For as long as I could remember I’ve heard my mom talk about my addiction to pacifiers. I believe she compared me to a drug addict and from her account it sounds pretty accurate. I also remember her telling the story about how my brother gave up his ‘ba-bas’ – by handing them to her randomly and never looking back. It makes sense seeing our personalities now.

When Mike was born I was pro-pacifier, but his addiction didn’t really take hold until his 1^st birthday – long after I thought we had dodged the bullet. Then it was his ‘bubba’ all the time. Like a good little addict he had his favorite – the expensive (and very worth it) Wubba Nubba brand pacifier with the stuffed animal hanging off it.  Of course the doctor said to CONSIDER weaning him off it, but we were getting ready to move and thought he needed something to comfort him. So after we got settled we opted for Bubba in the crib only. Which eventually morphed into Bubba in ANY bed any time of the day. So if we were watching a movie in Mommy and Daddy’s bed – the Bubba joined us.

We would go through waves of him happily throwing his Bubbas back to bed in the morning when he got up to having a full blown meltdown when told to put Bubba night-night. In fact, we started hiding them during the day. And yes, I said BubbaS. He had one the suck and one to hold.  I know. We are such enablers. Mike caught on quick (like a seasoned addict) and would run into his room after bath time and basically toss his room like a jail cell looking for Bubbas.  I don’t know what was stopping S. and me from just calling it quits to the Bubba. I know from my perspective things are a little nuts in our home and he could use the comfort of his Bubba. And it helps him so why rush it? Also, we were probably a little hesitant knowing how hard it would be for him to cut the cord.

But at Mike’s 3 year old appointment it was obvious his teeth were being pushed out and even though the doctor didn’t make us feel awful about it – I felt awful about it. After consulting my ‘tribe’ of mom friends, S. and I decided it was time to bite the bullet. And because I’m me, the planning and overthinking began.

I hit Amazon first and found a book called ‘Bea Gives Up Her Pacifier‘. According to the reviews it is a book full of voodoo that lulls children into willingly giving up their bubbas without nary a question or tear.  I had my doubts, but still clicked purchase.  My next stop was the blogsphere.  Lots of fun stuff about the Bubba (pacifier) Fairy so after we got the book S. and I went to work following what the book said was going to happen and buying insane gifts.

When the book came, Mike and I read it while Dad made dinner. Mike liked it, but I could see the wheels moving in his head and he didn’t like where this was going. Over the next few days we read the book and talked up these Bubba Fairies A LOT. Mike always sat through the book riveted, but was always sure to point out the fact that Bea missed her Bubba (we might have changed the wording a bit). It also helped that presents are a big deal in our house right now. So there was that draw to keep him upbeat.

Then came the dreaded night. Mike came home to a gift and a note from the Bubba Fairy.  He was pretty okay withthings until it came time to actually GO into the crib. He had about an hour and a half of hysteria. I am not going to lie – listening to him beg and plead for his Bubbas was hard to hear. I think because it was something we had control over. We could very easily give them back to him and I am sure we both let that thought cross our mind. I did go in a rock with him and we talked about the Bubba Fairies again and they already came and took the Bubbas and left a gift for him in the morning.

I woke up to Mike crying on the monitor for his Bubbas at his usual wake up time and thankfully I rushed in and told him about his gift and he was excited to open it. He spent the rest of the morning playing with his Play Doh.  Even nap time (which has morphed into rest time) brought on a few whimpers, but nothing longer than 10 minutes. The rest of the weekend he would randomly ask for Bubba and we would remind him the Fairies are using them for whatever. To be honest, the book laid out some stupid things like an umbrella and merry-go-round.

We are officially 4 nights in a he is doing AMAZING. I thought by this point we would be holding an intervention and sending him to the ‘rehab’ Britney Spears went to. I guess the moral of the story is not to project your own worries on your kid.