Paci and Potty

We have officially gotten rid of the pacifier! ::insert happy dance here:: We followed the Bye-Bye-Binky method, and within 5 days, the pacifier was down to a 1/2 inch stub. Colin got very frustrated at it and kept signing "help" and kept trying to pull it out more. Then we got the scissors out and asked him if he wanted it cut off, and he said yes. Then there was nothing left except the plastic part. He got really mad then. And he didn't sleep well AT ALL for about 2 or 3 nights. He had grown accustomed to falling asleep without his nukie, but for those first few nights he kept waking up every hour or two wanting it. It's a lot easier to not give in when there's nothing to give :)

I'm telling you people, the change is awesome. When the pacifier was in-use during the wee hours, he'd want to read books and rock for awhile before bed (not that I hated that part! I loved that time we spent together). Now that it's gone, after he gets his pajamas on, he runs out into the hallway to yell, "DADA! Na-nye!" Then he tries to crawl into his crib while he waits for Kevin to comes into his room. Colin gives us each hugs and kisses, and lies down in his crib, gets covered up with his blanket, and says, "bye bye" to us. How freakin' easy is that? And now when he wakes up, it's because one of his teeth is busting through. After a little bit of orajel, he goes right back to sleep.

Colin has been spending an hour every night in underwear for the past few weeks. Over the weekend, Colin wore his training pants for a few hours in the morning and evening. He peed on his potty about 10 times, and pooped once or twice too! He doesn't quite have the foresight set to tell us if he needs to go yet, so he needs to be reminded, but usually he'll go every hour or so. He also knows when he doesn't have to go. I gave Sandy the go-ahead to try it at daycare, and it didn't work out so well. She wants him to wear pants there, otherwise all the other kids want to prance around sans pants, and that's just not going to work. He'll sit on her potty for 10-15 minutes but won't do anything. So we're waiting until he feels comfortable going potty there before we send underwear again. Colin knows how to say "pee," "poop," and "potty" now, and sometimes he tries to pull up his underwear/pants. If he's not trained by Christmas break, my plan is to hit it hard then as much as I can and hopefully start off 2011 with no diaper laundry!

Happy Half Birthday!

Dear Colin,

You just celebrated your golden monthday. You're 18 months old and born on the 18th! We celebrated extra special by having some great food.
Chicken Veggie Tortellini (one of our favorite e-mealz recipes):
and, of course, cupcakes and ice cream.

Then we took your monthday picture. You actually were kind of hamming it up for the camera this time! Here you are in your undies, which you wear every night for a little while before taking a bath.
You are such a goofy little boy. You're always saying something and you're always moving. You want to be in the midst of all the action; whether it's watching Mommy or Daddy cook (and eating your way through the preparation of supper), or ripping apart the office.

You have started to show an interest in potty training again. Last week, you went potty 4 days in a row before bath time. Over the weekend, you went potty once before and once after your naps. You're still very inconsistent with it, but we're happy you're starting to want to try again.

Your favorite things are still trucks (dig digs), lawnmowers, food, and being outside. You get so excited about trucks you see. You can spot a lawnmower--riding, push, toy--from a mile away. Sandy says there's no food she makes that you don't like. She says you always finish your food, and we believe her. You're eating your veggies so well now too! We had broccoli tonight and you chowed right down. And we're not so sure what we're going to do with you when it's 30 below with 3 feet of snow. Mommy and Daddy won't be going outside when it's that cold out.

You now have 10 teeth.

You can point to your nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hands, fingers, toes, feet, back, belly, belly button, head, and hair.

Your newest word is "off." You are very good at telling us when you want something off (hat, mittens, shoes, coat, a light...).

The only time you use your nukie right now is in the middle of the night and you wake up asking for it. By that time, Daddy and I are so tired that we just give in. I have bad news for you though. We have devised a plan, using the Bye-Bye Binky method. According to the plan, you will start to hate your nukie and make your own decision about getting rid of it. The plan involves poking holes in it, and then cutting off the tip. I'm sorry we're doing this to you, but you're old enough not to need it anymore, even at night time.

I can't believe it has already been a year and a half already. You mean the world to me, and I am so lucky to be your Mommy. I can't imagine my life without you anymore.
Love,
Mama

Since I got so many comments about the picture where Colin is walking Rocket, here is a bonus clip of Rocket walking Colin this past weekend.

In case you're wondering, Colin did pull Rocket around that light pole at the end. He's a tough little guy.

Pacifier weaning: Phase 3

Check!

Phase 1 was weaning him from it during the day.
Phase 2 was weaning him from it during car rides.
Phase 3 was weaning him from it for naptimes.

Once again, we got lucky and Sept. 1 = new day care = Sandy (day care provider) decided she was going to pretend she didn't have a nukkie for Colin at nap time. I said "good luck" and told her to go for it. Luckily she wore him out enough in the morning, so he just passed out at nap time with hardly a word about it.

The weekends haven't been as easy. He definitely fought his naps. The first weekend after starting day care at Sandy's, Colin chose to sleep on the floor like he does at her house. He also took naps in the car on the way to Spooner. Both naps were without his pacifier. This past weekend, he took a nap on "my bed" at my parents' house and took a very short nap at home. Both without his pacifier.

I think he's a bit confused about when, exactly, he can have it. Because he can't have it at nap time, but he can have it for bed time. And that's confusing. I get it.

And that's where I'll stop my pacifier weaning talk because I'm superstitious. Update to come.

Pacifier weaning: Phase 2

Complete.

Phase 2 was changed to getting rid of the nukky in the car. We turned Colin's car seat to forward-facing last Thursday after my chiropractor told me that it's actually slightly safer for those older than 12 months than rear-facing. Ever since, it's like a whole new world has opened up for Colin and he's entertained enough to not need it.

He used to want it on the 5 minute car ride to the store.

We even made it all the way to Rochester this past weekend without using it at all. He was tired since we left around nap time. He asked for it and I gave him his snack cup instead, and he fell asleep holding his snack cup.

I still bring the pacifier along for long rides around nap time and I hide it, just in case, because technically he wants it because he's tired, not just because he wants it.

While I didn't plan on making these two events intersect at the same time, it sure did turn out nicely!

Pacifier weaning: Phase 1

Complete.

Phase 1 was to wean Colin off the pacifier during the day (excluding naps, bedtime, and in the car). It has now been 7 days with nary a nukkie in his mouth during awake times.

Here's what happened.

Colin's the type who needs to eat breakfast as soon as he wakes up. So I let him keep his pacifier when we went to the table. When he took it out of his mouth and started eating breakfast, I'd slip it away from him and put it up on the kitchen counter. Sometimes he noticed, but was preoccupied with food to even care.

Occasionally he asked for it, but I just said, "not right now" and distracted him with something else--usually going outside.

When it was naptime, I let him have it.

We did try going without it at bedtime on day 3, and thought we might be successful because he dozed off for a minute or two, but then when he kept waking up asking for it, we decided that he wasn't ready to give it up for bedtime yet and let him have it.

Yesterday, I started giving him the responsibility of leaving his pacifier on his own. When I get him out of his crib, I tell him, "Give your nukkie to Seahorse" (this guy):
and he puts it back in his crib without an argument.

What's next: Phase 2 is taking it away at either bedtime or naptime. I haven't decided which one yet. Bedtime would be easy because he goes to sleep as soon as his head hits the mattress. But he'd wake up asking for it and not have it. Naptime would be easy because it's a shorter time for him to sleep, so hopefully he wouldn't wake up and ask for it. But he may have a harder time falling asleep, depending on how tired he is.

For now, I'm completely content with him not using it during the day. Although I'd love to get rid of it at naptime before we start daycare again. One less thing to remember to bring.

Pacifier weaning (Update pt. 4)

While my mom was here, I mentioned that I wanted to try to get Colin to not be as reliant on his pacifier anymore. 14 months isn't by any standard TOO OLD to be using a pacifier. But...it's one less thing to remember, one less thing to keep clean, one less thing to take away when he's older. It's not that he uses it constantly. He uses it when he sleeps and naps, and about 1/3 of the time he's awake (if he's in a good mood).

Day 1 was horrible. We went grocery shopping, which he usually does just fine with because he loves to ride in the cart. And we rarely bring his pacifier in the store with us anyway. But, since he hadn't had his pacifier all day as it was, he threw an absolute fit almost the entire time we were there.

Day 2 was less horrible.

Day 3 was just as horrible as Day 2, but you could tell he was so distraught over the trauma.

Day 4 in the morning, I was talking to some co-workers who, when I mentioned I had decided to take the nukie away, immediately looked at me with horror-stricken faces and said "WHY!??!" I didn't really have an answer for them. One mother of 3 told me that when her kids were done with them, they were done. One threw the pacifier across the room and never looked back. The youngest opened the trash, spit his pacifier into it, shut it, and went about his merry way. Then I got to thinking...Colin doesn't have a blanket or a stuffed animal or any other sort of "luvey" that he's attached to. His pacifier is what he's attached to. And if that means we have to take it with us (almost) everywhere we go, then so be it. It's a lot better than dragging around something 100x its size.

So...it's his. Until some professional tells me he's developing an overbite. Or until he decides he's ready to give it up. Or until he goes to kindergarten.