That, that is a picture of my wonderful two year old daughter from this morning. She is holding on to a fifty dollar bribe. Well, it was worth fifty bucks when wearing all of the clothes that I was guilt tripped in to buying it. OK, so maybe there wasn't so much guilt as well, sincere hope that the more money I put in to it, the better this would go. Yes, I am in complete denial, why do you ask?
M starts transition to preschool on Monday. For the last two months we have been talking to her about how "big girls don't need Nuk's" and that when she is in preschool, she won't need a Nuk anymore. I even brilliantly (I thought) started talking to her about how we would give her Nuk to my friend Trish's baby. Nuk's are for babies, and she was no longer a baby.
Then, we got a date for preschool, and I started to panic. After all, do I make her give it up when she starts visiting preschool, or her first full week? Do we do it on the weekend? Why can't we just be done with this? Finally I realized it is just like a Band-Aid that needs to be ripped off. Better to get it over with. I worked late tonight so that was out, yesterday she didn't nap and I knew she would be tired, we just had to do it. She had started to freak out as she knew it got closer though. I realized we HAD to do something more than a wrapped up pacifier for a baby that will never see it because duh, it is a germy toddler pacifier. So, why not go for the cheesy option and get her a Build-A-Bear. She gets to pick out something she wants, I get to just get it over with.
So last night we made the trek to the closest one and began the process. I managed to forget that she can't make up her mind about anything lately. Mornings have been spent arguing about outfit changes after she puts in exactly what she wanted to wear. She wanted the dog, until she saw the other dog, (holy cow, steer her away from the "Jonas Bear" whatever you do) until she saw the monkey until she saw the horse. We finally made her choose between the monkey and the horse. Then on to the stuffing, where the stuffing machine scared the crap out of her. (oh, and she wanted the heart back out in the middle of the night) We also were shown the error of our ways, when asked if we had brought the Nuk with to pay with or put in the animal. (hello? That is brilliant, why didn't I think of that) Lest stuffing be the most traumatic experience, the "shower" to fluff up her new friend had her screaming and in tears (and so unfluffed she remains). I, in my blind determination to bribe her in to a smooth transition, said she could get clothes. What do you put a stuffed horse in, why a sparkly pink dress, undies (she asked where it's undies were after we got the leggings), pink leggings and little horsie Uggs, of course. Being a distracted and tired toddler, she couldn't pick a name for the poor thing other than the one already given to her main doll (and we really don't need any Digger confusion) A and I were forced into naming the horse Penny.
"Pick a Penny up and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day…."
I'd like to say that it worked, but I don't think we know yet. She was up for an hour and a half past bedtime last night and only fell asleep when I came in and rubbed her back while laying next to her bed (ouch). We're not entirely sure, but we think she was up very early this morning, perhaps as early as 3 AM, just laying bed undressing Penny. All that was left this morning was her pink bows.
Perhaps tonight will go better.
Posts
5 comments:
While it sounds now like it might have been a good idea to put the nuk in the horse when it was stuffed, I wonder if she might not have torn it open to get it back. I knew a kid once who was found at 4 am at the kitchen table trying to sparkle-glue together a nuk she dug out of the trash. They'll do a lot for the nuks.
Paying for the horse with the nuk is a pretty good idea, but maybe not permanent enough. We gave ours to the "fairy" to give to new babies, but one of them did ask if the fairy could bring it back. I might be afraid if you passed the store again she would want to go in and get it back.
Good luck! Hopefully the pain is as short as pulling off a Band-Aid.
I hate this part of parenting. Hope tonight goes better for you. Surprisingly my oldest was ok giving up the nuk @ daycare for naps but still used them at home another month or so. Then after talking about being a big boy and not needing nuks anymore I took them away one day. He cried his little heart for 20 min. And then he was okay. Good luck tonight
Getting rid of the paci was one of our easier transitions. We stopped giving it to our daughter around her first birthday and she was fine. I think we were the ones who really found it comforting.
And the whole Build-A-Bear experience at two is such a headache. We took our kid there for her second birthday thinking she'd enjoy it. She so did not.
We did the whole Super Nanny technique of the Binky Fairy where we had our son go around and collect all of his binky's (there were about 8 of them - and I knew we couldn't find 2 of them) and then we decorated a bag to put them in for the fairy. We then had him decide where to leave the bag. He was overcome and grabbed them all out of the bag. We talked it over and he reluctantly agreed and put them back. But we made him do it. THen the binky fairy left him a present in the same spot he left the bag of binkys. He never discussed it again. He did find the 2 rogue binkys about 2 months later and actually handed them to me and did't put it in his mouth. He was 3 at the time.
Now my daughter is almost 2 and it seems she is WAY more attached to it than he was so I am hoping we can seperate her from it just as easily.
On a completely different note - I also live in the Twin Cities and a long while ago you mentioned you frequent the store the Crafty Planet. I had never heard of it before you mentioned it and now I feel like it is my 2nd home. I have taken up sewing and it seems like I am there almost every weekend buying fabric. I also want to take an embroidery class. Thank you so much for mentioning it. It has become such an important part of me right now. I am always hoping I would run into you there but I don't know if I could recognize you if I saw you.
Post a Comment