No Boot Camp Required!

I mentioned in this post about our upcoming transitions that after Elias got settled into his Big Boy Bed, we were going to begin No-More-Paci Boot Camp to get him off the pacifier. I had really been dreading this because I thought it was going to be a huge ordeal. But Justin was more convinced than I was that we needed to do it soon and that he would be ok, so he managed to convince me. So this weekend, a temporary insanity struck me and I decided to just give it a try. I figured there's no way to know how he'd do without it until we tried it.

Elias turned 2 on Friday, so I thought Saturday would be a good day to see how he did without a paci. There was nothing I did to prepare him for it - I didn't even tell him I was going to do it. I just put him down for his nap without it, not mentioning it at all. He knows how to ask for it, so I figured it he was going to have a problem, he could just ask for the paci. But he didn't ask for it. He did whine a bit, and he didn't nap at all that first day, but he never asked for his paci. And that night he was so tired from not napping that he went right to sleep without it. And he slept all night and woke up at the normal time! Score!

The second day was Sunday, and he went down for his nap fine without the paci. I wasn't really surprised at this because church makes his nap later than usual and wears him out, so he was tired. Then he also went to sleep Sunday night. He did wake up pretty early Monday morning, but nothing I couldn't handle.

Monday was a little bit of a setback because he didn't nap at all, but he still never asked for the paci. And like Saturday, without the nap he slept great Monday night.

So dare I say it??? I think we're done with the paci! WOW! That was WAAAAAAAY easier than I expected! It's only been 3 days, so the struggle may not be over, but I think he has proven he can do without it, so we won't be giving it back to him. What a relief that there was no Boot Camp required for this transition!!!