There is no turning back

Aria has slept without her pacifier for 3 (going on 4) nights in a row. Her love affair with the "paci" has been a long one and it was time after two whole years to give it up. The withdrawal began last weekend when we snipped the tip of the two we store in her dresser drawer. When she went to get one, it perplexed her but she still used it! And then a couple nights later, I snipped it again. With just a small nub she still continued to use it a couple more nights. Then on Friday, the paci was nowhere to be found. We kept low key about it and when she asked a couple times we quickly said, "baby-cousin Felipe needed it." Surprisingly, she stopped asking and went to sleep no problem (with one or two more "buddies" in her bed and 3 extra books read). This weekend she woke up an hour earlier than normal, but that's not too bad. There's been little mention of the paci, which is just plain a miracle! Tonight she came into her room after her bath (this is where she normally yells "PACI!" and runs to her drawer to get it) and then she babbled something that had "Felipe" in it. She is such a good girl. So now, we need to get rid of our hidden paci stash! It's up to us to stick to it now, it's in her best interest if she's not re-introduced (on purpose or mistake).

On a side note, Aria is now in her Junior Bed. We took the crib rails off and she has just a lower-half-thingy that keeps her from rolling out. She's had that for 2 weeks and hasn't once gotten out of bed without us in the room. I know it won't always be like that, but it sure is nice for now. I really didn't think that was possible!

The moral of this post is...I'm constantly surprised at what my daughter can handle and do. Sometimes I feel like we hold her back when it comes to things like the paci. I'm glad WE finally figured out that she can handle the change (although change is scary sometimes for her and us).