A stupid problem of my own making

I know I probably broke tons of parenting rules, but this is what happened.
We were just leaving the house, on our way to an exciting trip to Wal-Mart, when Ainsley, who was upset about being buckled in the carseat, throws her binky. Well, I make a cursory look around the car and I can't find it. I'm annoyed because I am so tired of the "I'm going to throw my prized item du jour and then get upset because I don't have it" deal. So I tell DH to proceed on, I am not looking for it.

So, by the time we get there (About a 5 min ride) she is in total meltdown. I looked for the binky when we got there, but I could not find it. I am one of "those" people carrying in a screaming child with everyone looking at me. I decide let's go to the pacifier section and get a temporary replacement. Yes, I was that desperate. Ainsley's pacifier has been discontinued, so I knew we wouldn't get an exact one, so I held a few up that were close, and let her pick. She picked one out, I opened the package and gave it to her after a quick wipe off with a baby wipe. Yes, not all that sanitary, but oh well. So then Bea sees Ainsley get a new binky and says "new bap! new bap!". She wanted the other one in the package.

I figured by the time we got home and they were back to their regular binkies, they would discard the new ones (they both use different types of binkies). They wanted nothing to do with their old binkies. So my issue is, should I sneak away these new binkies so they go back to the old ones? Or am I going to have to buy a bunch of new binkies? I have no idea when we will be giving up binkies. I'd love to do it soon as I am so sick of them, but I'm not ready to deal with it. Who knows, this might turn out to be a non-issue, maybe they will use both interchangeably.

 

I don't know if this would work, but could you offer her both and tell her to choose the one she wants to keep? Maybe keep the other one in a "safe location" in case of emergency in the future. Personally I hope mine will give up the old ones when they get "yucky." So maybe hide the new ones and hope they forget about them...I know, Yeah right! Good luck whatever you try. Keep us updated.

Diane
Ashley and Madelyn 5/10/05

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Jun 24 2007, 12:15 AM) [snapback]304699[/snapback]
So then Bea sees Ainsley get a new binky and says "new bap! new bap!". She wanted the other one in the package.
non-issue, maybe they will use both interchangeably.



That sounds soooo cute. I know it must have been frustrating, but how clever of her!

I can so relate to the throwing of a paci in a fit and then the baby getting mad that they lost their pal.

I would just wait and see how they adjust to the new ones. Maybe it will be interchangeable for them.

GL!

 

Take if from someone who waited way too long to get rid of them (we finally did it at 3)....ditch them ALL. I thought it was going to be absolutely unbearable when we finally got rid of them (they were only using them at bed and naptime), but it was only 1 bad night. I expected weeks and weeks of long, sleepless, tear-filled nights, and it was only a couple hours for ONE NIGHT.

I'm not sure what your girls will do, but your post reminds me so much of myself and the HOURS I spent hunting down particular brands and colors, or finding lost pacifiers in the middle of the night, all because I thought it was easier than getting them through the separation. If only I had done it sooner!

You have support here. I will hold your hand! You can do this -- and believe me, you will be so glad when you are through it! Or...if you decide it isn't time, you have my sympathy and total understanding :hugs

 

I would just keep them both and let them choose which ones they want. But if you are planing on getting rid of them soon the first thing you are going to want to do is limit the pacifiers to just the crib and don't let them take them out of there. It will help a lot when you finally decide to get rid of them. I had about 2 or 3 bad nights for when I took their pacifiers away (each night got better with the crying and it was mostly Katrina since she was more attached to it) oh and naps were the harder part for us.

good luck if you decide to get rid of them.

 

QUOTE(Ellen Barr @ Jun 24 2007, 01:45 AM) [snapback]305005[/snapback]
Take if from someone who waited way too long to get rid of them (we finally did it at 3)....ditch them ALL. I thought it was going to be absolutely unbearable when we finally got rid of them (they were only using them at bed and naptime), but it was only 1 bad night. I expected weeks and weeks of long, sleepless, tear-filled nights, and it was only a couple hours for ONE NIGHT.


Kids are different, though. for us it was weeks and weeks of long, sleepless, tear-filled nights, AND we never saw a nap again.

As to the original question, I would probably just let them keep them, but not replace them. If they lose them, they'll either go back to the others or not later. But you don't want to get into the mess of having to have this exact type only...right?

 

I know, you are right Marie. The post just brought back such memories! And, my boys were such creatures of habit. We had to take the lead in changing anything, from dropping night-time feedings to pacifiers. Left up to them, they'd still be in cribs with pacifiers And every time, I'd expect it to be weeks of awfulness, and it was never longer than 3 days -- the first always being the worst. I was just excruciatingly slow at realizing the pattern in our house :blush:

Sorry for the implied judgement!

 

QUOTE(Ellen Barr @ Jun 24 2007, 01:45 AM) [snapback]305005[/snapback]
I'm not sure what your girls will do, but your post reminds me so much of myself and the HOURS I spent hunting down particular brands and colors, or finding lost pacifiers in the middle of the night, all because I thought it was easier than getting them through the separation. If only I had done it sooner!

You have support here. I will hold your hand! You can do this -- and believe me, you will be so glad when you are through it! Or...if you decide it isn't time, you have my sympathy and total understanding :hugs


Thank you! That is exactly where I am at. You should have seen me when I found out Ainsley's pacifier was discontinued. I went online and bought a ton of them, I actually still have some in their packages. They are also on kicks about one particular color being "it" for a few days. I used to be able to hand them any old binky, but now they get all mad if you give them the wrong color.

 

Well, so far today the new binkies are still "it" and the old ones are dead to them. We're thinking this could be our way out of the pacifier habit. If we put all the old ones away, then they each only have one binky and if they lose it, sorry, no more binkies. The only problem that my DH pointed out, is if one girl loses hers but the other still has one, we're going to have Toddler Death Match at our house. I just have to resist the urge to go buy a bunch more of these new ones.

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Jun 24 2007, 05:18 PM) [snapback]305262[/snapback]
Well, so far today the new binkies are still "it" and the old ones are dead to them. We're thinking this could be our way out of the pacifier habit. If we put all the old ones away, then they each only have one binky and if they lose it, sorry, no more binkies. The only problem that my DH pointed out, is if one girl loses hers but the other still has one, we're going to have Toddler Death Match at our house. I just have to resist the urge to go buy a bunch more of these new ones.


You can do it. I think this is the perfect time to ditch the binkies all together. I was petrified of getting rid of them too .... But I took the plunge several months ago when Katy vomited all over about five of the binkies in her crib. I threw them all away, and decided that at this age, I wasn't going to buy anymore. Because Katy was denied her binkies, by default, Bella was too. As much as I worried about it, it ended up being no big deal at all. Just stick to your guns. My girls forgot all about their binkies within a week.

 

I would ditch the new ones and store them somewhere (in the car?) for emergencies. When they don't have those ones, around, I have a feeling they will be plenty happy with their old ones. Unless it is time for new pacis anyway then maybe go ahead get the new ones. But if not, don't spend the money. If they are at all "addicted" to the paci like my Lorien is, she'll be pretty much happy with any pacifier she can stick in her mouth.