The Dummy - Is it gone?

~~Last photo I have of Xav with his dummy~~

I think that my little boy has ditched the dummy. All by himself.

It's kinda come out of the blue, so I'm a little shocked and unsure whether it will last or not. My fingers are crossed that it is the end of sucking on latex for Xav, however I'm keeping a spare one hidden in my bedside table just in case he gets upset later tonight.

We spent the day at the mall, trying to find the perfect birthday present for Duane who turns the big 36 tomorrow. I'm hoping that the random phone catologues and constant talk of how his phone is breaking was obvious hit dropping, cause I've splurged and bought him a new one. Our local phone guy (friend of a friend!) even knew exactly the one he wanted when I went in, saying Duane was in the previuos week drooling over it. So I'm sure he'll be happy come present unwrapping time tomorrow.

So we spent the day wandering around. It was suppossed to be a quick trip (yeah right, we were there for 6 hours!!!) and we were plannng on being home by lunch time for the kids to rest, but time got the better of us and before I knew it it was 1pm and Xav was starting to fade. I fished around in my handbag and found a lonely dummy, he layed down in the pram and fell asleep. He only ever has his dummy for sleep time, but it is something that he is very attached to and always guarantees him going to sleep instantly.

Once he woke I took him to the toilet, where he accidentally dropped the dummy into the toilet. I got the gross job of fishing it out with giant wads of toilet paper, yuck! Xav wasn't upset, but he decided the best place for the germ covered thing was straight into the bin and promptly dumped it in there quite happily.

I explained to him that he wont have a dummy now, even at nighttime and he was fine with that.
Fast forward to bedtime tonight and he was still ok with being tucked up in bed with only his blankie and Iggle, not even asking for his num-num. I was so shocked, expecting tears and lots of protesting. Seems my little baby is growing up though, and no longer needs a piece of plastic to suck on as he goes off to sleep.

He slept all night, only waking once at 10pm for a quick drink of water. There were no tears, protests or demands for his dummy. I couldn't believe it, I was fully expecting a long night of comforting a small boy as he mourned for his beloved dummy.

So, after the easy night I was a bit unsure how the day sleep would go. He asked a few times for his dummy, but after talking about what had happened to it and how it was in the bin - he was fine. Once again, no tears as he headed off to sleep clutching his blankie. One funny thing now though, where he used to lay down quietly and drift off to sleep, he now sings VERY loudly as he winds down. I guess he can now, his mouth is no longer plugged up!

So far, it looks like this is going to be a dream run to ditching the dummy. I'm just a little unsure how easy he is going to sleep when he are out and about now? He is a great sleeper and has a wonderful ability to sleep wherever and whenever. He'll sleep in the corner on the floor, any ones bed, in the pram and even in the bottom of the trolley. As long as he has his dummy and blankie, he'll nod off anywhere. I'm certain part of the reason he does this as since about 12 months I've kept his dummy as just something special for when he goes to sleep, he's not been allowed to have it apart from then. I've done this for a few reasons. First one being my own silly reason of not liking to see toddlers wandering around with dummies in and not wanting that for my kids. Secondly, I'm aware of the speech and dental problems that can happen with prolonged and extended use of the dummy and didn't want to contribute to Xav's already noticeable lisp. I know that the dummy is a comfort thing too though, and I never want to deny my children comfort, I just would prefer to give hugs, kisses or blankie than plug them up. Of course, I had no qualms with plugging up a comfort sucking baby, dummies are a godsend for an unsettled bubs with a strong sucking reflex - plenty of times a dummy was used to pacify ! I just think that there are other more age appropriate ways of settling an upset toddler, but I guess I'm contradictory cause I didn't mind him having it at bedtime.........Anywho....

Blankie is no doubt going to take top position as most favourite item now, and I have no problem in Xav carting blankie wherever he wants and whenever he wants. Most of the time he is happy for blankie to stay on his bed and go in for a cuddle and regroup every now and then, but we have had the occasional day where blankie has joined us for a trip to a friends house or in the car!

I'm never going to make him get rid of blankie, my little boy cuddling and patting his blankie is one of the most endearing and sweet things about him. Of course if blankie survives into the teenage years, I might have to whisper into his ear that it's not appropriate to be taking it along on dates.........