Goodbye Paci!

We all have rules in our heads about what we are and aren't going to do with our kids before we have them, right?! Well, pacifiers was one of mine. My kids were NOT going to have a pacifier. I do not like them. I do not think they are cute. I didn't want to start a habit I knew I was going to have to brake. I hate having to look for it and keep track of it. My sisters and I didn't have them growing up and so I thought it wasn't unreasonable to say, my kids weren't going to have them either. I did however put one caveat to this rule which was, if my kids start to suck their thumb I will give them a pacifier because I knew it would be easier to brake them of a paci habit then a thumb sucking habit.
Nonetheless, Rhett has had a paci for 2 1/2 years. He started sucking his thumb, I would pull it out and he would put it right back in. I gave him a paci. In hind sight I gave in too easy and should have worked at it a little bit longer before resorting to paci but, so be it.
After 2 1/2 years I would say that some of my dislikes for pacifiers still remain. I hate keeping track of them. I do not think they are cute and it wasn't a fun habit to break. However, I have come to find some positives. SLEEP!!!! Rhett has always been a great sleeper. You give him paci and blankie (known in our house as "mankie") and he reaches for his crib and never makes another peep. He has slept through the night since he was 2 months old and still to this day (most days) takes a 3 hour nap. I will take some credit for sleep training and he might have been this way all on his own but I do know that having his paci helps him relax. So, thank you paci for 2 1/2 years of wonderful sleep! :)
A couple of weeks ago, Randy and I decided it was time we said goodbye. I stocked up on treats and we broke the news to Rhett. We told him every time he went to bed with out paci, when he woke up he got a treat. He immediately handed his paci to Randy. If only every nap/bedtime could have gone this smoothly. For the next week it took him much longer to go to sleep, which often resulted in not as much sleep and a grumpy 2 year old! Nonetheless, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been.
When Rhett woke up the first morning after going to sleep with out paci and the first thing he said to me was "where's my present?" Later he would try to give the treats and presents back for paci but he eventually realized paci wasn't coming back and stopped asking for it and the treats too! :)

Rhett with his presents the first morning with out paci!