However, easy isn't always best. Sometimes we need to endure inconvenience and difficulty to do what's best for our child. We knew that the next best choice for our Little Miss was to remove the nukky. Her teeth had been affected, but most importantly she had regressed from wanting it only at nap/bedtime to wanting it all the time and had dramatically slowed her participation in talking and signing learning activities.
Getting rid of the nukky proved to be more challenging than we had originally thought...and we had thought it would be challenging. Our Little Miss has no problem picking things out of the garbage and putting them in her mouth-so throwing them away was NOT an option. Broken (cut) nukky didn't work, so Pinterest to the rescue! We sifted through ideas and decided to go with the nukky fairy, choosing to place the nukkies under her pillow and then leaving a small toy in place. Little Miss was aware her nukky was going to be surrendered shortly, so we explained to her the "nukky fairy" concept. Well, much to our surprise our rough and tough outgoing Little Miss sort of freaked and became scared about someone entering her room and taking her nukkies. It was too late to backpedal. We couldn't untell what had been told...she wanted the nukky fairy to give her nukkies to other new babies who needed them, but she did not want said fairy in her room. Plan B: attach nukkies to helium balloons and release, once balloons are out of sight the nukky fairy catches them, cleans them and delivers them to new babies! Woohoo, a plan she was excited about!
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| - we prepared Little Miss with a daily countdown - |
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| -the big day had arrived; bye bye nukkies! - |
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| - picking out balloons was fun, the ride to the park...meh - |
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| - Savoring her nukky! - |
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| - Our brave Little Miss - |
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| - One last suck on her nukky! We had a super windy day so the balloons were out of sight fairly quickly! - |
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| - My heart sort of breaks as she processes the reality of saying goodbye to her nukkies!- |
Results: Transition to no nukky went amazingly well as far as socializing and participation in songs and games, but we are challenged with setbacks in potty accidents and nightmares accompanied by fear of falling asleep.
Amelia knows "the Lord is my protector, there is nothing I shall fear" and asks us to say it with her before she falls asleep. This has been tremendously comforting for both her and us!
Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
We are unwrapping the gift of perseverance, bravery, meaningful big girl conversations, and tucking God's word into our hearts!
