Binky Be Gone

A while ago I posted multiple blogs about The Binky Blues at our house. I'd started snipping miniscule pieces from the tip of Libby's binky until there was nothing that Libby could even grip in her teeth. She loved that binky. And, to be honest, I loved the sucking sound she made coming over the baby monitor at night. It was the sound of a quiet, content, secure, happy, sleeping baby which meant we, her parents, also had a shot at a decent night's sleep. Libby had a few meltdowns over the fact that it didn't work the way it used to, so I attached a snap to her favorite blanket and each night, though she couldn't suck it, she refused to go to bed without it securely attached. Sometimes finding it required lengthy searches, something I claimed (before I ever had children) that I'd never do. Okay. I give. Fair enough. You want to sleep with a binky till you're in college? I can live with that, as long as it's not doing damage to your jaw structure. I'm not fighting this battle. The binky is yours. It helped that Peyton never took a binky, except to antagonized her older sister by stealing hers and running away with it between clenched teeth with a gleam in her eye. Therefore, when we were down to only one remaining bink, that's all we had. No backup.

Well, this week I couldn't be happier that I never took her binky away from her, for our sweet girl gave it away all on her own. Mark and Amy came for dinner with baby Ella, and Libby gave Ella her only remaining binky. It seemed not to bother her a bit. For me, it was huge. I wanted to say, "Are you SURE you're ready to do that!?" Maybe I did say that. I don't exactly remember. But I do know my girl is making a move toward being a full blown kid. Independent. Empathetic. A member of society. A little less self-centered than that which is the definition of infancy.

Dude.

Okay, I know all she did was give up a tiny piece of plastic, but that's the thing with parenthood. You're not prepared for how these tiny pivotal moments of regular life will amaze you and make you so proud.

I will say this, though. For all the urging to give that binky away, I didn't know how much I wanted to keep it. I texted Amy the next day, arranged a quick meeting, and now the binky is forever a part of our family history. It turns out I was the one who couldn't give it up....