Last month, I mentioned how we had to get Simon off of pacifiers at night. The reason wasn't that he was too old or any typical reason like that, it was that he was chewing through them. I figured he'd just stop after awhile, as he did for daytime on his own. But choking hazards are not an option, so unfortunately we had to bail on them. The reserves we bought last month ended up lasting a long time, because he stopped chewing through them. Then, all of a sudden last week, he gnashed through several.
Once they were done, they were done. His first chances to sleep without them were his naps, and it did not go well. By "night night" time, he was exhausted out of his mind. He protested for a bit, and needed some reassuring tummy rubs, but he eventually slept, and did so well into the morning. We were both kind of surprised.
That day, he was digging through one of his bathroom drawers, and pulled out his old plastic keys and a teether he was fond of when he was much smaller. Diana decided to put the teether, which is virtually indestructible, in the crib with him for his nap. Amazingly enough, he gives it a little chew, and gets into his relaxation zone. He still protests a bit when we put him down, but it's very short lived.
I think it might be possible that we've dodged a bullet here. It sucks that he's not happy when he goes down, but I think he will come around. We've also stopped feeding him at any point overnight. I think we got into some bad habits with him when he was sick, in terms of feeding and/or attention, and I think his reliance on pacifiers for comfort may have even made it worse. There is still a lot of change in his near future, as I'm sure he'll go down to one nap.
It's a funny push and pull scene for this age. His walking has become so solid already, without the "Thriller dance" arms, and he's always testing boundaries. At the same time, he loves to be with us, and has started to enjoy wrestling with us a bit. I love when he wants to be tickled, because his laugh is the best.
The challenges never seem to really end, but at the same time, I think we're both a lot more confident than we used to be. The hardest thing to me isn't even Simon, but making sure that Diana and I maintain regular check-ins and rich contact, and put away everything else that "must" be done. It gets a little easier though, with every obstacle we overcome.
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