Binky Fairy

When Audrey was born, she was a sucker for her pacifiers.  Get it?  Sucker?  Ha!  The rule was that you always had to have one in arms reach because she was that dependent on them from day one.  God forbid you didn't have one ready to pop in when she started asking for it.  We had 7 scattered around the house, car and daycare at all times. (By comparison, Vivian only has 4.)  Panic would always ensue if we couldn't find them....you'd think it would be hard to lose all 7 at one time but it happened on more than one occasion.  For years, we managed to keep all 7 until over the last year, we lost (or had to throw away due to toilet mishaps) 6 of them.  The last one standing just happened to be the green and blue one that she was given in the hospital the day she was born.  Check out how big it looks compared to her face!

We had been preparing Audrey for about 6 months that once she turned 3, the Binky Fairy was going to come and take her binkies.  This was also going to coindcide with her move to the Preschool room at school - in which we, along with school staff, told her that binkies weren't allowed (this isn't really true - shhhh!).  We even had the help of Elmo who has a skit on Sesame Street about giving up his binky and sings the "Bye Bye Binky" song.  We played the song enough times that Audrey could sing along and we'd talk to her about it.  As her birthday grew near, I started to really talk up the Binky Fairy so she'd know what to expect - Audrey would go to bed with her binky, the Fairy would come take it in the night and leave her something.  I asked Audrey what she'd like the Fairy to leave her and she said a cupcake.  Of course!  A cupcake!  So on the night of her birthday, we penned a letter to the Binky Fairy, sang the "Bye Bye Binky" song along with Elmo twice and took one last picture.

Just once, as she was getting ready for bed, did she get wide eyed and ask again if the Fairy was really coming, and I was the one struggling to hold back my tears. It may seem silly, but my heart was breaking a little bit for her. I knew she was losing the one item she could always rely on and I was watching my little girl grow up.  I'm crying again just typing this.  :)

The letter that Audrey left for the Binky Fairy.  I find it funny that she started with "I love you."

And the response with the promised cupcake:

One happy girl.  I let her eat the cupcake for breakfast.  :)

In the 2 weeks since, Audrey has only mentioned her binky 3 or 4 times.  The first time was a few nights after the Fairy's visit.  Audrey asked Bill if when she turns 2 and then 1, she'd get her binky back.  Bill explained that it doesn't work that way.  She also started telling us this week that she misses her binky.  Her transition into the Preschool room isn't going very well so we think she's missing her crutch.  (On a side note, we are impressed that she understands the notion of missing something.)  Bill starting telling her that she could visit with her binky in her dreams - this was also a ploy to try and get her to stay in her bed at night.  Gosh, we're such the deceivers!  :)

I have to wonder what my mom would think of all this. When Audrey was really little and Bill and I would try and restrict her binky usage, my mom thought we were being too hard on Audrey and would say, "What's the harm?"  I wonder if she would be supportive or still think we were making too big of a deal out of it. Considering I sucked my thumb for far too long and she never really tried to stop me, she probably would still think it wasn't worth it. But, I'm choosing to believe that she'd still support us anyhow. :)

In the end, Bill and I are surprised at how well Audrey is doing without her binky and how little she's talked about it.  I'm thinking this was the right time and we prepared her well.  I only wish all of her transitions in life could be this easy.....and that she'd always get a cupcake.