Major Milestone!

I have a very big milestone to report this week. Dominic has given up his pacifier! Although, he was not terrible with his pacifier and adhered the rules of only using it for when it was time to go to sleep, Dominic definitely depended on it to bring him off to dreamland every day and night.

Vinny and I decided a few months ago that it was time for him to give it up, however, with a few trips that we had planned during November, we decided it was best to wait until December. The time finally came and we took the plunge this past weekend. My method was the cutting method where I cut a hole in the paci so that it was no longer fun to suck on. After handing it back to me and telling me it was "broke" he was not a very happy little boy when he had to take his first nap without it. He cried for 40 minutes that day before falling asleep. By that night, he was down to 10 minutes. Since then, it really has been fine. Anyone who has been around Dominic before nap time or bedtime, knows that all you had to do was give him his paci and "Ellie" and he would immediately put his little head on his pillow, snuggle up and go to sleep without a peep. Now, he does whine a little with me, because he thinks he can get away with it. Of course, on Monday night when Vinny put him to bed he did not complain at all. Tonight, he was trying to entice me to stay with him in his room by using tricks like, "Mommy, guess what?" or "Stay right there" in his cute little voice. The last attempt was standing up and giving me more good night kisses. I told him I was leaving and that I'd see him in the morning. I walked out like I always do. He whined for literally one minute and then went off to sleep. Not bad for just 4 days!

I knew that we would just need to get over the hump and he would be fine, but I must admit that I thought it would be much more of a mountain than the tiny little speed bump it turned out to be.

Dominic, you are one step closer to becoming a big boy and one step further away from being our little baby. These things are so bittersweet for Mommy and Daddy, but none the less, we are so very proud of you each and every day.