Bye Bye Soother!

Since I decided to take away Carson's bottles back in the spring, I've been trying to figure out how I wanted to approach taking away his soother next. We've always kept Carson's soother in his crib and have only used it for sleeping. He always had to say goodbye to it before we had breakfast or left his room. 

Just like with his bottles, I've been noticing how big he's getting, not only physically, but mentally. He's been saying things like:"More yogourt NOW!" and bigger words like "Ridiculous". Then when I see him with a soother in his mouth, it just doesn't seem right. Does he really need it?

We met our friends baby this weekend and Carson came too. He really liked the baby and was so cute with her. At one point, while I was holding the sweet baby, he tried to take my arms away from her. I guess it was his way of saying:"Hey! You were my Mommy first!". It was cute and scared me at the same time. I was more nervous around a newborn than I expected. With Carson around patting her head and trying to give her popcorn, I was going a little crazy! Oh, toddler stage... one can never really predict how their little brains are going to react. At the end of the day, we have a pretty good boy. We're very grateful for Carson. I just forget how loud and rough he is. These things are very typical, but in a child birth centre when your 2 year old is running around saying:"Hello Baby!! Hello there!" It's hilarious, cute and embarrassing all at the same time. The nurses didn't seem to care, they all said he was handsome. We still told him to whisper because babies were trying to sleep and grow. So then he preceded to whisper the word whisper. Too funny!

So, back to how I got rid of the soother............  when we came home the night that we met the new baby, we explained to Carson that babies need soothers and that he's a big boy now and doesn't need it. We told him that big boys who say big words, peddle their bikes (he just started this weekend!)  and buckle themselves up in their booster seats, don't need soothers anymore. We told him that Baby A had the soother now because she needs it still. When we explained this to him he just thought about it for a minute. Then he said:"Okay! Baby A have it.".

As we read him books that night and carried on with a normal bedtime routine,  he would randomly say:"Baby A have it. Me big kid now." SO CUTE! I just looked at him so surprised at how well he understood what we told him. He was ready to give up his soother. He was happy to share it with the baby. I just felt so beside myself in that moment. Realizing how much my own baby has grown up. 

I didn't have to cut the ends off the soothers, I didn't have to put anything yucky on them to make them taste bad, I didn't have to use the soother fairy, I didn't have to make him cry or be upset about not having a soother.. I just had to tell him he was a big boy and that he didn't need it anymore. I had been scared of this for a couple months now. I thought it would be much harder. 

My boy is not a baby at all anymore. No more bottles, no more soothers, no more rocking to sleep, no more feedings in the middle of the night... he's an independent boy. He barley kisses or hugs me anymore, but I'm ok with that. I've always given him the confidence he needs to grow and learn on his own. I want him to think for himself. No more yucky soothers!! No more dropping $10 a package!

Doing a happy dance right now!!!!

Thinking Back To the Start

Our good friends are expecting their first baby and we've been supportive and excited since we found out. Seeing how ready they are and prepared for it makes me remember what it was like for me. I still can hardly remember what our life was like before Carson became a part of it. 

Our friends have yet to experience the whirlwind of life changing moments that we already have. I look at my friend and her cute belly and think how beautiful she looks. Since I've already gone through it, I look at it all so differently now. There is a tiny life inside of her waiting to meet her and all the people who are going to love the cute little baby. Everyone is just waiting to see if it's a girl or boy. Everyone is waiting to see how her labour goes and how much the baby weighs. So much waiting... it's hard sometimes for the Mother. It's so normal to feel frustrated with even your family and friends for asking you how you're feeling. Obviously, you're feeling pregnant and just want the baby out!

I look at Carson now who is currently bouncing around on the couch, and think of how far we've come. Parenthood really changed me. I was so crazy about things with him at the beginning, but he turned out ok..so far... 

I just want our friends to have the happiest moment of their lives. Just like we did with Carson. It's an incredible gift to be a parent and meeting your precious baby is just a feeling that's indescribable.  

I still remember the point when I was getting close to my due date and just wanted the baby out. I was so impatient and just wanted to know if I was having a boy or a girl. I had every single thing ready. I just wanted to hold my baby. It was harder to understand then how important it was to let nature take its course and just how quickly it all was about to change. I know when we ever have another one, I'll look at it all differently, but I had to go through what I did to come to that realization. 

I just hope that I can be there in a positive way to help our friends. I have no doubts that they will be amazing parents. I'm looking forward to seeing how they change when they become parents and watch their journey through parenthood. 

Parenthood is priceless.... the rewards only become richer and richer as time goes on.