Binky Elimination

Since Abby is currently sixteen and a half months old, I've been wanting to have the binky eliminated by roughly eighteen months old.  So began Project Binky Elimination.  We used to have a binky stored on every table and anywhere within reaching distance.  That quickly faded when we decided to not let her walk around with it in her mouth.  We then got it out of the car seat.  Soon that left us with the pacifier used during nap time and bedtime.  I was okay with that.  Abby knows that when we pick her up out of her crib, she is to toss the binky in the crib.  She's really good about it.  I have to give Brent and I the credit for that as we made that a rule and didn't waver.  I did notice that sometimes when I'd pick Abby up from daycare, she'd have her binky in her mouth.  The staff explained that she was being fussy or some other lame excuse.  Brent and I would stress to only let her have it at naptime.  A few times we were told that Abby was wanting the binky and so the staff put her in her crib so she could have it.  When Abby was done and had her 'binky fix', she'd stand up and toss the bink out of her mouth.  (Smart girl).  

This week, Brent and I decided to eliminate the binky at naptime.  We were a bit scared as her affinity for it has exploded in the past few weeks.  Saturday was her first nap without it.  I laid her down, covered with a blanket after reading a book to help lull her a bit and quickly escaped the room before Abby would utter "bink, bink".  It wasn't a couple minutes before we heard the cry began.  Brent and I stayed strong.  Luckily for us, the crying only lasted 10-15 minutes and she slept soundly for a full 2 hour nap.  She did cry/whine mid nap, but that subsided quickly and she fell back asleep.  Aah. Day one of No-Binky Nap went well.  Sunday was even better!  She cried for maybe 10 minutes and then took a 2 1/2 hour nap.  No crying mid nap either.  Awesome.  This was going better than I expected.  

Now, daycare I was more concerned with as they're not going to allow her to cry and disrupt the rest of the kids who are trying to nap.  I got a report that she did well on Monday.  I had drop off duty on Tuesday and when I asked about nap time on Monday, I was told that the staff person offered Abby the binky.  Abby only had it a short while before Abby 'turned it in', however.  I was a bit disturbed as Brent and I have made a commitment to not backing down to things like that.  There aren't any situations where I'd say "Okay, just give her the binky, it's okay".  I didn't want Abby to get sent mixed messages.  So when the daycare staff worker offered to hand over the binkies to me to take home, I accepted without hesitation.  I left Tuesday morning with 2 binkies in hand and didn't look back.  Neither did Abby.  

Today is Wednesday and we are home for a snow day (YES!) and Abby is currently napping without a binky.  She did cry, but only momentarily.  

No looking back.  Next task is bedtime binky elimination.  That will be a bigger hurdle, but considering she did so well with the nap time elimination, that gives me hope for the next stage.