Bye-Bye Binkie

Yes, my child is over three. Yes, my dad is a dentist. Yes, my daughter still had binkies. For quite a while now Tessa's binkie time has been limited to when she is in bed or in the car. I haven't inhibited her speech or caused her mouth to be deformed (maxillofacial plates don't fuse until about the age of 4) or done any other harm that some binkie-phobes worry about. It's just been an object of comfort for all of us.

But today we made the transition. We said bye-bye to the binkies. I rounded up all our binkies from the house, the car, even G&G's house. I told Tessa that we would mail them to the the Binkie Fairy. The Binkie Fairy would then give the binkies to babies that needed them.

Tessa was great with the concept, until it came time to put the last binkie in the package. Then came the tears. She pitifully tried to open the package and retrieve a binkie but my tape job held. In to the post office we went and before either of us could really believe it, the binkies were gone. I cried when she whispered "bye-bye binkies." Quick Momma, get those sunglasses on before Tessa notices the tears.

When I explained the plan to my mom (who coincidentally has the same adress as the Binkie Fairy) she said "Oh, that's so much nicer than what I did to you. I made you watch while I cut your binkies up with scissors like some kind of Binkie Massacre!" She made me laugh so hard calling it a massacre. I'm not traumatized and Tessa won't be either. I'll keep telling myself that tonight when she's crying for her binkie.