At his one year check-up, Dr. Katz informed me, if I hadn't already, it was time to get rid of bottles and patis. Bottles, no problem. Patis- more of an issue.
Carter has been a great sleeper- both at nap time and bed time. I chalk that up, in part, to a great bedtime routine that includes bath, story, prayers, a water/wave CD, a blankey and pati at as close to the same time every night as I can. So, pati was a bed time crutch- a comfort object.
I have ALWAYS hated seeing big kids walk around with a pacifier in their mouth. It looks ridiculous and my hatred is fanned when they have mastered the art of conversing with this foreign object in their mouth. Yuck!
So, in an effort to not be one of "those" parents, Carter was slowly weaned off his pati to the point where it was only used at nap and bed time- sleep times only- by the time he was about 18 months old.
Noah and I decided we would completely get rid of it by his second birthday.
Well, Noah got sick and Carter spent 2 months away from home, out of his normal routine and spent many days and nights without the two of us. When we finally did get home, and back on a schedule, it was right around his second birthday and I just did not feel it was the right time to take it away from him. He had been though alot and now was not the time to pull the plug. No pun intended!
I put it off...
and off...
and off...
then I found out Dirk and Amy were expecting twin girls. Ah! Carter could gift his two remaining patis to the girls. (That's all we had left. I refused to buy more, so if we ever lost one, it was gone.)
The girls were born May 15th.
Noah talked to Dirk on Friday and the Locke's invited us over for dinner. I realized it would be a good time to let the patis go.
At bedtime on Friday Noah and I told Carter, "You are a big boy now. Big boys do not have patis, so it is time for you to give your patis to someone who needs them. Elle and Sydney are babies and they need them. When we go to Dirk and Amy's on Sunday you will need to give them to the girls."
There was a look of bewilderment on his sweet little face. Then, with his red pati already in his mouth, he put his hand over it and said (my pet peeve), "But my red one is my FAVORITE one!" and he began to cry.
We comforted him and continued with his bed time routine.
Saturday, I remembered Carter had a book about giving away pacifiers, so I went into his room and dug it out. Prepared that after bath time, we would remind him this was his last night with pati and read him the special pati book.
Noah and I did just that. The eyes welled up with big tears again, as he pleaded that he loved his pati and wanted it. He was on the verge of hysterics when I went to plan B- bribery.
"How about if you get to pick a tasty treat (in reference to a Playhouse Disney short called, "Tasty Time with Ze Fronk")to celebrate you giving patis away?"
He stopped crying and said, "A tasty treat? Okay."
I enthusiastically read the book to him and he continued to calm. He went to sleep.
Sunday, Carter was excited about picking out a treat and, as an added bonus, I made a trip to Pet Smart and purchased him a small fish tank for his room. The tank would be an added surprise for when we got home from Dirk and Amy's.
Sunday afternoon, Carter carried his patis to the car, but asked several times if he could give them to Dirk, not the girls. I thought that was funny!
We stopped at Kroger and Carter had his choice of 3 cakes. He picked a chocolate cake decorated like a frog. Really cute!
After dinner, when it was time to give away his patis, he did it quickly and easily. Everyone clapped for him. I thought there might be some tears, but he seemed more focused on giving them away so we could cut the frog cake and go swimming. I played along and did not linger on the situation. If he was happy, I was happy.
When we got home, Noah and I told Carter how proud of him we were and that we had another surprise for him. He was excited about the tank. Carter helped Noah set it up, so that today he and I could go purchase a fish for it. One Carter could pick out all by himself!
By this time, is was about 10:00pm. Waaaay past bed time. I thought he would be exhausted, especially after swimming, and that would help him fall asleep easier.
No such luck.
As soon as we told him it was time to put his PJ's on, Carter began to cry. Then, he began to scream. Next came whaling.
"But Momma! I WANT my pati. I LOVE my pati. Can we plllleeeaaassseee go get my pati from Aaron's house tomorrow? PLEASE! PLEASE MOMMA! PLEASE!!!"
I finally got him dressed, stayed firm, looked at him and said, "Carter, who is reading your story tonight- Momma or Daddy?" Through tears and snot and slobber came an angry, "DADDY!"
So, Noah got the pleasure of reading the bed time story and talking him down.
Carter did come out to the living room one more time to give me one more hug and kiss (and another whimper or two) before heading in to talk to Daddy for a while longer.
He did eventually settle and go to sleep- around 11:00. Oh well. He slept all night and is napping right now. Sound and quiet.
It seems he survived. I survived.
The last "baby" item is gone. He is all big boy now. He probably won't cry tonight.
I still might.
Frog Cake and two lone Patis:
Giving Pati to Sydney:
Giving Pati to Elle:
Getting ready to Cut the Cake:
The Fish Tank:
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