Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The New World Order

Because Airan and I are incredibly mean and like to see our children suffer, we decided that it was time for Evelyn and Sophia to give up their pacifiers this week. In addition to the occasional lectures from their therapists about how the pacifiers will need to go away, the sooner the better, we were both getting uncomfortable with just how attached the girls were to their precious binkies. And just to make things even more miserable for all parties, we decided it was also time to give up bedtime bottles, at the suggestion of medical professionals. And of course we had to do all this on the same day as the Daylight Savings Time switch because we are gluttons for punishment.

So you'll be shocked to hear that we're having a rough week around here. The girls have decided that naps are no longer necessary (a theory they'd been working on before the New World Order took effect, actually). All day long, they're awake and crabby, with nothing to comfort them. Sophia has transferred her binky obsession to her favorite puppy dog, which gives her some solace, but she's still pretty grouchy in general. Evelyn hasn't settled on a replacement for her binky, but she is focusing a lot of energy on learning to count in Spanish -- as you can imagine, the allure lasts only so long. My favorite fall-back distraction, Sprout, hasn't been effective lately, not even the girls' beloved Teletubbies.

Honestly, it's only a matter of time before Mommy becomes totally psychotic. If these girls don't start napping again, and soon, I don't know what I'm going to do! Freelance work becomes impossible, and blogging turns into a guilty pleasure I just can't afford. Send some sleepy vibes our way, stat!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

My daughter was a hardcore pacifier addict. By the time she gave them up she would go to bed with one in her mouth, one in each hand and one on a holder attached to her jammies. (hanging my head in shame) When one would get to warm and soft she would pop a fresh one in. She went cold turkey on her third birthday and after the withdrawals were gone we found that she did survive without any lasting trauma. There is hope.

What Dreams said...

As I recall, you were trying to get them off the binkies at Christmas time, so I don't think you're being terribly mean.
I'm glad I didn't have an army of professionals telling me what to do. You could have taken your bottle to college with you and I wouldn't have cared. I must have been a rotten mother.

What Dreams said...

P.S.
None of you guys were ever that attached to pacifiers. You sucked your thumb. The girls may figure out you can't take that away from them.
You quit on your own when you were one.
I was a bad mother, but you were a fabulous child;)

for a different kind of girl said...

My boys are 9 and 5 and I just walked away from a silly, silly arguement that reduced the both of them, refusing to believe me when I say it's obvious they're tired, to tears. Well, tears from the youngest and a look of semi-scorn from the oldest.

Long story short, I miss naps. I cried myself the day they disappeared around here. I've a friend who still gets her 5 1/2 year old to lie down and sleep in the afternoon, but seriously, it wouldn't surprise me if there is bribary in play there. Or some form of bondage.

Good luck to you both as you go through this self-imposed punishment!

Rug's Bug said...

My twins loved their binkies too. After trying every trick in the book, I was exasperated. My father-in-law told me that when they went to Kindergarten and saw that no one else had binkies, they would give them up. So I quit worrying about it. And they gave them up on their own shortly after. Boy #3 didn't like binkies that much. But he didn't sleep at night either.

Elizabeth-W said...

Just found your blog via that hottie, Ms Annie Payney.
Lots of fun reading, such as trying to connect with Alton (what a guy!); and the the conservapedia entry-wacky stuff on that site.
Feeling your binky pain. My daughter could get three binkies in her mouth if she worked at it.
Stick out the making your kids eat what you eat and you'll be rewarded. My girls, 6 and 3, find Indian and Thai food to be among their favorites. My six year old can eat hotter stuff than I can. (And, they gag over mac and cheese.) Oh, and I LOVE the name Evelyn!

Nanette said...

Oh they are cute!!!!

I feel for you on the naps, it was a sad sad sad day in our house when naptime went away. Perhaps you could try the quiet time in the room thing.....

Nick loved the binky and we did a cold turkey thing when I refused to buy more after he kept chewing holes in them. After he lost his 'friend', he would steal them from other children when I would turn my back--he was and is a sneaky one.

Kerri said...

Ouch. Sounds like a painful week for all of you. Let me know if I can do anything to help. Libby and I can come over and babysit if you need a little time away.

In regards to your mom's post, I took a bottle (excuse me, a dottle) until I was old enough that I would walk to the fridge and fill it with Grape Kool-aid (!). This is a source of constant hilarity in my family to which my mom always shrugs and says, "What did we know? We didn't have people telling us what to do."

I agree, but I would think that Grape Kool-aid in a baby bottle might raise some red flags without professional guidance. But what do I know? I'm so full of articifial colors and flavors from all of that Kool-aid, my brain is probably half-rotten.

Scribbit said...

You know I always frowned on pacifiers with my first child (the new mom thing and all that) but found it much easier to take away a pacifier than to take away a finger which had become the substitute :)

Good luck!

Shannon said...

Don't feel guilty. We're experiencing a new world order here as well, except it seems like one imposed by the girls. Napping? Ha ha ha, foolish Mommy! Sleeping during the dark hours? No way. We get up at 3 a.m. asking for toys and drinks and cereal bars. And cry incessantly when refused.

Maybe it's the age.