Taking Away The Paci

I have entirely too many pictures like this.  While 2.0 is adorable and sweet and cute and all the other adjectives you can think of, there's one thing about this picture that irritates me.

The Paci.

Bink, Nuk, whatever you call it.  It's so cute when kids are little and I'm not one of those moms who think that a pacifier is a bad thing.  I think sucking on the thumb is a bad thing and if this keeps him from doing that, well more power to the paci.  Plus, it gives Mom a chance to make a statement.  This picture has the camo paci, which is in homage to 2.0's godfather, grandfather, and great grandfather who all served in the military.

This paci is retro chic.

The paci helps 2.0 soothe himself and go to sleep or calm down when he's mad.  It helps him fall asleep (no matter where he is) and quiets him when he's being loud in places where he shouldn't be loud (like the library).

2.0 started walking fairly ahead of schedule for boys, but he doesn't talk much.  He says 'dada' all the time.  It's his favorite word I think.  He says 'mama' a lot too.  He also says 'yeah' and 'yup' sometimes.  But that's it.  The pediatrician isn't worried, but I sure am.

So this week, I decided to take away the paci except at nap times and bedtime.  The rest of the day, 2.0 has to learn to deal without it.  When he smashed his fingers in the door this morning, I gave it back to him, but otherwise he hasn't had it.  I'm happy to say that he's done rather well.

Those are giraffes?!

He's babbling more than he was before.  He's trying to form words and repeat what I'm saying (which means I have to watch what I say so I don't have bad words repeated in the nursery at church).  The biggest pay off has been watching him smile more.  I get to see more expressions like the one in the picture to the left there.

2.0 came down with a little bit of the croup too this week, so he was crabby and cranky and otherwise acting like a man when he's sick.  But we stuck through it and didn't give in to the paci temptation.  So far, so good.
And you'd be surprised how many pacis this kid has.  I found seven behind or underneath his crib.  It's ridiculous.