To Bink or Not To Bink
I’m back, babydolls!! (that is a How I Met Your Mother quote, btw)
I know I kind of fell of the blogosphere for a while. I just ended up being overcome by events and blogging kind of got put on the back burner.
A lot has been going on, but on the other hand not a whole lot at all has been going on. I have gotten into a nice routine with some of the wives from the boat of walking a few mornings a week which is great. Lance has been sleeping in his crib for almost a month now, and I am so very proud of him. I am working on designing cross stitch patterns on my computer, which is really cool. But that is really about it. It just seems like a lot more when you are living it I guess.
So on to the meaning behind the title of this entry—
I have been struggling with the whole pacifier/no pacifier thing since before Lance was born. On the one hand, I knew I absolutely did not want to use a pacifier until breastfeeding was well established. On the other hand, I know that a pacifier is a good tool to have when you have an inconsolable child on your hands. Initially, Lance made the decision for me…he flat out would not take a pacifier. Then one day we tried a Nuk that my friend offered and he liked it. But after that day I could not get him to take it for more than 5 minutes at a time, or if he took it for longer he would then spit up a fountain. So I got rid of all the pacifiers, figuring I had a kid who just would not take one. He has started self soothing by sucking on his fingers, which had been working. Then yesterday I was shopping with my girlfriend and Lance started freaking out. His favorite song was not working, and I was at a loss. Finally I remembered that I had one final binky hiding in the depths of the diaper bag. So in a moment of desperation I fished it out and popped it in his mouth. To my utter astonishment, it worked. It was not a Nuk, but an Avent, one I had picked out before he was born because I liked the little stars on it. He sucked and chomped contentedly away until it was time to head home. (At which point he spit it out and screeched like a banshee all the way home from Westbrook, since he spit it out after the car was moving and there was nothing I could do about it.)
So today I picked up another pack of the Avents, as well as a 2 pack of MAM’s, another brand we had yet to try. When I put him down for his nap he was tired but fighting it. So I popped a MAM into his mouth and he passed right out. It worked again for his second nap as well. He likes to suck to soothe himself to sleep, which I have always known. I had been concerned about establishing the whole breasfeeding him to sleep thing because at some point he will be weaning and I will not be able to nurse him to sleep. So tonight, since he ended up nursing 30 minutes before bedtime, I did his bedtime routine and omitted the nursing, substituting the MAM for that. Much to my surprise, it worked.
So I guess we will see where we go from here. I still think I do not want him to always have a binky in his mouth, but it is nice to know they are a tool I have in my mommy arsenal now.
I think that is it for tonight—I hope that I am able to get back into a routine with this and begin posting more often again.
I know I kind of fell of the blogosphere for a while. I just ended up being overcome by events and blogging kind of got put on the back burner.
A lot has been going on, but on the other hand not a whole lot at all has been going on. I have gotten into a nice routine with some of the wives from the boat of walking a few mornings a week which is great. Lance has been sleeping in his crib for almost a month now, and I am so very proud of him. I am working on designing cross stitch patterns on my computer, which is really cool. But that is really about it. It just seems like a lot more when you are living it I guess.
So on to the meaning behind the title of this entry—
I have been struggling with the whole pacifier/no pacifier thing since before Lance was born. On the one hand, I knew I absolutely did not want to use a pacifier until breastfeeding was well established. On the other hand, I know that a pacifier is a good tool to have when you have an inconsolable child on your hands. Initially, Lance made the decision for me…he flat out would not take a pacifier. Then one day we tried a Nuk that my friend offered and he liked it. But after that day I could not get him to take it for more than 5 minutes at a time, or if he took it for longer he would then spit up a fountain. So I got rid of all the pacifiers, figuring I had a kid who just would not take one. He has started self soothing by sucking on his fingers, which had been working. Then yesterday I was shopping with my girlfriend and Lance started freaking out. His favorite song was not working, and I was at a loss. Finally I remembered that I had one final binky hiding in the depths of the diaper bag. So in a moment of desperation I fished it out and popped it in his mouth. To my utter astonishment, it worked. It was not a Nuk, but an Avent, one I had picked out before he was born because I liked the little stars on it. He sucked and chomped contentedly away until it was time to head home. (At which point he spit it out and screeched like a banshee all the way home from Westbrook, since he spit it out after the car was moving and there was nothing I could do about it.)
So today I picked up another pack of the Avents, as well as a 2 pack of MAM’s, another brand we had yet to try. When I put him down for his nap he was tired but fighting it. So I popped a MAM into his mouth and he passed right out. It worked again for his second nap as well. He likes to suck to soothe himself to sleep, which I have always known. I had been concerned about establishing the whole breasfeeding him to sleep thing because at some point he will be weaning and I will not be able to nurse him to sleep. So tonight, since he ended up nursing 30 minutes before bedtime, I did his bedtime routine and omitted the nursing, substituting the MAM for that. Much to my surprise, it worked.
So I guess we will see where we go from here. I still think I do not want him to always have a binky in his mouth, but it is nice to know they are a tool I have in my mommy arsenal now.
I think that is it for tonight—I hope that I am able to get back into a routine with this and begin posting more often again.