Cold Turkey

Today's the day. As of 2:08 PM CST, we are saying farewell to binkies. I'm not going to lie, it won't be easy. Ben and his binky have been like "peas and carrots" for a long time. I've been saying we were going to start "Binky Detox" for months but something always seemed to come up (like my intense fear of hours of crying and sleepless nights---and that would just be me!). But, recently Ben's lady friend went cold turkey and her parents lived to tell the tale. I was inspired.

Since there are no in-patient treatment facilities, Don and I were forced to do an intervention ourselves. It started about a week ago when I ruled that binkies were only for bed. With a few exceptions, that has been pretty easy. This afternoon at naptime, I just "forgot" to give him his binky. I left the room and shut the door. For a few minutes, he stood at the door saying, "MMMOOOOOMMMMMYYYYY... I need a binky. I NEEEEEEED it. I NEEEEED a BINNNNKKKYYYYYYY." Now, I'm happy to report that there are no sounds coming from his room and I think my forgetfulness has paid off.

In honor of the bink's departure, here are a couple of my favorite binky pictures..

In the early days--- Ben and the bink at Gymboree class:

Studly pool side pics (the combination of the physique, sunglasses and binky really make the man)

Here's hoping bedtime goes as smoothly and that Ben will soon be able to counsel other toddlers with binky addictions. No doubt they'll be inspired by his story of binky recovery and sobriety. At the very least, now maybe he'll only have to wear braces for 2 years instead of braces with headgear for 5 years. If he has a tough night, I'm sure the promise of a bright orthodontic future will be all he needs.