Done With Pacis?

I've been steeling myself for the big day.... the day that Caitlin gives up her pacifiers. I've been reading other blogs, seeing what other people have been doing with their kids, and trying to remember what I did with Brandon. Caitlin only gets her pacifier when she sleeps (unless she manages to find them earlier!), so it wasn't going to be as bad as if she was allowed to have them all the time. Brandon had a hard time for about a week. Still..... kids love pacis. So, I've been bracing myself. Shoring up my nerves. We've talked about this. Caitlin got sad every time. But, I'm not going to give in! I'm not! I'm the mom! So, what did I do?

I forgot the pacifiers on our weekend trip. Oops. No, really. I didn't "forget". I really and truly forgot them. They weren't on the packing list. If it's not on the list, chances are I will forget them.

I realized this about half way up to Breckenridge, as were sitting in traffic somewhere on a mountain.

I broke into a cold sweat.

But, seriously, it wasn't so bad. Caitlin believes she is a big girl. She attempts to strap herself into her car seat, occasionally goes pee-pee on the potty, and tries to help me out in any way possible. It's a little crazy now, but I'm getting use to the fact that's she's almost two and a half, and not a baby anymore.

The worst part about not having a paci at night.....? Caitlin will not shut-up. She is a non-stop chatterbox. And, when we travel, she shares a room with her brother, who isn't much quieter. And they *love* sharing a room. It's the bomb! But without the pacifier, I have nothing but threats on my side. Luckily she was pretty tired, so she didn't talk much before conking out.

When we got home I immediately took the pacifiers out of her room and hid them in mine. She's looked for them a couple of times, but has accepted (without tears!) that she's a big girl, and that big girls don't need pacis. I thought this would be a lot harder. So much for all that emotional stamina I was attempting to work up.

Still, I'm tucking on in the diaper bag for our flight on Thursday. I don't want to be the mom on the plane with the wailing kid who is crying out for a paci. I like quiet. So do all the other travelers.