Bye, Bye Paci

Okay, so I have been dreading this moment since we gave her a paci after two days after coming home from the hospital. We have been telling her for a while that 3 year olds can't have a paci, so when she turned 3 paci would go away. For the last couple of weeks she has been waking up two to three times every night looking for her paci. So we decided that was enough reason not to wait until her birthday. I started at naptime on Monday. I think she cried for 30 to 45 minutes. It was absolutely heartbreaking and I had to go out into the garage for a while. She was snuffing when she finally cried herself to sleep. Monday night there wasn't a ton of crying, just a lot of calling for us. She would try to reason with us why she should have her paci. She would say, "I'm still two", "I'm your baby, mommy", and "I don't want to be a big girl anymore." We stuck with although I didn't want to. Tuesday was a lot better. She kept asking for it all day, but no crying at naptime and bedtime went a lot smoother. Today has been great. She hasn't really even asked for it. Hopefully it will keep getting easier. I do have to admit that I hate it. It means she is growing up and becoming more independant. She still looked like a baby when she had her paci. I can't believe she will be 3 in a couple of days. It is so surreal that it has gone by so fast.