Over the last two weeks, Anna has proved that she is a big girl.  Last Monday we took away her ni-night (pacifier) and we haven’t looked back.  We strategically planned this to have plenty of days at home if she didn’t sleep well during the transition.  She had a rough naptime that day; she was upset and did not sleep, but that night, she went to bed like a champ!  Since her pacifier was tied to a cloth diaper, we’ve substituted just the cloth diaper.  She snuggles up with the cloth and still calls it her ni-night.  So cute.

We originally started tying the pacifier to a cloth diaper because it would continually fall out of her mouth while she slept and roll out of the crib.  For many months while she was an infant, I would go in multiple times a night and crawl around the floor looking for it.  Crazy. Although it took us awhile, we eventually got smart and tied it to something that she could find in the night.  Brilliant.  Now they make little animals that attach to pacifiers for this very reason.

One drawback though…since we took the pacifier away, Anna has not napped.  Oops.  It’s as if she just decided if she can’t have her pacifier, she’s not going to nap.  Oh well.  She’s still sleeping fine at night, which is all we really care about.  She’s still having rest time in her crib with a bunch of books and stuffed animals.  And in fact, yesterday, she did fall asleep among all of the toys and books.  Her attitude and behavior is a little cranky since not napping, but I can’t really force her to sleep.  At least she’s lying down for a while with books and resting.

I know the pacifier issue is a touchy subject with some…I’ll just share that our reason for doing this now was based on our pediatrician’s recommendations and the formation of Anna’s teeth.  Her teeth have definitely come in differently than James’s did and he wasn’t a pacifier baby.  Whether or not that’s based on her pacifier use, I don’t know, but it’s likely. The pediatrician assures us that this is common – her teeth and jaw will realign and it will be no problem.  She said that typically they like pacifier use to end by age four.

Anna-girl, we are so proud of you for taking this big step in becoming a big girl!