Growing Pains

Nathan was our first "pacifier baby". He loved them so much we called them "Jimmy", because they were his best friend that Nathan told all his pains and hurts to. We eventually weaned Nathan off Jimmy for the day time. He's still enjoyed them at nap time and night time. Brad and I really didn't care. No one saw him with them, no one was affected by them, and we didn't feel like crossing that path right now.
Kaeley, Nathan, and I had a dentist appointment yesterday. It went beautifully! This was Nathan's first appointment. Good news: no cavities. Bad news: no pacifiers. The dentist said he had to get off them as soon as possible, because they had already affected his bite. I just chuckled to myself out of nerves. This wasn't going to be good.
For nap time I told him the pacifiers were bad for his teeth, so we were going to get rid of them. He said that was fine. I tucked him in with the stuffed animal and blanket, took his pacifiers in my pocket, and walked away. Nathan sat up. He watched me with eyes that were as big as saucers. What was I doing with his Jimmies?!?
So it didn't go too well, but it didn't go too bad either. For the first fifteen minutes of his nap Nathan cried until tears and saliva and snot was dripping off the side of his loft bed. He screamed that he was frustrated with certain things in his bed and threw things off the side in anger! I finally had to go back in his room to assure him that was not the way to talk to me. I was able to calm him down eventually and he went to sleep! Hurray! The same thing happened for night. He also woke up in the middle of the night crying for one.
The poor little guy. It isn't fault he's addicted. He went to one dentist and suddenly his best friend of three years is gone! It's a hard world we live in.
Now, whenever I see Alynna with a pacifier in her mouth, I shake my head in dread.