Well, Anna is just under 2 1/2 years old and we have decided that it was time for her to give up the pacifier, or her “mana” as she calls it (where she got that name for it, I have no idea).  She’s only been using it for naps and bedtime for a long time now (it doesn’t ever go downstairs anymore) but we’ve been wanting it gone for awhile now.

So we concocted a story about a “Mana Fairy” who would come and take her manas (pacifiers) to other little babies who need them and in exchange, the “Mana Fairy” would leave her a present.  (Yeah, I know…way to bribe the kid, huh?)

We’ve been prepping her for a few days to get her used to the idea and I made sure she knew that her nap today would be the last time she would have it.  Before bed tonight we rounded up all the pacifiers and put them in a little gift bag I found and put it out on our front porch in our milk delivery box.  We told her that tomorrow morning there would be a present there for her (a Mickey Mouse activity doll thing that I picked up at the store the other day).  She did great rounding them up until it came to putting the one in her mouth in there.  She cried a little and didn’t want to let go but I could see she was really torn between wanting a present and wanting to keep the pacifier.  In the end, the present won (thank God!).

She asked for it once when we got back upstairs, but I distracted her with a book and she didn’t even ask for it again.  Maybe this will be as easy as pretty much everything else with her.  We’ll see how the night goes.  She’s still falling asleep but she’s not asking for it yet…so that’s good.  [crossing fingers]