Rhett's recent victory in kicking the binky habit has resulted in an unmasking of the underlying disorder for which he was self-medicating.
Toddlerphrenia.
His 8 days of clean and sans-pacifier have taught me that his self-medication dosing was very effective.
And now?
His current behavior is a wild variation between the toddler extremes of fierce independence and sobbing dependency.
It appears the pacifier was a plug for drama.
POP the plug...
...release the drama.
Rhett will be in the middle of a task - showing competence, exuding confidence - and then without warning, in the blink of an eye, a wind of change happens...
It starts with a whine...escalates to a sob and peaks with a full blown tantrum.
He has a serious case of Toddlerphrenia.
The other night we were all in the living room watching TV. Ryan was laying on the floor, Reid was laying next to me on the couch with his thumb in his mouth and Rhett was on my lap.
Rhett's eyes were fixed on Reid and he kept playing with his fingers.
He fanned his fingers out and deliberately placed his index finger on his lips...
"See mommy, I do what Reid do!" pointing to his index finger in his mouth.
"Reid sucks his thumb" I responded while folding his fingers down in my hand and pulling his thumb out to show him.
He stared at it in wonder.
He looked up with a smile and put his thumb in his mouth. Every once in awhile he would pull it out to marvel at it...
It had been there the whole time...just hiding on his hand.
Thumb...the new binky?
Surprisingly, the initial amazement has worn off. I occasionally notice that he has a finger in his mouth, but it hasn't proven to have pacifier power.
Is it wrong that I am a little disappointed?
I really thought a small daily dose of thumb would help control the acute exacerbation of Toddlerphrenia...
5:58 AM
Toddlerphrenia
Posted by
Texasholly
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Out of the mouth of babes,
plain old mom stuff,
Totally random
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18 comments:
You don't want to encourage thumb sucking. Take this from one who was one and it was very hard to break.
I don't know what it is...my kiddos weren't to into the binky. They are solidly in toddlerville though. Drama, drama, drama...
Interestingly giving up my binky is one of my early childhood memories that I still remember. Glad that I'm not alone in calling it that. Good luck with weaning him.
it's so much easier to pull a plug than to get rid of a thumb. less messy too.
and i'm sure you don't want to get all that blood on your cheerio-free couch.
we never did the binkies. but baby, we are all about the drama.
Very funny - My 2 year old sucks his thumb. I like how everyone has a different opinion about it. I just don't think that there is much I can do about it because his thumb is attached to him. If I told him to stop sucking it, he may start hiding in the closet just so that I don't see him doing it. I don't want him to feel bad about something he likes. Then again, we will have to see how I feel about it when he is 5.
my motto about thumb/binky/blankie dependence has always been: they won't do it in college. possibly not even high school! so whatever it takes to keep household peace and lessen household drama (this includes Mojitos for Moms) works!
I'm learning from your experience and postponing binky breaking indefinitely. I'm too much of a germaphobe to promote the thumb - I imagine CPS would frown on me sterilizing it.
And Lord knows we already have enough drama! Stick a cork it in, already.
Thanks! Now I have a diagnosis of Mr. Weasels behavior, Toddlephrenia! Now if I could just medicate him.
Sounds like you're doing a great job. I'm impressed. Your future daughters-in-law will bless you for this
Good.ness! Do these binkys come in adult sizes? May try one on my husband. :)
Thumb sucking never bothered me with my kids. With it being attached......unlike a binkie, I never had to run it under water if it fell on the floor, or go rummaging under the couch where it rolled!
Scooter and Snorkie both gave up their binkies without too much trauma...Of course it was at three and a half or so...Tilly, she will suck her fingers until the day she dies! :P
Ah, yes. Toddlerphrenia. Very common in a house full of females (with another female on the way - poor hubby!).
Oh no, you don't want him to start sucking his thumb! Then he might not quit until he's 8, like someone else I know... ; )
Which is worse? Thumb in the mouth? Or finger up the nose?
It's really hard to flush(or hide in a drawer) the thumb.
Didn't Freud put oral and anal together in the phase? Maybe you should give him something to eat. Or teach him to whistle.
None of mine had pacifiers except #9, as I went back to work when he was 2 months old. He stopped sucking it 2 months later once he learned how to get his fingers in his mouth. I wanted him to use mom for comfort nursing, to keep my supply up for when I pumped at work. Now I get to pump all the time, as Rosalie (3 1/2 weeks) had so many bottles in the NICU that she does not latch or nurse correctly yet. She has a pacifier around here somewhere that they sent home from the NICU with her. I saw it a few days ago, but figure that since she can be comforted without it, there is no reason to encourage it's use now. Once I go back to work, I will make sure it is available if Daddy wants to give it to her.
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