mind you, we aren't exactly sure how this will play out over the next few days. We are hoping for the best, but not totally sure that Leda understands the implications of what happened today.
I had every intention on a "practice" run with giving up the binky. I have an old one of hers that has been sitting on my desk for a long time now. She knows it is there and has pointed it out on occasion. I've told her it was her "little baby" binky and now that she has a "big baby" binky, she doesn't need the little baby binky any more. She seemed to understand that. So it was my intention to do a practice run with the little baby binky. But I took the big baby binky with us, just in case.
The idea; go to Build-a-Bear and put the binky in a bear, so that she will always have the binky with her, but instead of sucking on it, she would hug the "binky bear." Her friend Paige has one and it worked for her, so I thought maybe it would work for Leda. So for the past week or so I've been trying to talk to her about a binky bear and she sure understood the premise of getting the bear, and that it was called a binky bear, but I don't think she quite got the idea that her binky would be put into the bear, never to be used the same way again!
So, this morning, off to the mall we went. Of course, I entered the wrong level (right wing, wrong level) so we had to walk a little further through the mall than I expected to get to the stairs and go down. In the process we passed the Children's Place, a clothing store, and Leda wanted to go in. So in we went. Which wasn't such a bad idea, because she's going to need flip-flops for the summer and they had them on sale at 2 for 5 bucks! And then, we picked out two dresses that were on sale that match the flip-flops! Cool!
Off to Build-a-Bear we go with our new duds and Leda has lots of fun trying to figure out what she wanted, a bear, a dog, a kitty, so many decisions. She finally settled on the Pink Leopard kitty cat. During this process, I am trying to explain to her that we are going to put the little baby binky in the kitty as she steals the big baby binky from my purse and sucks on it! This is not going well!
With kitty in hand, we go stand in line at the stuffing machine and I am still explaining to Leda that we are going to put the little baby binky in the kitty (I have successfully taken the big baby binky away from her for now) and then it is our turn. Leda picks her heart and does all the neat things the lady asks her to do (hold it up high and hold it down low and jump around with it and warm it up and give it a kiss, and into the kitty it goes.) And Leda helps put the stuffing in the kitty by standing on the pedal and watches as the lady stuffs her kitty. Then, the moment of truth...
I bend down and show Leda that we are putting the little baby binky in her kitty and she seems to understand what is happening. The next thing I know, she's grabbing the other binky out of my hand and she is putting it in the kitty. I stop her for a second and tell her that if she does that, it will be staying in the kitty...no more binky at naps or night time. She says, "I know," (with the attitude of a teenager, my mother would be so proud) and shoves it in the kitty.
Off to give the kitty a shower, pick out a little baby kitty for it and name it. Leda couldn't come up with a name, and really, neither could I, not one that Leda liked, until I said, "Okay, why don't we call her Binky Kitty," to which Leda wholeheartedly agreed. We paid for Binky Kitty and off we went to have a slice of pizza. After that, we headed off to the book store for a little book shopping! We found a great big book of Disney fairy tales and a few beginner readers for Leda and Julie Andrews' memoir for Mommy. And then off for home we go.
When we got home, it was time to try out Binky Kitty for the first time! It was nap time! I got Leda into bed and she turned around and said to me, "I want my Binky." I was totally expecting this. Had no clue what I was going to do or say when it happened, but I totally expected it.
Well, I explained to her that we put her binky in Binky Kitty and if she wants to she can hug Binky Kitty when she feels she needs her binky. As I was explaining this to her, I see on her face that she is not buying this, not one bit. The lower lip started protruding out and the poor child's face just looked pitiful. "I want to get another binky" she says to me. So I tell her that big girls don't need binkies and she's a big girl. To which I am told, "I don't want to be a big girl." This is not going well at all.
Some how I get her to settle down, cover up and try and take a nap. 10 minutes later I am summoned back to her room and told, "I'm not tired, I'm awake. And I want a Peanut Jelly sandwich."
After a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a little play with her stuffed animals, new and old, and a tea party with her dolls, I finally succeeded in getting her to lie down and take a nap for a little while. At this point, she didn't even bother to mention the binky. So not sure if she just forgot it or if she's saving up for tonight's bedtime!
All-in-all, I think it went well. Brock and I had discussed it that if worst came to worst, we could rip open the stuffed animal and dig the binky out. But I think that would just make things worse in the long run. Leda is a binky-free kid from now on. We may pay for it for a few days, or even weeks, but she's done with the binky. And, I am sure, that if we don't pay for it now, there will be a month, maybe even a year, worth of therapy we will pay for in her teens as she works through "the day they made me give up the binky."
So, was that it? Was that the last milestone my baby goes through that indicates she is now a child, not an infant or a toddler anymore? Because I'm starting to feel like I'm leaving a part of this whole experience behind and moving onto the next phase and that my kid, she's getting older and bigger and it won't be long now that I won't be able to cuddle with her like I used to. Geez, guess I'm gonna be the one who needs therapy over this!
Mind you, we aren't exactly sure how this will play out over the next few days. We are hoping for the best, but not totally sure that Leda understands the implications of what happened today.
I had every intention on a "practice" run with giving up the binky. I have an old one of hers that has been sitting on my desk for a long time now. She knows it is there and has pointed it out on occasion. I've told her it was her "little baby" binky and now that she has a "big baby" binky, she doesn't need the little baby binky any more. She seemed to understand that. So it was my intention to do a practice run with the little baby binky. But I took the big baby binky with us, just in case.
The idea; go to Build-a-Bear and put the binky in a bear, so that she will always have the binky with her, but instead of sucking on it, she would hug the "binky bear." Her friend Paige has one and it worked for her, so I thought maybe it would work for Leda. So for the past week or so I've been trying to talk to her about a binky bear and she sure understood the premise of getting the bear, and that it was called a binky bear, but I don't think she quite got the idea that her binky would be put into the bear, never to be used the same way again!
So, this morning, off to the mall we went. Of course, I entered the wrong level (right wing, wrong level) so we had to walk a little further through the mall than I expected to get to the stairs and go down. In the process we passed the Children's Place, a clothing store, and Leda wanted to go in. So in we went. Which wasn't such a bad idea, because she's going to need flip-flops for the summer and they had them on sale at 2 for 5 bucks! And then, we picked out two dresses that were on sale that match the flip-flops! Cool!
Off to Build-a-Bear we go with our new duds and Leda has lots of fun trying to figure out what she wanted, a bear, a dog, a kitty, so many decisions. She finally settled on the Pink Leopard kitty cat. During this process, I am trying to explain to her that we are going to put the little baby binky in the kitty as she steals the big baby binky from my purse and sucks on it! This is not going well!
With kitty in hand, we go stand in line at the stuffing machine and I am still explaining to Leda that we are going to put the little baby binky in the kitty (I have successfully taken the big baby binky away from her for now) and then it is our turn. Leda picks her heart and does all the neat things the lady asks her to do (hold it up high and hold it down low and jump around with it and warm it up and give it a kiss, and into the kitty it goes.) And Leda helps put the stuffing in the kitty by standing on the pedal and watches as the lady stuffs her kitty. Then, the moment of truth...
I bend down and show Leda that we are putting the little baby binky in her kitty and she seems to understand what is happening. The next thing I know, she's grabbing the other binky out of my hand and she is putting it in the kitty. I stop her for a second and tell her that if she does that, it will be staying in the kitty...no more binky at naps or night time. She says, "I know," (with the attitude of a teenager, my mother would be so proud) and shoves it in the kitty.
Off to give the kitty a shower, pick out a little baby kitty for it and name it. Leda couldn't come up with a name, and really, neither could I, not one that Leda liked, until I said, "Okay, why don't we call her Binky Kitty," to which Leda wholeheartedly agreed. We paid for Binky Kitty and off we went to have a slice of pizza. After that, we headed off to the book store for a little book shopping! We found a great big book of Disney fairy tales and a few beginner readers for Leda and Julie Andrews' memoir for Mommy. And then off for home we go.
When we got home, it was time to try out Binky Kitty for the first time! It was nap time! I got Leda into bed and she turned around and said to me, "I want my Binky." I was totally expecting this. Had no clue what I was going to do or say when it happened, but I totally expected it.
Well, I explained to her that we put her binky in Binky Kitty and if she wants to she can hug Binky Kitty when she feels she needs her binky. As I was explaining this to her, I see on her face that she is not buying this, not one bit. The lower lip started protruding out and the poor child's face just looked pitiful. "I want to get another binky" she says to me. So I tell her that big girls don't need binkies and she's a big girl. To which I am told, "I don't want to be a big girl." This is not going well at all.
Some how I get her to settle down, cover up and try and take a nap. 10 minutes later I am summoned back to her room and told, "I'm not tired, I'm awake. And I want a Peanut Jelly sandwich."
After a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a little play with her stuffed animals, new and old, and a tea party with her dolls, I finally succeeded in getting her to lie down and take a nap for a little while. At this point, she didn't even bother to mention the binky. So not sure if she just forgot it or if she's saving up for tonight's bedtime!
All-in-all, I think it went well. Brock and I had discussed it that if worst came to worst, we could rip open the stuffed animal and dig the binky out. But I think that would just make things worse in the long run. Leda is a binky-free kid from now on. We may pay for it for a few days, or even weeks, but she's done with the binky. And, I am sure, that if we don't pay for it now, there will be a month, maybe even a year, worth of therapy we will pay for in her teens as she works through "the day they made me give up the binky."
So, was that it? Was that the last milestone my baby goes through that indicates she is now a child, not an infant or a toddler anymore? Because I'm starting to feel like I'm leaving a part of this whole experience behind and moving onto the next phase and that my kid, she's getting older and bigger and it won't be long now that I won't be able to cuddle with her like I used to. Geez, guess I'm gonna be the one who needs therapy over this!
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