Remember I told you yesterday that I did something really dumb? In the midst of Springing forward, I thought it would be a great idea for my youngest to say, "Adios" to his best friend, his wingman, his compadre... his PACI! What??? Why on earth would I do this? Let alone do it during time change where we lose an hour of sleep? Well, I forgot that the time was changing and it just sort of happened.
This little piece of plastic has been with us since the beginning. It has gotten us through many a long nights and a ton of sickness. And as far as I was concerned, he could take it to college with him. What did I care? But when you lose it in the middle of the night, don't have it on long car trips or it starts to cause the "bucky beaver" effect of one's teeth...well, I guess it's time to let go. Sniff. Sniff.
How'd we do it? Bribery! What else? I told him if he was ready to give them to the babies and get a big boy toy instead, then we'd go get him his very own learning laptop. He was stoked! Then we got to Toys R Us and not a single one of those laptops held my little's attention for more than 5 minutes! So we left Toys R Us a bit defeated and made our way to Chick-fil-A for a dinner celebration.
That night, as he was going to bed, there were many tears for the paci. He suggested we go and get them back from the babies. I held him and loved on him like it was his first night home from the hospital. I think I shed a few tears as well. I wanted, so badly, to go and get him his paci. To make the pain stop. My little was going through withdrawal and it was something I had both created and allowed. That was a tough pill to swallow. As he cried, I told him that if he still wanted it the next day we woud talk about buying a new one since all his old ones had been given to the babies. He woke up three times that night in tears, wanting that paci. But we all stayed strong.
The next morning he woke up happy as a lark. We made a huge deal of him being such a big boy and making it through the night. Instead of going to the store and getting another baby paci, we went and got a remote control Cars2 car. Awesome! He was so excited to pick it out this big boy toy. He held onto it throughout our shopping and then in the car on the way home. Once home we ripped that bad boy open and drove the paci blues away!
Next came the nap. Oh gosh, he wanted that paci again so badly. Addictions are hard to break, even when you're 3. Instead of sleeping with his paci, he slept with his new big boy toy and that seemed to comfort him just fine. Night two...all snuggled up to his brother, there were zero tears. What? I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised. I had dreaded this breakup for months and it wasn't that bad. Now, I'm no fool. I know we have many nights ahead of us where the beloved paci may be desired again, but for now, we are doing great and holding strong!
This week I will be mailing our remaining pacis to the grandparents, asking them to keep me strong and hold onto their pacis as fond memories of the the little baby that is now a very, very big boy. From one milestone to the next, this little of mine never ceases to amaze me. And I've gotta be honest, the Lord was definitely at work in me. He kept me strong and softened my heart in ways that allowed me to love and care for my sweet boy. Not once did I whine or complain about the sleep I was losing or how hard it was for me - yup, I'm selfish to the core. But this time, by God's grace, it was all about my little and loving him well through a very difficult breakup! xo
