the battle of the binky.

That's right, we are having a battle in our house and it's with Jessica and her love for the binky. This is new to me. The boys never took a pacifier, and Jessica, well she is absolutely in love with it. If it were up to her, she would have it in her mouth all the time. While we try to only let her have it during naps and bedtime, she finds her little stashes around the house and happily plops them in her mouth.

Last week I happened to notice, or at least notice in my own paranoid mind, that there is gap between her top and bottom teeth. I am convinced it's the binky's fault. I know it. Well, actually it's my fault because I've allowed her to have the binky, but let's just go with it's the binky's fault.

That was it for me. It's time to say bye bye binky. We talked about the "binky fairy," yet each night when it came time to give it up there was a battle. There were tears, begging and pleas. And then I had to listen to the boys ramble on how they lost out on the binky fairy, they couldn't believe they didn't know there was one (oh boy, what have I started).

I stopped talking about the fairy and decided to start with baby steps. Our new rule: binky stays in bed, you can only use it for naps and bedtime.

So far, we are on day two and I am so proud of Jess. When I tell her to take it out she happily spits it across the room and laughs. Sure, it's turned into a little game, but if it works then I'm okay with that. The plan is to go about two weeks with this rule and then move to phase two, bye bye binky.

Ultimately, my goal is to be over the pacifier by the time we go on vacation this summer. I have to admit, it drives me crazy. I don't often use the word hate, but I hate, loathe the binky. I want to pluck it from her mouth and throw it away. I want to tell her she doesn't need it. She's a big girl, and big girls don't use binkys.

But maybe, just maybe, she does need it. Maybe she needs that comfort. Am I willing to pluck that from my little girl and toss it to the wind? Or am I willing to set aside my annoyance for that little piece of plastic and turn my head on this issue. Am I willing to gather my patience and wait until she is ready. Or at least more ready.

The battle of the binky is a tough fight. I wish I knew the answers. I wish I knew the key to winning. I tend to be an all or nothing kinda person. A quit cold turkey, if you will. Rip off the bandaid fast and it won't hurt. I don't think this battle will be that easy or fast.

Do you know the key to winning? Suggestions? Answers? Anything?