Well...

Today I bit the bullet and decided it was time to wean my 2 1/2 year-old off the pacifier. For nearly a year now she's only been using it for sleeping, but it really needs to go entirely. I was hoping she'd decide for herself that she was done with it, much like she did with both breast-feeding and the bottle. That doesn't seem to be the case this time. It's a bittersweet thing for me, because once she's done with it, I'll have one less thing to remember on roadtrips, plus there I'll no longer have to deal with occasional nighttime pacifier hunts, but it means she really isn't a baby anymore. At any rate, I've decided now is the time to do it, because it gives me two weeks to get her off it before we have to go down to SC for my cousin's wedding.

I read about some tricks to try to help your child lose interest, and one said to cut a hole in the pacifier, because once it can't hold suction anymore, it no longer serves its purpose and the kid will be more likely to give it up. I tried that today, and immediately my little one noticed the difference. She said, "Oh no, my pacifier not working anymore." Then she attempted to find the missing piece so I could fix it. When I told her that her pacifier couldn't be fixed, she said to me, "I not a little baby, I don't need it." I then offered to hold it for her so she could nap without it, but she ultimately decided she still wanted it with her. She did put it in her mouth, but now that she can't suck on it, she doesn't seem to like to put it in her mouth as much. It was interesting to see her thought process on whether she was really ready to let it go. Right now it's nap time, and though she hasn't fallen asleep yet, she doesn't seem upset. I can also see on our video monitor that she is just holding her pacifier as opposed to putting it in her mouth, so this is good.

I'm praying the transistion will be simple, because I don't do well without sleep :).