The Paci Fairy

We did it. We finally ditched the paci. Or Sasha/Sasa as it is known around the house. We knew it needed to be done after her second birthday and just kind looked the other way for a few months. After all of our October travel was finished, it was finally time to pull the plug.

I really was dreading it. See the bottle of wine behind the cut up paci? That's no coincidence. We had gotten her down to (mostly) only using the paci at night and during her naps, but occasionally during the day I would let her have it in the car. I started cutting the nubbins off and when she would ask what happened, I would tell her they were broken because she's a big girl...and pacis only work for babies.

I saved the cutting of the last paci for a Friday night, thinking if we could make it through the weekend, we would probably be ok. Operation Paci Removal actually went much smoother than I expected. The first night was no biggie. The next morning was a different story. She was upset and was missing the only soothing mechanism she has had since she was wee-one. I felt really bad for her, but Greg and I just took turns trying to help her calm down and did not cave in.

I decided it was time to introduce the idea of the Paci Fairy. I headed to the toy store to pick up a special present for the Paci Fairy to leave Kennedy. We talked about it with Kennedy, and since she is pretty into Tinkerbell these days, any mention of a Fairy sparks her attention. She gathered up all her remaining "broken" pacis and walked them out to the mailbox. She understood that the Paci Fairy would (only) come when she was asleep, pick up all the broken pacis and leave her a special Big Girl surprise.

When she woke up she found lots of streamers and ribbons left by the Paci Fairy. She also found a letter and a special owl (side note: she has a current obsession with owls.) This was a really exciting event and we left the streamers up all day as a reminder of the Paci Fairy's special visit.

Thankfully, after the weekend, there has been no mention of the paci. I think the buildup was worse than actually going through with it.

Night One. No paci, lots of sleeping friends.

Paci Fairy left decorations and a special Fairy Owl. 

Big Girls don't need pacis anymore!