Yesterday afternoon Dylan did something that neither me or Tamara expected. He willingly gave up his soother.
We had been talking about trying to ween him off it around his third birthday (coming up in two weeks) so we were unsure as to how we could best go about it. The one thing we were VERY sure of is that we wanted to make sure he did it all on his own without us telling him or taking it from him. We thought it was very important that he be the one to make the decision to give it away so that he wouldn’t feel like we were taking something from him. The problem was, how were we going to do that?
We had thought about trying to tell him about how other little babies need doodens (that’s what he called his soother) and that since he was getting to be a big boy, he’d soon have to give his dooden to a little baby who really needs it. But then I had an idea that ultimately sealed the deal.
See Dylan loves to watch balloons fly up into the air (filled with helium) and he watches them “go to the moon”. He really likes watching them float up into the sky and eventually out of sight. So I had this idea that we could tie his soother to the end of a strong on a balloon and we could let him take the balloon outside and let it go, and that his soother would fly into the air and go to a new baby who needs it. Yesterday, when Tamara got home, she wanted to give it a try.
I sat Dylan down and told him that a little baby needed his dooden and that we were going to put it on a balloon and he could let it fly into the sky to the little baby. Dylan repsonded with something to the affect of “Fly up to the moon. A baby on the moon”. Knowing he was SO keen on it going to the moon, I went with it.
He was VERY excited to let his soother go to a baby on the moon. He took the balloons outside, and I stepped away from him, and I told him to say goodbye to his dooden, and when he was ready, to let it go. He said goodbye, and a mere few seconds later, he let go of the balloon and off it went. He waved to it and got really excited about how it was going to go help a baby on the moon. (Meanwhile I’m wondering if the soother will land on someone’s head when the balloon’s finally pop).
No tears, no anxiety. Nothing. He was VERY excited. That is until bedtime came.
He stalled going to bed and then the requests for his dooden came in. He kept asking for it and we kept reminding him of where he sent it that afternoon. He got a bit upset a few times, but we just kept talking to him and reminding him of where it was and how he was a big boy and we were so proud of him. Despite getting out of bed several times, he eventually went to sleep without it. He hadn’t been using it anywhere else at any time and only when he went to bed so this was the last of his dooden time.
I suspect that the next night or two might also be a bit rough but I am SO proud of him for doing so well with this. I know it could have been WAY harder but he did so great saying goodbye and he’s really starting to grow up.
Wow. He’s going to be 3 in less than two weeks. Holy crap.
Pulled from DylansHouse.com. Read the original post here
