it's all fun and games until someone loses a binkie!
However, after lunch came a 1 hour meltdown. 1 HOUR! She cried, screamed, and hit b/c she wanted her "beh-bee". I was tempted to just give it to her, but I held firm, put her in time out for hitting, and told her she could have it at nap time. I tried to picture 4 year old Avery and me shopping and she's got a binkie in her mouth. Sounds drastic, but I see it all the time. Sure, I wonder why a "big" kid has a binkie in his/her mouth, but I don't judge. It is what it is, but I didn't want that to be us! This was part of my motivation!
I was starting to freak out b/c it was getting close to nap time and I didn't want her to think I was giving in to her. I actually had to put her in her crib to calm down b/c she kept getting up from the time out spot by the front door. I pulled her pillow, owl, and binkie out of the crib. She cried for a few minutes then quieted down. I looked in the monitor and saw her curled up in the corner. I walked in b/c I didn't want her to fall asleep yet. Early nap will screw up the rest of our afternoon. I walked in and called her name softly...she pops her little head up, starts to whimper, and covers her mouth....which has a binkie in it!!! I must have missed a binkie! I took it away, which of course caused her to flip out.
Parker was such a great help with calming Avery down. When she cries, he often comes over to her, pats her head or her back and softly "shh, shh, shh" - all things that I do to try and soothe her.
I brought her to my room to calm down while Parker and my mom were in the living room. We talked and cuddled and I was able to calm her down a few times, but she's a stubborn little girl and would cry out every few minutes. I guess Parker had had enough of her crying and screaming and came into my room and tried to cheer her up by building a "house" with my blankets and pillows and playing peek-a-boo with her.
this wasn't from today, but this was what she looked like while screaming for her binkie...yep 1 hour!
It worked! Finally she was able to calm down and about 30 min later I put her down for a nap - a little later than usual, but I wanted some time to elapse between her tantrum and giving her binkie. I did our usual nap time routine: changed her diaper, turned her fan and air purifier/white noise machine on, and gave her her owl lovey. She noticed that I hadn't given her her binkie and asked for it. I calmly told her no and told her to put her head down on my shoulder, which she did. We sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and she reached for her crib after we finished singing. Through the monitor I saw her sitting up for a few minutes, which she occasionally does and goes to sleep when she's ready. I thought she would cry for her binkie, but didn't.
she was so sweet...until she asked demanded her binkie
Night time was another story...she whimpered for it. I tried to distract her with a song, but she was persistent. I put her in her crib with just her owl lovey and she dropped on all fours and started searching all corners of her crib for a hidden binkie...all while whimpering for "beh-hee". It broke my heart that she was truly distressed over it. Don't judge but I gave it to her. Not that I need to justify my actions, but here are my reasons for giving it to her tonight:
1. She's teething and it helps soothe her sore gums.
2. I don't want to just take the binkie away cold turkey. From past experience with weaning her from the bottle, she needs time to adjust.
3. I just don't want to deal with another 1 hour of screaming...ok so this was probably a huge factor. I admit it!
my sweet little bunny...4.5 hours after I tucked her into bed and her beloved binkie is still in her mouth
Wish me luck and if you have any tips and advise about how to get rid of her binkie, please let me know! My only other experience was to quit cold turkey and that's def not an option for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave me some love and comment below!