The Great Binkie Swap

Anyone who has been around Rosie tends to notice a few things about her – she has huge, beautiful eyes that are so expressive they capture you. She is a chatterbox. She has blond hair – contrasting both of her parents. And she never likes to be without her Binkie.

I swore that my kids wouldn’t go on a Binkie. After all – Binkies cause nipple confusion for breastfed babies, according to the lactation lady we saw before Rosie was born. I was committed to nursing, so no binkies for me! That is, of course, until Rosie was actually here and I was willing to saw off my right arm if it meant she would stop crying. The nursery nurse suggested a binkie – and I was willing to try anything. From day one, it worked like a charm.

Fast forward to December 2007. We told Rosie that, at the ripe old age of one, she could only have her binkie at nighttime, naptime and in the car (which was usually naptime anyway). This worked beautifully, and three binkies became a part of her night and naptime routine. Since this went so well, I had every intention of cutting the bink out completely by the summer of 2008. What stopped us from complete binkie removal? Guilt. I was pregnant again – and what if the new baby needed a binkie? I just couldn’t do that to Rosie – she got to keep her little rubber pieces of comfort.

Rosie is allowed to sleep with three binkies. One for her mouth and one for each hand. When she is tired, cranky, upset or hurt – she asks for them. Sometimes, she just likes to hold them. Other times, she tells you “I don’t need my Binkie right now.” About two months ago we were in Babies R Us and she saw a purple Binkie. “Mommy – I need that. I need the purple Binkie, please!” How could I say no? Rosie has 6 Binkies in her room – 2 green, 1 blue, 1 purple and 2 pink. The blue and one of the pink ones are a harder plastic than the others. She picks her three every night by their color – but she almost always chooses the purple one.

RJ is nowhere near the Binkie addict that Rosie has been. He looks for it every now and then, but doesn’t need it to fall asleep or be happy and content. An unexpected bonus to the binkie – it is a bond between brother and sister. Rosie likes that RJ has a binkie and gets very upset when the binkie isn’t near him. If she has hers, she is likely to try and shove one in his mouth. (Again – good sharing, Rosie!) They have even invented their own little Binkie game. The Great Binkie Swap – check out the video to see what a 2-year-old and 4-month-old come up with when left to themselves!