The Binky

The time has come to consider tossing the crutch. The Bub's mom and I rec'd some advice on how to gradually reduce his use of the binky:

Keep the binky in the crib. It was suggested that we simply let the Bubs know that the binky now "lives" in the crib and has to stay there. It will always be there for when he sleeps, but it cannot leave the crib. If he resists, then he can stay in the crib with it. However, at some point he'll choose to want out and leave it willingly.

I guess it may be natural for many people to receive good advice, but tweak it just a bit to call it their own. This is what I decided to do. I told the Bubs that the binky has to stay with Cookie Monster (who happens to stay in the crib all the time). I even had Cookie "chat" with the Bubs about the new rules with the binky. The upper, left-hand corner pic shows my sad attempt at forcing Cookie to let the Bubs know that his binky will be safe and sound. The Bubs didn't seem to "buy" it tho. This went on for about 10 minutes. Over and over again, Cookie Monster insisted that he would take good care of the binky while the Bubs was away from his crib. Again and again, the Bubs didn't fall for it. The persuasion turned into a battle of wills and the Bubs wore down the Cookie Monster (upper, right-hand corner picture). This is when I took over and handed down the mandate that Cookie will hold onto the Bubs binky when the Bubs was outside it. I left the binky with Cookie and took the Bubs downstairs.

I paid a heavy price. The crying never stopped. I had to take the Bubs to Home Depot to quiet him down. We stopped  at a McDonald's along the way and split a cheeseburger and fries in the parking lot. I explained the long-term consequences of the binky interfering with tongue tip movement, therefore harming his speech ability.

He just stared at me. I think he was speechless.