Bye bye Paci!

In the past year or so, Kaylee has become VERY attached to her pacifier.  She was only allowed it for naptime and bed time, but once she hit 3, I knew it needed to go.   It's not good for her teeth, and it would just get harder to wean her off it as she got older.

So, I had a "Bye Bye Paci" party.

We invited friends over and made a big deal with balloons, cake and ice cream.

We tied the paci to the balloons, and watched them float off into the sky.  (Actually, the paci was too heavy, so we did some fancy moves to cut the paci off, stuff it into my pocket and distract her so she thought they disappeared.)

My mom made this cute little dress.  They picked out the fabric together.


She watched the balloons until they were just at speck in the sky.

Just as it became a very sober and sad moment, one of her "aunties" started clapping and cheering.   Whew... tears were avoided....until bed time, at least.

She and I picked out a cute bumble bee pillow as a present/ replacement for her paci.  I was hoping that she could hug it and use it as a comfort for bedtime, but that has been a complete flop.


The first night, she was inconsolable and completely distraught for hours and hours.   I was afraid I had made a huge mistake.

The next day, we rearranged her room and to my dismay, she found another paci under her bed!  However, she turned it over to me and said, "Mama, we need to get another balloon for this paci."    So we bought one more balloon and sent that paci on its way too.

It's been a few weeks now and she still has a hard time falling asleep.   She'll tell me, "I just can't sleep without that paci."   or "I wish I had that stupid paci." 

It's her first experience of loss...of grief and missing something that she loves. There will be more in years to come.  She's only three, so this might not even make it into her memory bank, but I hope she knows I want to comfort her every time she has her little heart broken, and celebrate each milestone that we pass.