While I rarely follow the celebrity gossip... okay... maybe a little... I saw that there was some controversy regarding Tom Cruise's daughter, at 5 years old, photographed with a pacifier in her mouth. I had been meaning to share our pacifier story so... maybe Suri Cruise will benefit as well.


Most people agree that there is an age when using a pacifier is no longer socially acceptable, the jury still seems to be out on when that actually is. Gavin used a pacifier (called a "binky" at our house) when he was an infant. Starting at about a year old he never really needed it during the day and was perfectly content with only using it at nap time and bed time. So, we did have it a bit easier than many parents out there. But when I say he was attached to it during sleep times would be an understatement. He HAD to have his binky or there was not going to be any sleep for anyone. When Gavin was about 2 1/2, I noticed that his favorite (and only) binky was really needing to be replaced. But, because he was so attached to not just his binky, he was attached to the orange binky with the yellow handle. So rather than go on a mission to find an identical match for a replacement, the decision was made. It was time to say good-bye to the binky.

Again, Gavin loved his binky. If it ever dared get lost in his covers in the middle of the night, Gavin would wake up screaming bloody murder. "I NEED my BINKY!!! MOOOOOOOOM!" Followed shortly thereafter by the tears of a terrified little boy. So, we knew that just taking the Binky one night was not going to work. We started talking about how it was going to be time to say good bye to the binky soon. Gavin, was okay with the idea but when it came time to put those ideas into action, thus began the freak-out if the century.

Doug and I talked about how we could do this without emotional upheaval. We were ready to just let him keep it (find the orange binky replacement) when I read this idea on a message board. It was ingenious! I can not claim it as my own but thought it would be worth passing on because most of us will one day face the issue of saying, "Buh-bye, binky."

We told him on the big day that he was going to go to a store where he was going to pick out his very own teddy bear. We told him that his "Bink" would get to live inside of the bear and he was just going to LOVE it. We talked it up all morning. The ride in the car was of nothing other than what we were doing. We talked about picking the bear, watching the bear get stuffed, and picking out clothes for the bear. When we got to the store we stayed as animated and excited as two adults can be inside a Build-A-Bear Workshop.

I subtly meandered to the counter to ensure that stuffing the binky in the bear was going going to be okay. I asked the woman behind the counter, "Is it okay if we put something in the bear before it is stuffed?"

"It depends on what it is." She said quizzically.

I fought back the urge to ask her what types of things would not be allowed to be stuffed in a bear. Perhaps a gun? Maybe I was hoping to have them help me smuggle some drugs? Maybe an used hypodermic needle was what I had in mind?

I told her about wanting to put the binky in the bear and she had no problem with it. Thank goodness, or else we were going to have to go back to the drawing board. Gavin picked out the bear he wanted and we took it to the lady at the stuffing station. We showed her the binky tucked into a sandwich bag. I figured that no one wanted to touch some other kids nasty old binky. She thought it would be a good idea to lead it in the bag so that he could actually hear it inside the bear as well as feel it. So in it went. No turning back now. We picked out the clothes and made a certificate for the bear. He is officially named, "Bink." We took him home and dressed him up.

That night, Doug and I held our breath as he crawled into bed that night without a binky in his mouth. He slept. No tears. No wanting a binky. He had Bink the Bear now. I figured that in a day or two the novelty of the bear might wear off but that was 7 months ago. It was the easiest transition I could have ever dreamed of. He didn't even care when Joey started using a binky. It did cost us about 30 dollars but it was worth every penny.