We're having some trouble weaning Mace from his pacifier, or his "Bo Bo" as he calls it. By "weaning" I of course mean "not even attempting to wean him from the Bo Bo at all." (I think our nanny came up with the term "Bo Bo", but I'm not sure. My mom calls it a "plug" -- a term I find offensive for reasons I could explain, but won't. This is a family-friendly blog after all.)
Casey gave up his pacifiers around the time he turned one. He had started chewing them off at the nub while he slept, so we were of course worried he would choke. As I recall, one night we just took them out of the crib and he went to bed as normal and never even looked around for the pacifier.
Mace, however, seems to have an unhealthy attachment to his Bo Bo. The rule regarding the Bo Bo is this -- only in the bed. But you have to remember two things: 1) Grandma lives with us, and 2) Mace can run upstairs, stick his hands through the crib slats and grab a Bo Bo before you can turn around from cleaning up whatever chocolate milk mess he has made to divert you from noticing that he has run upstairs, gotten the Bo Bo, come back downstairs and is now standing innocently behind you with one in his mouth. It's a constant battle all day long. We catch him with a Bo Bo and say, "Why do you have a Bo Bo?" And he shrugs and bats his eyes while he either takes it out and hands it to you or runs off squealing down the hallway with it still in his mouth.
If Mace was not the last Flamingo that will be born of the Flamingo union, I would have long ago taken the Bo Bo, tossed it in the trash and dealt with the consequences, in spite of Grandma's pleas that it's not hurting anything, he's still so little, blah blah blah. But he is still allowed to have his Bo Bo when he naps or goes to bed for the same reason that I have not transitioned him out of the crib and didn't get his hair cut until he was two. He's the wee Flamingo.
And I will confess that there's another small reason he still gets his Bo Bo. Casey gave up taking naps when he was about 18 months old. Mace still takes three hour naps in the afternoon. Did you hear me? THREE HOUR NAPS! I'm pretty sure the difference is the Bo Bo and even if it's not, I'm not willing to chance losing those wonderful naps. If your nanny had broken her tibia and hadn't been able to work in a month and would still not be back to work for another three weeks, you'd feel the same way. Trust me.
I do realize that the longer we go without dealing with the Bo Bo situation, the harder it will be to deal with it. But I figure we should be able to get him weaned off the Bo Bo as we transition him into the "big boy" bed. I'm sure the excitement of Casey going off to college will help distract Mace during the transition and all should go smoothly.
ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe learned with the 2nd child to confine the "binky" to the crib and it worked beautifully (meaning 3 hour naps). And, she eventually gave it up long before she went to college - we really tried not to make a big deal of it.
ReplyDeleteBut, with our oldest, we bribed her to give up the binky when she turned 4!!! We bought her a Cabbage Patch Kids big wheel plastic tricycle that lasted about a month in exchange for getting rid of the binky. It didn't take her long to figure out that her thumb was a good substitute for the binky (and, believe me, it is hard to confine the thumb to the bed). Of course, the thumb sucking continued for years eventually requiring expensive orthodonture to correct the damage.
I think with Andrew we never introduced a pacifier (but, he was the 3rd child and I really don't remember much about those days - way too busy - he could have taken it with him to college and I wouldn't have known).
So, take whatever advice from this long comment that you wish, or none at all. Some kids just seem to need to suck on something. He probably won't require therapy if you take it away and he probably won't be scarred for life if he keeps it. But, definitely save the photo of him sucking on 2 of them - it will be great to use in the slide show at his wedding!
I'd like to insert some family history here, since "Miss Flamingo" might be unable to remember some of this. Miss Flamingo circumvented the "BoBo" experience by deciding pre-natal that the thumb was to serve her much better than a "plug." She came into this world with a callous on her thumb. For nine months she had enjoyed the comfort of her own personal BoBo and even though we tried, we never could get her to accept a "plug." (The idea being that it's easier to take away a pacifier than a thumb.)
ReplyDeleteOur family policy was that when you are mature enough to walk, no more plug. That worked quite well with her older sister, but since Miss Flamingo had "out foxed" us, she remained in control of this situation. I'm not real sure when she gave up the thumb, but I'm pretty sure it was sometime after elementary school or high school or college. Oh well, only she knows for sure.
But she did exert some self control and keep it out her mouth until she was safely in the privacy of her own room.
I believe our friend Barbara Platt used the term "plug" first--you know to plug the mouth so the "kid" can't continue screaming.
Since both of our girls were really sweet babies, we never really needed them for that reason. And that's the truth!!!!
i'm not so sure the above comment is actually 'anonymous' ...
ReplyDeleteYou're right it wasn't meant to be anonymous, but the "Facebook Police" wouldn't let me post it any other way. I forgot to sign it.
ReplyDeleteYAYA Mom