Here we go!

At our house, we have been having some talks about getting rid of the paci (for Holden). For the record, since around 18months, he has only had it during naps and at bedtime. Well, and of course, the occassional long car ride. But, he is 2 years old. I knew that it was probably time. I just wasn't sure if I was ready to deal with it all. The drama that boy my can throw. And the hours of crying I would have to listen to. It would break my heart if he didn't understand. I overheard Jeremy tell someone during our vacation that we were going to take it away before he starts Mother's Day Out. Hmmmm? That was the first I had heard of this plan. And so that is when the conversations began for us. He starts Mother's Day Out on September 1st. And I do agree that it seems to be a nice idea to send him to MDO without that paci. So recently I've just been thinking that it's now or never. So as we were getting ready for church this morning, I mentioned to Jeremy taking it away today. And so we decided on it right then and there. I took his 1 and only paci, put it in a ziplock baggie and into my purse. After church, we headed to Target. We had been talking to Holden about picking out a new toy in exchange for his paci. We explained that he was a big boy and pacis were for babies, like Paxton. At Target, we roamed around the toy section and he decided on the Fridge Phonics. He is quite excited about singing his ABC's these days, so this choice wasn't a huge surprise. But I have to admit that I was kind of pushing for Alphabet Elmo. So we checked out. Our nice cashier (and mother of 3 children that also loved their paci's) accepted his paci and our payment. And she wished us luck with a weary look on her face. That look didn't fill me with hope, but there was no turning back. He seemed to care less about parting with his beloved paci. We went to lunch. We came home. He played with his fridge phonics. And then it was the dreaded naptime. I carried Pax upstairs and put him to bed first. Holden was already crying because I hadn't carried him up at the same time. (He thinks I'm Super Woman sometimes.) So it wasn't looking good that he had already gone into meltdown mode. I brought his sock monkey down, which seemed to help the crying. And as we walked upstairs he began asking for his paci. This is typical before naps or bedtime. I reminded him that he had given it to the nice lady at Target in exchange for his new toy. And then he started crying and honestly, was acting a little angry. I placed him in his bed. I put his cow Pillow Pal in with him as a pillow. I just thought it would be something new and cool for him to be excited about. He did quiet down with his crying and placed his head on his cow. I gave him his monkey, froggy and covered him with his blanket. I gave him a kiss and told him how proud I was that he was such a big boy. (Sidenote: He knows the word proud and it's meaning. When I encourage him in any activity, he says "mommy proud?") Anyways, I left the room with him crying moderately. Not a full out fit, but not a quiet fuss. Anyways, 30 seconds later, I heard nothing. And now he has been sleeping for almost 3 hours. What in the world?! Could it be so easy?! Here's to hoping that bedtime goes just as smoothly. Seriously, I am in shock right now.