I'm not sure which of us is taking this the hardest. This is so long overdue.
Yesterday morning we asked Teagan to decorate a large envelope. When she was finished, we addressed it to "New Babies at the Hospital". We then stuffed it with her pacifiers, sealed it, added some stamps, and clipped it out on the mailbox for the postman. Fortunately Teagan is not yet aware that the postman doesn't come on Sunday and four cents postage won't get anything anywhere. We told her that she was a big girl now and that there were lots of little babies being born that needed pacifiers. She was very agreeable with the whole process... until naptime came around.
When it was time for her nap, we started our usual routine. Pick out one book, find her blankie, and sit in the rocking chair. Part of that routine is grabbing a passy out of the bucket by her bed, but of course there were none to be found. She turned around and looked at me and said, "I want my passy, please". I had to remind her what we had done earlier. She looked at me briefly with a smile in her eyes as if to say, "I know you're joking, mom, so where's my passy?". When it finally set in that she wasn't going to get it, she burst into tears. I calmed her down, read to her as she whimpered pathetically, and then laid her down. She once again requested her passy, but I told her that the postman had come and taken it away. (He can be the bad guy!) She proceeded to cry herself to sleep.
Bedtime last night was similar and she woke up several times. It's hard to know how soothing a pacifier really is until it's gone. We had a rough night. Then she woke up at 6am and again started crying when she couldn't find her passy. I know it's our fault (mine more specifically) for letting her have it for so long, but it was kind of an addiction for me, too. Being able to see that instant calm in her eyes when she's upset about something, or seeing the eyelids start drooping as soon as she placed it in her mouth was comforting to me as well. I know we'll get through it. I just hope we don't sacrifice too much sleep in the process!
