It started off pleasant enough. We decided that there were babies in the world that needed pacis, and since Stella is a big girl now, we would mail her pacis to those needy babies. She complied beautifully, dropping all the pacis in the house into an envelope, along with a letter that we wrote to the babies. We took it to the post office, and she gave it and her dollar bill to the postmaster.
After tons of praise, we went to Whitman's, a local bakery, for a treat. She chose a sugar cookie. We sat and ate, talking about how big she was and how proud we were of her. Next was a stop at the local toy store, where she got to choose her very own big girl toy to take home. Of all things, the child chose a baby doll, glitter, and a football.
On to the house, where I fixed her favorite lunch, macaroni and cheese. She even ate some of the broccoli that I snuck in there.
Oh, life was so easy this morning.
After lunch comes naptime, which includes "bumpy" (her blanket) and of course, paci. She asked for it, but I reminded her of what we had done this morning. It seemed to work a little bit as we read a few stories, but when it was time for sleep, the shit hit the fan. Excuse my language, but that really is the only way to describe it.
I'd say she cried for a good hour, with many visits from mom, before she crashed. That sleep only lasted 45 minutes - this is the kid that takes 3 hour naps - and when she woke up, she was really pissed. "PACI PACI PACI PACI PACI WANT IT NOW WANT IT NOW MOMMY DADDY PEEEZZZZ NOW" pretty much sums it up. We finally got her calmed down, where she whined herself to sleep for another hour or so late afternoon.
We're not an anti-paci family by any means, not do we care what anyone thinks about whether our kid is too old for this or that. Our reasoning behind doing this was that with a new baby coming in 3 1/2 months, we decided getting rid of the paci now would be easier than having to explain one day why the baby can have one but she can't. Her transition to a big girl bed was so seamless, so we had high hopes for this milestone too.
And our hopes are still high. But seeing her so inconsolable, so out of control - and knowing that it is a direct reaction of something that I took from her - well, it's hard. I mean, these days I burst into tears if I see a goldfish on my newly-vacuumed floor. Hormones are raging, and stronger than ever is my love for this kid of ours. I say kid because she is no parts baby anymore. It's hitting me that this creature won't be the baby much longer, and though I feel confident that she'll accept her big sister role with typical Stella bossiness, it's still a period of change for all of us.
OK, enough mushiness now. It's not yet bedtime so more drama may ensue. Say prayers for us!
And here's a photo of our big girl, just being her.
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4 comments:
Oh, her words are breaking my heart! I live in fear of the day we take Sarah's "friends" away...she's been sucking on various parts of her favorite stuffed animals since she was 5 months. I'll be watching this story closely...keep us posted!
By the way, when do we get to see photos of your sexy pregnant self???
Lord help you!!!
I loved talking with Stella on the phone today. Marian it was good talking to you too. We miss you already and can't wait to see you in August. Love you!
Poor Stella! Lucky for us Juliet just sucks her thumb--which we can't put in an envelope and mail off--BUT we will have ENORMOUS orthodontic bills to pay in a few years...
She is just precious! Any progress made so far? I swear, the worst noise in the world is a pacifier being dropped (thrown?) from a crib on to a wood floor. And then the decision...do we reward the behavior? Go in and search around, usually in the dark, for an object we're not too thrilled about her having anyway? But oh, she loves it so. We laugh when we read our birth/hospital plan for her, stating "no pacifiers". We'll be revising that for this one!
Good luck!
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