Goodbye "Die Die"

There comes a point in every man's life where you just have to let go. Even though you do not want to you must move on to bigger and better things. Yesterday was just such a day for Munchkin. Munchkin LOVES his pacifier. He calls it his "die die". Jim Bob and I have always been pretty careful with it, not wanting Munchkin to become a kid who constantly has a pacifier in his mouth. Around age one, the pacifier became confined to use only at naps and bedtime. This has worked well for quite some time, however, recently, some problems have popped up. First, Munchkin loves to wipe his pacifier on things. We're not really sure why he does this -- it's kind of weird -- but, alas, we all have our quirks. The cement sidewalk, a cool carpet texture, my t-shirt, these are all places that the pacifier must be wiped on. Even this wiping fetish has not been too much of a problem - - until recently. Munchkin decided that the pacifier not only needed to be wiped on his bedsheets, but needed to be wiped VERY loudly on his bedsheets starting at about 5:30 a.m. I would wake up every morning to the very grating sound of rubber on cotton. (To those of you skeptics that think this sound would be nothing - - let me assure you that it is akin to nails on a chalkboard....especially at 5:45 a.m.). This fun routine not only woke me up every morning but also caused the pacifier to rip along both sides.

After one such morning, waking up to the dulcet sounds of pacifier wiping, Jim Bob suggested that perhaps it was time to wean Munchkin of his pacifier. I was feeling particularly sleep deprived at the moment so I quickly agreed. I figured it would be an ideal time because Munchkin's pacifier was broken and I'd rather get rid of it instead of buying him a new one.

I did some quick research on the internet to find some ideas of how to gracefully break toddlers of their addiction to the pacifier. Jim Bob and I decided to throw a "big boy" party for Munchkin. This involved a trip to the mall where he got to pick out a toy in exchange for his pacifier. This momentous occaision was later followed up with cake, candles, and ice cream -- because of course Jim Bob and I could not pass up an opportunity to make cake.

When Munchkin woke up from his afternoon nap, I told him that his pacifier was broken and we were going to get a new toy instead. "New toy?" he asked incredulously. I assured him that we were indeed going for a new toy and we all piled into the car and headed for the mall. Munchkin had been eying a Dalmatian puppy dog at the Disney store for months so I decided this would be the ideal place to go. Sure enough, upon entering the Disney store, Munchkin headed straight for the back where the stuffed animals are. He had a hard time deciding between the dog, the rat Remy, or a Minnie Mouse. However, he finally decided to go with the much coveted dog. Jim Bob paid for the toy and we walked out of the store and straight to a trash can at the mall. I asked Munchkin if he wanted his dog. He said yes and I told him if he did he had to throw his pacifier in the trash can. He did this almost without thought and reached greedily for the dog.

We then moved on to our next activity of cake and ice cream. Munchkin was SO excited. He kept saying "happy you you" (happy birthday to you). We sang, he blew out the candles and it all went over very well. I let him stay up a little later than usual because I wanted him good and tired before attempting to sleep without his beloved pacifier. I was very impressed with him! We put him in bed, sang a couple songs, and put on a music C.D. for him. He cuddled in bed and whined a few times for his "die die". We told him to hug his doggy and reminded him that his pacifier had broken and we had thrown it away. He seemed O.K. with this and went to sleep. The only other complaint I heard about the loss of the pacifier was at 5:30 a.m. when Munchkin woke up looking for his pacifier. I could hear him from the other room - - "die die! oh....doggy" - - after which he went to sleep. Success feels fabulous!!