Goodbye, Dear Friend

For months, we've been talking to Nora about saying goodbye to her beloved nay-nay.  We've tried to talk it up, encourage her, and really get her to want to be a big girl.  I think I hoped that one day, she would just up and hand it to me and say she was done with it.  But it became clear that just wasn't going to happen.

Our sweet Nora seemed royally addicted to her comfort, and we knew it would take drastic measures to tear her away from it.  I dreaded the day.  We'd talked about doing it a few weeks ago, but then the stomach bug hit... and no loving mama takes a comfort object away during an illness.  So last weekend we were healthy, and we really didn't have a good reason not to do it; so, we took the plunge.

 

Taking Phoebe to build a Nay-Nay Bear worked well for her, and Nora was really excited about getting a ballerina bear for her nay-nay.  So off to Build-A-Bear we tromped.  Nora selected a sweet bunny, and Mama tried desperately to hold it together as Nora bravely stuffed her little red nay-nay inside her bear.  Phoebe, the experienced big sister, showed Nora how it was done -- and spruced up her own nay-nay bear for the occasion.  We even splurged on outfits for the critters, as Nora had been hoping for a ballerina bear, and we were feeling particularly insane generous on this special day.

The festivities continued with hamburgers and milkshakes, and we braced ourselves for our return home for bedtime.  As Nora snuggled into bed, she quietly said, "I need something...", not willing to name her precious comfort object.  But without too much sadness or bedtime silliness, Nora was able to fall asleep and stay that way for the rest of the night.

Since then, our Nora -- who would usually fall right asleep at both naptime and bedtime -- has struggled a little bit, especially at naptime.  She's finding mischief and is making a mess of her blankets, thrashing about... but she's sleeping.  We're having to remind ourselves that this transition will take time, and we don't expect her to sleep perfectly well in just a few days. 

I found a yellow Nora nay-nay in my purse yesterday as I was cleaning it out, and it killed me to toss it in the garbage... oh Nora, can't you stay small forever?