Pacifier

President's Day weekend was a triumph of child adaptability. Michele and I have been discussing for over a year whether and how to remove the semi-permanently glued pacifier from Jonah's face. Before this past weekend, a "pa-fa-ah" was in his mouth at all times except for meals, baths, and leaving the house (although we sometimes made exceptions to the latter).

We've gone back and forth on pulling the plug --

Pros:
- We didn't like him talking with it in his mouth.
- We were irked by his dependence on it.
- We rarely see other kids using them.
- The doctor said we should.

Cons:
- Risk of Jonah needing years of therapy after we brutally remove his self-soothing device.
- We're strong, independent parents. Who cares that we're irked, that other kids don't use them, or that the doctor said we should take it away?

We reasoned, at times, that he'd give it up when he's ready. This was pure, wimpy, rationalization. In the end, we decided that it'll only get harder as time goes on. So, we took the plunge.

How? On Saturday morning, before we took him out of his crib, we first explained the plan to him. We then told him that he had to put his pacifier in a special place of his choosing -- this ended up being a plastic cup with a picture of a cat on it -- if he wanted us to take him out of his crib. It was a total, yet unintentional, bad cop-good cop between Michele and I (I got to be the good cop for once). When he finally handed it to me to put in the cup, it was one of the bravest things I've seen him do. The three of us danced around yelling "Bravo"!

Waking hours brought three pacifier-related temper tantrums, complete with tears and kicking around on the floor. As agreed, we gave it back to him in his crib for naps and night time.

Sunday and Monday were easier. The morning bravo dances helped. He made fewer, less fervent requests throughout the days.

On Tuesday morning I got a voicemail from Michele. Jonah woke up, handed her his pacifier, and said "put pa-fa-ah in kitty cup".

Kids are awesome!