Last night marked a very important night in our household. The Binky Fairy finally came and took all of Audrey’s binkies away. Yes, at 3 years and 3 months, she was still using her binky to fall asleep at night. It was my dirty little secret, one that parents often don’t want to discuss because there always seems to be such a stigma attached to pacifier use. However, I will justify everything by stating two things (1) Her dentist was perfectly fine with her pacifier use as long as she wasn’t using it throughout the day AND if she gave it up somewhere around her 3rd birthday and (2) She really did only use it at night.
About one month ago we started to discuss the Binky Fairy and how one night Audrey would have to leave all of her binkies under her pillow and the fairy would come and take them away and give them to babies who needed them. In turn, the Binky Fairy would leave Audrey a very special gift. I had planned on taking the binky away on Tuesday because that’s the day Shrek the Halls comes out on DVD and I thought it would be a great gift. Audrey, as it always seems, had other plans. She discussed the Binky Fairy with Nana yesterday as they spent the entire day together while mommy and daddy spent the day shopping. “Nana put my binky under the pillow for tonight” she told us when we got home. Fabulous, but there was just one issue, I had no Binky Fairy gift. So after putting Audrey to bed last night with her 3 beloved binkies were tucked under her pillow, I ran out to K-Mart to get a gift.
I was fully prepared for the night to be horrible. I expected a battle for her to fall asleep and a battle to stay asleep, but not a darn thing happened. It’s like the past 3 years of binky usage never existed. This morning when she woke up, I heard her say “They’re all gone. My binkies are all gone.” She came out of her room and looked very sad, but only because she couldn’t find the promised gift. I walked her back in her room and pointed out the gift on her chair. “That’s a weird sock mommy.” It was a Christmas stocking, a Mickey and Minnie stocking to be exact. Inside the stocking I had put Christmas ornaments that she can paint, a chocolate lollipop (out of her Halloween bag) and a card from the Binky Fairy herself. She was so proud of herself, and her daddy and I were so incredibly proud (and also a bit relieved) of what a big girl she is now.
I must admit that I’m probably a little bit sadder than I thought I would be over this. I mean, I really wanted to get rid of the binkies, and at the same time, they were the last “baby” things that Audrey had. Today I put them in her bin along with all the other important baby mementos, closed the lid, and started a new chapter in the life of Audrey.