Monday, July 11, 2011

Paci-pocalypse

For the past year Kaycie has been down to one paci. We've limited paci use to the crib since she was about 4 months old, so it wasn't a big deal and never really got lost. But this morning I discovered she'd chewed it to the point where the tip was ripping away from the base. Can you say choking hazard? So I went ahead and tore it off, showed her it was broken, and prayed we'd make it through the next few days.

She looked at the broken paci, tried to put it back together, then put the hard part back in her crib and handed me the tip. ??? I dunno, but I hoped it was a good sign.

Then came nap time. The top part was still in the crib when I put her down, so she picked it up, examined it again and then instigated this conversation:

K - "Paci?"
Me - "It's broken, baby, remember we talked about that this morning?"
K - (confused face) " Paci?"
Me - No, baby, it's broken. I'm sorry.
K - (shaking head) "Paci?"
Me - Sigh. "No, baby, your paci doesn't work anymore. I'm sorry. You're going to have to nap without it.
K - "Paci?"

Ok, so I was a little wrong about the "gonna have to nap without it" part. She didn't nap. She's not napping as we speak. After an hour of alternately whining and getting mad, then crying, I went in and rocked her for a bit and put her back in the crib. She was content for about 5 minutes. Half an hour later I'm about to go get her, sans actual nap, and pray the next hour and a half goes by quickly because my life will be hell until Greg gets home and can take up some of the sleepy-tired girl slack.

Why am I wanting to do this now? Because it's time. It has to go before MicroTot arrives or else we'll have paci-sharing/jealousy issues (may have those anyway). Actually, it needs to go before we move her into her new room and big girl bed, which will probably happen in October, because we won't be able to keep up with it if it's not within the boundaries of a crib. Actually, it needs to go before she starts Moms Day Out in September, because I'm not sending it with her to be lost at the church.

Kids don't actually go to college with a paci, right?

Anyway, she has a lot of changes coming up in the next few months and this is the the first. At some point I want to seriously start the potty training, but to be honest I'm waiting on my second trimester of energy to come back before I jump in. I don't have the energy or brain cells to get her to the potty every twenty minutes right now. And I can't night train her until she's out of the crib anyway. Getting out of the crib will require cleaning out the guest/storage room so we can move her in there. That all has to be done well before MicroTot arrives, so she doesn't think the baby is stealing her bed.

Can somebody else come and deal with all of this over the next few months, please?

3 comments:

Allison said...

First of all "Paci-pocalypse" is awesome for your title. I cracked up. =)

Secondly, kids are so resiliant I'm betting she will adjust quicker than you think. Though I doubt that's much comfort to you during your afternoon of hell.

I know you have your reasons, and only you know if she's ready - but don't force the potty training. That could backfire. She could regress after the baby gets here anyway only frustrating you further. Not trying to be a downer, for realz, I'm just saying - don't put more on yourself than you should right now.

Allison said...

On a side note, however, if you DO go ahead with the potty training this early and have great success, I feel it necessary to tell you that you will be raising any future children of mine.

Susan said...

PT isn't the top of my list, by any means, but she's starting to fight diapers like mad. Most of what I've read says girls tend to be ready earlier than boys, so I'm willing to give her a test shot. If she's not into it, I'm not in a rush. Getting her out of the crib, however, must be done before January. I do not want to invest in another crib just to give her a few more months of confinement! I will miss that confinement, though. I fear her easy naps and bedtimes will become much more complicated.