Battle of the Binky

So it is time I admit to myself that my daughter has a problem. She is an addict and her binky is her vice.

When I was pregnant people would always ask me if I was going to give her a pacifier, and I always responded with "no, I do not want to have to deal with breaking the habit". I remembered my nephews withdrawal. The crying, the shakes, the mood swings. It was all just to much to watch. So I decided that I would not allow my precious little one to suffer from binky withdrawals.

Just a few hours after she came into the world my little bundle of joy would not stop crying. Oh was she fussy. She refused to sleep at night and needed constant comforting. And that's when it happened, the nurse recommended we try the binky. They actually supplied them in the vending machine down the hall in the maternity ward. A vending machine for binkys, we thought they must really work wonders. And as new parents we were desperate to make the crying stop.

So my husband made the trip to the vending machine and purchased my daughters first package of binkies and the addiction began.

My daughter has been on the binky for 15 months now. Her pediatrician, day care provider, my mother have all informed me that we must break her of this habit. I swear we are trying to get her to stop, but she is a strong willed little tyke. The first time I tried to take her off the binky was a disaster. It was bedtime and I thought I could get her to sleep without it. She screamed for nearly an hour with no stop in sight. I tried to out will her in the fight, but she was having none of it. I finally broke down and put her binky in her month and within minutes she was sound asleep

Then I tried to withhold the binky from her when we were in the car. I figured she could survive a short car trip without it. I was wrong. She screamed as loud as she could. After 15 minutes I gave in.

So I continue the battle of the binky but so far it is Toddler 2, Mommy 0. I will continue to try and break her of this nasty habit, but I feel there is no end in site. I am especially worried because she will be going into the big girl room at daycare next week. The room is filled with toddlers from 15-24 months and none of them use their binkies anymore. It's not that I fear she will be the only one in the room who is using a binky, I am more afraid that she will cause the other toddlers to relapse. I can just see it now....... Claire walks into the room with her binky in, the other toddlers eye it and start getting the shakes, then during snack time she lets them take a hit of her binky for half of their snack.

Eventually I will help her break her habit, but until then the battle rages on.