peacemaker

Dylan,

Other parents have told me stories about how hard it is to get a kid off pacifiers, like they're some baby version of heroin. I knew from the first time that Mom wasn't around and I stuck my pinky finger in your mouth in a desperate move to stem the crying, that I was making a deal with the devil- a compromise for which I would surely pay dearly. But it worked, so shortly thereafter I went to Long's and bought your first official pacifier.

You used a pacifier every night to go to sleep and for most car rides in the carseat. Many, many were the times in those first six months that we went to calm you down in the middle of the night and had to hunt blindly around the crib mattress or even on the floor for your paci before getting you back to sleep.

Surprisingly- no, make that amazingly -a couple weeks ago you stopped taking the pacifier at night. Then I realized that you really weren't using it for the car rides anymore either. I'm guessing it had something to do with our change to your nighttime ritual wherein we (read: mom) started nursing you after the bath. It not only knocks you cold with mind-boggling effectiveness, but you started refusing the pacifier when you were done. We were afraid at first that it would mean you'd wake up without it waiting in your mouth, but you don't seem to miss it.

You've fully weened yourself off the pacifier with practically no involvement on our part. If I'd only known making a deal with the devil was this easy...

Dad