With some prompting from Ruby’s teachers at school, we decided it was time for Ruby to stop using her soother (pacifier). Her fourth birthday was coming up, and we chose to capitalize on the momentous occasion (to her).
I was worried about how hard it would be for Ruby to give it up. Since she was a few weeks old, she relied on the soother to relax. For a long time now, it had only been something she used when sleeping, but she was very attached to it and still asked to have it at other (non-sleeping) times. So, I braced myself for difficulty (late nights, cranky child, etc.).
The day of her fourth birthday, Ruby ceremoniously gave her soother to Haven, a baby friend of hers. That night, we teamed up to put her to bed. It was just as hard as I expected. There were tears (from all three of us), and Ruby only got to sleep after a long time of crying and begging.
As it turned out, the next night was one where she was scheduled to be watched by my mom, who reported that Ruby tried several very creative stalling techniques but eventually fell asleep on her own. The night after that, I put Ruby to bed. She tried a few stalls but again fell asleep on her own without me in the room.
Miraculously, after that, it was over. She hasn’t even mentioned her soother since then, and goes to bed normally (she was always pretty good with bedtime). I truly can’t believe it was this easy! She’s so adaptable.