So this last Monday we were at Walmart doing the dreaded grocery shopping and while back in the dairy section, Carter messing around took his binky out and threw it. It landed in a grated area where we could see it but not get to it. Previous to this, I had been getting my fill of little old ladies telling me that my son was too old for a binky (one of these actually made him cry last weekend) and people dropping "hints" to me on "this is how I got my child off of his binky." I really did appreciate everyone's great and creative ideas and I even asked for a few of them, but I was just fed up. So I saw this imprisonment of Carter's binky as divine intervention. I think Heavenly Father knew Matt and I didn't have the guts to take it away. So back to the story. After seeing our predicament with the binky I knew we needed to act fast. I told Carter to wave and say goodbye to his binky. His eyes welled up with tears and you could see in his little face that his heart was broken. In between sobs he said goodbye to his binky and waved as well. In the past, I had poorly attempted to limit the binky but after not receiving a lot of support from Matt all of my attempts were thwarted. Thus, I knew I needed to get Matt on board so I called him right away. I explained the situation and told him what I wanted to do. Matt got emotional (yes he cried) and said that he couldn't do that to his boy. This comes from a guy who has a major oral fixation problem himself. But he finally agreed when I told him that Carter really understood that this was it, there was no more binky. Matt was afraid we might traumatize him so we agreed to give Carter a choice. I asked Carter if he wanted a Carter's Bink (that is Carter's name for it to differentiate it from a Baby's binky, yes we tried the shame tactic) or a Big Boy Bike. He chose the bike and stopped crying. Matt wanted to be there with us when we picked out the bike and I thought that it was good to wait to make sure Carter was serious about this. So everytime he asked for his Carter's Bink I gave him the choice and again everytime he would stop whining and say in a big boy voice that he wanted a Big Boy Bike. He went about two days, a nap and a night without his binky and he stayed true the whole time to his bike so last night we went to Target and got his Big Boy Bike. Our little boy is growing up...now on to potty training.
10 comments:
As a mother of "binky lovers" I totally understand the intrusive comments from others. We had so many negative comments with both of them. Spencer was nearly 3 before he got rid of his. Chandler was around 15-18 months, but we still got the criticism. I fully plan on letting Oliver have a binky for as long as he wants, too. My sister-in-law was anti binky for her son. He is 5 and still sucks his thumb. She now wishes he would have taken a bink. I am glad that the process went smoothly for you. He sure is cute!
I should not be laughing, but I am.
A lot.
The stuff about Matt was sweet, and by sweet I mean I am going to give him a hard time next week.
Awesome.
Good Job Carter!! You'll enjoy the bike more than that old binky anyday!!
Growing up is just as hard for the parents as is it sometimes for the kids! Way to go on being tough and thinking of a wonderful alternative!! You guys are great parents!
Oh potty training. I have nothing else to say... :)
It's bitter-sweet watching our little guys grow up 'eh? I think I'm almost as attached to Lincoln having a binky as he is - for more than one reason, but I'm not ready to let go of the baby part of him yet...who knows if we'll get to do the infant thing again or not, you know? Congrats to you though, and Carter does look like such a big boy on his bike! Good luck with potty training next! Wahoo!
That is hilarious. Your post gave me a good laugh...especially the part where Matt gets emotional about the binky. I must also add that potty training is 5 billion times worse than taking a binky away. It could have been the worse 2 weeks of my life when Jack was getting trained. Good luck with that!
Congratulations! I don't have kids but I've heard it's hard to get rid of the binky!
He has grown up so fast and is toooo cute. I heard you guys had a great time in the Mountains. Glad you are doing well!!
Getting rid of a binky is definitely a big step in a child's life. Hallie was also very attached to hers. Carter looks so cute on his big boy bike.
Hi there, just found your blog through the Thalgotts, wondered if you're related to any Nielsens up in Logan or Spanish Fork and such. Good luck and cute family!
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