Bye-bye, Paci.

We've been preparing Macklin for the departure of his pacifier for months now. All the books and our pediatrician said to rid the paci by 12 months, or it would be hard to give up. Well, it seemed unthinkable at 12 months, so we delayed it until spring. Then we cut it from naptime (no problem) and said we'd try to rid it entirely by his 2nd birthday. Then the holidays. Then the New Year.

Finally, we realized it would be harder for us than it was for him. We have been saying for months that only babies have paci's, not big boys, and when Macklin was ready he could give his paci to a baby. He liked the idea and would even remind us occasionally. So today we ceremoniously put the paci in a gift bag and took it to a party at a friend's house. Coincidentally, a new baby was there with a paci exactly like ours, so the plan worked perfectly.

Mommy: Okay, Macklin. Let's give your paci to baby Gabby. Okay? Can we give it to the baby to take home?
Macklin: Okay.
Mommy: And we won't have it anymore, right? Do you understand?
Macklin: Yes. Bye baby! Bye Paci!

And baby Gabby was carried out, and that was that. He talked about paci while getting ready for bed, and he asked for it when we put him in the crib, but we reminded him about baby Gabby, and he seemed okay with it. He fell asleep with no problem.

We'll see how the night goes - and tomorrow, when baby Gabby is a fuzzy memory. But for tonight, my heart is broken to see another little part of my sweet-smelling, cuddly, kissable baby slip away into history, to be replaced by a big boy and his cars, firetrucks, and size seven shoes.

Thanks for the memories, paci.