Henry said goodbye to his binkie tonight!
I used to have his binkie clipped to his shirt all the time. I got tired of losing it, dropping it gross places (non-gross places weren't a big deal :) ), etc, so he had a strap attached to it, clipped to his shirt. The binkie would dangle along with him wherever he went, and when necessary brought immediate comfort :) I loooooved his binkie, I have to confess. I loved the innocent contentment I saw in his face in those moments of "necessary immediate comfort". I loved how it could instantly bring quiet stillness to my noisy, verbal boy. I loved the simplicity of this tiny piece of plastic that made him feel so right with the world...
Late summer/early fall last year I tied a binkie to the hand of his beloved monkey. My game plan for the inevitable "time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-binkie" was to soften it a bit: I was going to unclip the binkie from his shirt, and only let him have the one attached to his monkey at bedtime (my plan didn't go any farther than that...). One day he was out playing in the yard, and the clip came un-clipped. We didn't notice until bedtime, when it was dark. He went to bed with the binkie attached to his monkey just fine- BAM- my plan worked! I hadn't prepared myself for him to lose his all-the-time binkie so quickly, so after he was in bed I spent part of my evening scouring the yard with a flashlight! But to no avail... He asked for his binkie occasionally, but transitioned to only having it at bedtimes quite beautifully. Then he discovered that if he carried his monkey around, he could still have his in-times-of-dire-need binkie. As he began to talk more and more it became necessary to ask him to take it out to talk- though he does enunciate quite well without the binkie in, due to having to work hard to be understood while talking around it!
Over time his binkie started to tear, and I told him that we would replace it, but that the new one would be his last. (gulp.) He was totally okay with that, and threw his old one away by himself. I've been telling him that when his "last binkie" ripped beyond repair that he would throw that one away too, and have just his monkey. The binkie has been ripping bit-by-bit, looking more and more loved... I've known the time was drawing near!
Today on our way home from a wonderful weekend at the beach (both boys totally sacked out in the back seat), Josh had a rather wise thought: we should say goodbye to the binkie before it rips completely, to eliminate the danger of him choking on it (WOW, glad he thought of that!). So... we deemed tonight to be the night.
I confiscated the monkey/binkie combo once we got home, and completed the tear in the binkie. It was actually rather painful for me! ...possibly a combination of guilt over "breaking" his beloved comfort item, and knowing that this marks the end of a season I'll never get back again- my littlest boy is getting bigger, whether I'm ready for it or not!
A little while later he asked where his monkey was, and I broke the news: "Henry, I need to show you your binkie... remember how we said that it's your last one and once it breaks we'll throw it away and be all done with binkies?" Uh-huh "Well, your binkie is broken now. Let me show you, and you can be the big boy and throw it away all by yourself" Daddy had provided some skittles to soften the blow, and I saw a tinge of inner panic in his face until the skittles appeared. Then he held the broken binkie in his hand and said, "My binkie broke-did, Mommy!" He pulled up his little boot straps, and cheerfully ran to the garbage and tossed it in! As he was running to the garbage he hollered for his brother to tell him that he was all done with his binkie, and after slamming the garbage shut, flashed me a huge "BIG BOY!" grin!
I was prepared for bedtime to be difficult, or at least prolonged, but it wasn't really that bad. Jonathan went right to sleep (EXHAUSTED from the beach!), and Henry was quiet right away. I heard little thumps and rustles, and after about a half hour I went to see what they were. Henry was sitting in their new reading corner (two bean bag chairs, and an old suitcase full of books- happens to be next to their night light) picking out some reading material. He was rather glossy eyed, and had abandoned his binkie-less monkey in his bed. He asked me to read him a story, and I told him that he had permission to come right back to that spot in the morning, but that he needed to go to sleep. I rocked him for a bit, telling him that he could still snuggle his monkey like big brother snuggles his teddy. His eyes rolled, and he was out.
Good night, my oh-so-big boys, now it's time for Momma to say goodbye to the binkie... and ready or not, so closes another chapter.
I used to have his binkie clipped to his shirt all the time. I got tired of losing it, dropping it gross places (non-gross places weren't a big deal :) ), etc, so he had a strap attached to it, clipped to his shirt. The binkie would dangle along with him wherever he went, and when necessary brought immediate comfort :) I loooooved his binkie, I have to confess. I loved the innocent contentment I saw in his face in those moments of "necessary immediate comfort". I loved how it could instantly bring quiet stillness to my noisy, verbal boy. I loved the simplicity of this tiny piece of plastic that made him feel so right with the world...
Late summer/early fall last year I tied a binkie to the hand of his beloved monkey. My game plan for the inevitable "time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-binkie" was to soften it a bit: I was going to unclip the binkie from his shirt, and only let him have the one attached to his monkey at bedtime (my plan didn't go any farther than that...). One day he was out playing in the yard, and the clip came un-clipped. We didn't notice until bedtime, when it was dark. He went to bed with the binkie attached to his monkey just fine- BAM- my plan worked! I hadn't prepared myself for him to lose his all-the-time binkie so quickly, so after he was in bed I spent part of my evening scouring the yard with a flashlight! But to no avail... He asked for his binkie occasionally, but transitioned to only having it at bedtimes quite beautifully. Then he discovered that if he carried his monkey around, he could still have his in-times-of-dire-need binkie. As he began to talk more and more it became necessary to ask him to take it out to talk- though he does enunciate quite well without the binkie in, due to having to work hard to be understood while talking around it!
Over time his binkie started to tear, and I told him that we would replace it, but that the new one would be his last. (gulp.) He was totally okay with that, and threw his old one away by himself. I've been telling him that when his "last binkie" ripped beyond repair that he would throw that one away too, and have just his monkey. The binkie has been ripping bit-by-bit, looking more and more loved... I've known the time was drawing near!
Today on our way home from a wonderful weekend at the beach (both boys totally sacked out in the back seat), Josh had a rather wise thought: we should say goodbye to the binkie before it rips completely, to eliminate the danger of him choking on it (WOW, glad he thought of that!). So... we deemed tonight to be the night.
I confiscated the monkey/binkie combo once we got home, and completed the tear in the binkie. It was actually rather painful for me! ...possibly a combination of guilt over "breaking" his beloved comfort item, and knowing that this marks the end of a season I'll never get back again- my littlest boy is getting bigger, whether I'm ready for it or not!
A little while later he asked where his monkey was, and I broke the news: "Henry, I need to show you your binkie... remember how we said that it's your last one and once it breaks we'll throw it away and be all done with binkies?" Uh-huh "Well, your binkie is broken now. Let me show you, and you can be the big boy and throw it away all by yourself" Daddy had provided some skittles to soften the blow, and I saw a tinge of inner panic in his face until the skittles appeared. Then he held the broken binkie in his hand and said, "My binkie broke-did, Mommy!" He pulled up his little boot straps, and cheerfully ran to the garbage and tossed it in! As he was running to the garbage he hollered for his brother to tell him that he was all done with his binkie, and after slamming the garbage shut, flashed me a huge "BIG BOY!" grin!
I was prepared for bedtime to be difficult, or at least prolonged, but it wasn't really that bad. Jonathan went right to sleep (EXHAUSTED from the beach!), and Henry was quiet right away. I heard little thumps and rustles, and after about a half hour I went to see what they were. Henry was sitting in their new reading corner (two bean bag chairs, and an old suitcase full of books- happens to be next to their night light) picking out some reading material. He was rather glossy eyed, and had abandoned his binkie-less monkey in his bed. He asked me to read him a story, and I told him that he had permission to come right back to that spot in the morning, but that he needed to go to sleep. I rocked him for a bit, telling him that he could still snuggle his monkey like big brother snuggles his teddy. His eyes rolled, and he was out.
Good night, my oh-so-big boys, now it's time for Momma to say goodbye to the binkie... and ready or not, so closes another chapter.
Yay! Henry's a big boy now. While that's exciting, I must admit it does make me have a little twinge of panic..He can't be that big! (I imagine this is a lot worse for you, being his mommy) :)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of old suitcases, I found two at an estate sale that are ADORABLE, for two dollars each. I got em thinking of you so next time I come back or you come here I'll bring them for you!