Any tips for getting a binky-less 3 year old to sleep?

AnnapolisLari

The Binky Fairy came a little while ago and since then, my fabulous sleeper has disappeared. We took one bink and sewed it into her unicorn pillow pet and she has an Ariel toothbrush that she sometimes clutches, but it's getting out of hand.

Every night is "I don't want to go to sleep! I want (insert name of parent not in the room at the moment). I need snuggles in the rocking chair." Nothing about the bedtime routine is different other than the lack of the bink in her mouth and one in each hand. It's taking 45 min to get her down, whereas two weeks ago we could toss her in her crib and close the door. She is just getting hysterical if we let her cry it out.

Someone lie to me and say that it will get better for Christmas? LOL

GinandTonic

We debinked at about 3 and she had a really hard time calming herself down for quite some time (in fact, sometimes I still wish we could binky her).  

We tried to be understanding about it and did give in to cuddles and rocking.  Full body hugs with rock-a-bye babies helped a lot.  Even now, when she gets overwhelmed, she climb up on my lap and say that she needs a rock-a-bye song.

Good luck.  It's not easy... 

AnnapolisLari

It's my own damned fault for letting her keep it this long. 

It's just been late to bed, early to rise and waking during the night. She's exhausted, so she's been in one long bad mood. One would think that the 347 stuffed critters in her bed would be comforting enough.

Do they make Chantix for binky withdrawal?

REOM

I'm listening to my three year old hold 'school' for all her critters. She has about 5 books in her bed that she 'reads' every night before she falls asleep. Some night she talks longer than others. Does Katherine have any books in her bed?

lilyaster

AnnapolisLari:

Do they make Chantix for binky withdrawal?

We need some of that over here!  My 3 yo still has hers, we just moved and I've felt crappy and it's just not a battle I'm ready to fight right now.  My oldest got rid of hers at 2.5, cold turkey, with one terrible tantrum and never looked back.  DD#2 is stubborn as heck and I know it will be rough. 

meghans30

This is a tough one. It's been a long time since we have faced with this, I can't remember what we did, but I know it was tough. Hang in there.

CTFandme

I have nothing to offer. I could've written this post myself, right down to the million stuffed critters in her bed.  We got rid of hers about 6 months ago and she still requires someone to sit in her room until she falls asleep.  She usually wakes in the night once and is up before dawn. I was gonna say she was up at the crack of dawn, but that would actually be later than she's sleeping until now.  She used to go to bed at 9, up at 9 oh I miss those days.

Good luck!  

AnnapolisLari

So help me, if the dentist hadn't laid down the fear about palate expanders and such, she would have it until she's 5 like my cousin's kid did. LOL

She was sleeping 8 to 8:30 and it was bliss.

meghans30

AnnapolisLari:

So help me, if the dentist hadn't laid down the fear about palate expanders and such, she would have it until she's 5 like my cousin's kid did. LOL

She was sleeping 8 to 8:30 and it was bliss.

Interesting. Trevor had one until he was 3.5 yo. He did do some tooth damage (spacing was off), but the dentist didn't freak out. He said once Trevor stopped the damage would repair on it's own gradually and it has! Maybe she's just not ready. 

Sunflower777

meghans30:

AnnapolisLari:

So help me, if the dentist hadn't laid down the fear about palate expanders and such, she would have it until she's 5 like my cousin's kid did. LOL

She was sleeping 8 to 8:30 and it was bliss.

Interesting. Trevor had one until he was 3.5 yo. He did do some tooth damage (spacing was off), but the dentist didn't freak out. He said once Trevor stopped the damage would repair on it's own gradually and it has! Maybe she's just not ready. 

I took DS2 to the dentist at 2.5; he was a paci-addict. The dentist did say his spacing was off and his bite was open and she could tell he used a paci, but ditching it was up to me. I really liked her tactic - she said I know my child best and if ditching the paci was going to cause more trauma than it was worth, don't do it. His bite wouldn't be irreparably harmed.

That being said, DH had already been pushing getting rid of the paci, and I felt like it was probably time, so we did.

He quit napping just at the same time DS1 started all-day kindergarten and I FINALLY would have had a window of time to myself. It sucked.

In retrospect, I would have let him keep it so I could have had a little f'ing time to myself for a few months.

Alas, that's not the way it happened, and you have already commited to the binky fairy, so it's a done deal.

In terms of bedtime without the binky, DS2 got used to it fairly quickly (the lack of naps tired him out), we just kept a consistent bedtime routine, and he eventually forgot about it. Good luck.  

AnnapolisLari

She does have an open bite, bordering on bucktoothed, so I really do think it needed to go. I've noticed an improvement in her pronunciation and articulation even in the short time since we said bye-bye.

 

akaoct2005

At 3 years old we restricted my older DD's paci to just sleeping.  We planned on taking it away at 3.5, but then my DH moved away to work and there was a lot going on in our lives, so we didn't.  At 4.5 she voluntarily gave it up...one night she said "I'm done."  And that was it.  Amazing.  I never could have dreamed that it would be so painless, but she did sleep with it til 4.5!  Now my younger DD is 2.5 and is having even a bigger love affair than my older DD did with her paci.  Our plan is to restrict it to only the crib (take it away in the car) at 3 and then we'll see how we go from there, but for my sanity, she may sleep with it til 4.5, too.  The dentist hasn't said anything.  

Good luck...I don't even want to imagine! 

shopgirl78

We got rid of DD's at age 3 also.  She traded it for a bandaid one night and that was it that night.  The next night it was a scream feast and she CIO but after that nothing, no binky, no looking back.

DS2 still has one also.  He turns 2 in 10 days.  I need to start limiting it but he's the baby, he can stay that way for a while : )  

melmax

Lari, you're scaring the crap out of me. This will be me in a few weeks. Home from Florida, and the binky fairy is coming!

AnnapolisLari

Sorry, Mel! I really wanted it to be her idea to give it up, but since she's sounding like Mushmouth from Fat Albert, I had to act.

After all of this she went down easier last night and didn't wake up. It's 8am and she's still sleeping.

melmax

AnnapolisLari:

Sorry, Mel! I really wanted it to be her idea to give it up, but since she's sounding like Mushmouth from Fat Albert, I had to act.

After all of this she went down easier last night and didn't wake up. It's 8am and she's still sleeping.

Lol.

That's excellent!

Dreamsicle23

Just let her cry.  She's plenty old enough to deal with it.  By indulging in random requests you're just adding fuel to the fire.

rookiemom

Is she still in a crib or did I read that wrong?  It's been a long day.    If she is, maybe it's time for a big girl bed.  Play up the whole big girl thing--no more paci, a bigger bed, new sheets that she gets to pick out, etc. 

AnnapolisLari

She's perfectly happy in her crib and I am not going to further upset her by taking away her "princess bed".

She's gotten a lot better as the days go by. Tonight she passed the hell out, no questions asked. LOL