operation c.i.o.

We are on Day 2 of Operation C.I.O.....aka Operation Cry It Out. For both of my babies. It sounds worse than it is. I promise. It really hasn't involved much crying from the kids. Just some tears shed here and there by yours truly. I just can't resort to actually letting then cry it out. A few wimpers from either of my kids, I run into their rooms, scoop them up, and rock them until my heart's content. Maybe our little operation needs a new name....

Participant Number 1 in Operation C.I.O: Phoenix

P will be three at the end of this month and he still sleeps with a pacifier. For documentation sake, he calls his pacifier a bye bice. (Not exactly sure how to spell what he calls it, so I'm spelling it phonetically.) He has called it a bye bice since he could ramble even a few words, so bye bice is what it remained. And will forever remain in P's mind. We have tried on a few occasions to rid P of his pacifier, and failed miserably. I always gave in after P broke into a screaming temper tantrum. Mind you, I haven't even attempted to get rid of the pacifier in at least a year. Mainly out of laziness. And partly out of sympathy. I felt sorry for our little man. He loves that bye bice. He looks forward to going to bed just so he can pop that baby in his mouth and suck away to sleep. Since he turned two, that pacifier has not left his bed. Don't worry. He's not that three-year-old in the grocery store talking through the big pacifier. It was for sleep only. But that is changing as I type. We have gone 36+ hours without the bye bice. How did we manage to succeed in this portion of Operation C.I.O., you ask? Simple. We gave the bye bices to the Easter bunny.

I mentioned it once to P while driving down the road on Thursday. I didn't even think he heard me. Me:"You know, P, you should leave your bye bices out for the Easter bunny. He would really like to have a bye bice of his own." The next morning when daddy got him out of bed, P scooped up all three of his pacifiers, drug Taylor out the front door, and scattered them across the flower bed. Why the flower bed, you might ask? I guess because P is confusing the Easter bunny with the terror of a bunny that lives in the woods behind our house that has eaten all of my pansies. He came back inside, started watching cartoons, and forgot all about the pacifiers. Until naptime. I put him down for his afternoon nap yesterday. He lifted up his pillow and blankets in usual routine looking for the pacifiers. And then he remembered. After searching the flower beds to make sure they were gone, the reality that the pacifiers now belonged to the Easter bunny began to sink in. But he handled the situation well. He went to sleep for his nap, and then last night he went straight to bed without even mentioning the pacifiers. He did say to daddy tonight, "Do you think the Easter bunny will bring back my bye bices?" Daddy shook his head no and then P layed down and went to sleep. I guess I don't have to worry anymore about that pesky bunny eating my flowers. He has something new to chew on. I think Part One of Operation C.I.O went rather smoothly.

Participant Number 2 in Operation C.I.O.: Emma Kate

Part two of this important operation is not going so well.....transitioning EK to the nursery. She is five months old and was still sleeping in our room. It was definitely time to make this transition, especially since she has recently decided that she wants to nurse almost constantly throughout the night. Nursing is her comfort, but at five months old, I believe she needs to at least try to sleep longer than three hours at a time. This mama is exhausted. Night number one with EK didn't go so well. She woke up every three hours from 7:30 pm last night until 9 am this morning, nursing three of those times. So, we're crossing our fingers and trying again tonight. I'll update later as to how tonight goes.

Since P is clearly winning Operation C.I.O, he deserves a blog post dedicated to him with pictures of him for your viewing pleasure.

My precious, paci-free firstborn.


I love this kid.


And even though he is growing up fast and no longer needs a pacifier, he will always be my baby. And I remind him of that every.single.day.


Way to go, P. We are so proud of you. And now, on to potty training.