Bye Bye Paci

The last picture of Mae with her paci! I know she's way too big to have one (over 3), but since we experienced Mae's first year of no sleep, we've been so reluctant to mess with our now great sleeper! Lately she seemed to be getting even more attached, asking to get in bed just to hang out with a paci at all times of the day. Anna needed to get a new lullaby music maker in her bunny (the one she put her paci in at 3 & still sleeps with), so that provided us a reason to go to Build a Bear on Memorial Day weekend. We let Mae pick a favorite paci out of the bag to put inside the animal of her choice - she picked this black puppy - and "traded in" the rest. We didn't know if she would put up a fight in the store, but she was actually thrilled!

The first night she fussed for 5 minutes, and ever since her only comments have been, "I'm a big sister now, I don't need my paci." To Mae, being a big sister means being like Anna - a big girl. We are so proud of her! The only drawback - she didn't nap for a week afterwards & got really cranky in the evenings from being over-tired. Thanks to swimming lessons, the last two days she's napped again so I hope we are back on the right track.

It has been bittersweet - there are no more "baby" things at our house anymore! No pacis, diapers, etc. Sometimes that is great - and other times I'm a little sad at how fast it's gone.

The finished puppy - who Mae named Daisy. Below, Anna shows Mae how to give Daisy her first bath. Of course, beloved bunny got one too. The sweetest moment of the whole transition was the first night when Mae was really sad about her paci. Anna snuggled up next to her in Mae's bed & I reminded Anna that she could encourage Mae since she'd gone through the same thing. She said in a serious but sweet little voice, "Maelyn, I remember when I put my paci in this old fashioned bunny. I was sad at first, but after a couple of nights, I mean a few nights, I mean 3 or 4 nights, I got used to it and now I love this old bunny!" I don't know where Anna got the "old fashioned" part, but it was precious to see her really being empathetic. Sweet sister moment.