No More Nu-Nu's!

On Nov. 14th, my dear friend and co-worker, Leslie, volunteered to give us the most precious gift ever-- a night out while she babysat!! We couldn't say no and were out the door right when we put the kids down. We went and had a wonderful dinner and walked around the outdoor shopping area at Reston Town Center. It was so nice. I mean, I even wore my boots with heels (which killed me later that night)! Now that's fancy in my book. ;)

We told Leslie that Libby and Drew tend to talk a lot and play and cut up and perhaps fuss a little, but eventually calm down and go to sleep on their own. When we got back home at about 10:30 or so, Leslie said that Libby didn't scream or really cry- but just moaned a lot like she just couldn't sleep. She peeked in, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Then it hit me-- we forgot to tell her that Libby's pacifier tends to fall out of the crib and she'll moan to get it back. Leslie said that she heard her say something about nu-nu's. Oh no!! But she fell asleep on her own and that was that. I hugged Leslie one extra time for not only babysitting but for breaking Libby's nu-nu habit we've wanted to do for some time now! So, that was it. There was no turning back now. The next afternoon before nap, we talked about and read the story about the Nu-Nu Fairy and how she comes to take away the nu-nu's when you are a big girl to give them to the babies who need them. In return, she'll leave you a big girl gift. So, Libby put her nu-nu's in a bag herself and put it outside her door for the fairy. She kept repeating, "No more nu-nu's... no pink nu-nu... no white nu-nu... nu-nu all gone." I almost think it was a bit wiser to wait until she was a little older b/c she really seemed to understand what we were doing. Sure enough, the Nu-Nu Fairy left her a unicorn stuffed animal and a big book about Fairies. We were so excited for and proud of our big girl! She was, too.

That night was a little rough as Libby kept saying, "No, I want nu-nu back now." But we went in every so often reassuring her that she was a big girl. "You can do it, Libby," is what we kept saying. The next morning, she ran in to tell me, "Mama, I did it!" It took about a week of her trying to find an alternative soother, but she is now attached to a pink polka dot blanket her Uncle Jeff gave her when she was born. So, perhaps that is her new nu-nu substitute. All I know is that those nu-nu's are gone for good!