End of an era

It has been five nights now since The Big Change.

The bug no longer sleeps with a binky.

This was not a willingly made change on her part, and has accordingly disrupted her sleep patterns. As a result, her parents' sleep patterns have also changed somewhat drastically. We are awaiting for eventual exhaustion to cause a return to normality. (We're already exhausted, but we have to wait for her to wear out.) So far, we have stood strong in refusing to give her a pacifier, even at 3 a.m. on the third consecutive middle-of-the-night-wake-up-and-request-a-hug-for-two-hours session.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that she'd moved into the older-toddler room at her daycare, where pacifiers are not allowed at nap time. Our bug being the persistent child that she is, the rest of the toddlers were quite aware of her displeasure at this rule. They became aware when she protested loudly. During ALL of naptime. For several days in a row. One of the teachers informed us on Friday that "She had a much better day today. The other children all sleep through her screaming now." That's a thought that makes me proud to be a working mother. Aack. But apparently she has begun napping during nap time this week, although only for about half of her usual naptime. It's a beginning.

As the resident softie in the house, part of me would really like to give the binky back to her to soothe her small soul, and not take it away until she's ready to let it go. She took my head in her little hands last night when I came into her room to hug her, and whispered, "Miss Binky."

I know you do, honey. I do, too.

At the same time, though, I feel like we've invested five nights already in encouraging the change. How much longer can she last with the midnight wailing and gnashing of teeth before she starts sleeping through the night again? I guess we'll find out.

I've tried providing her with a stuffed animal and blanket as potential comfort support during this rough time of transition, but so far she's just not that into them. Other ideas on relieving binky withdrawal would be much appreciated.