Little Sister, Fancy Nancy, The Vice & The Bribe

Little Sister came into this world on fire. On "fire" as in--standing in the bathroom with the light out, fan on, cradling a swaddled, screaming child while bouncing on a yoga ball and swaying her from side to side simultaneously--on fire. That girl didn't sleep a wink for more than 20 minutes at a time until roughly 6+ mos. old, God love her. (She would not begin sleeping through the night until 10 mos. old, but I digress). Enter the vice.

I know some mothers refuse to introduce pacifiers, and I say more power to you. For us, for me, nipple confusion be damned. GOD. BLESS. THE. PACIFIER.

Ahem. For well over a year now, the pacifier has been a comfort object reserved for nap and bed times only. Little Sister would take it out of her mouth, place in on her pillow, grab her treasured 'star and moon' blanket, and get on with her day. Pretty much, mostly all the time. But she was definitely a pacifier addict. However, as she's quickly approaching her 3rd birthday, it was time to wean from the pacifier. Enter Fancy Nancy.

Around Christmas time we discovered the Fancy Nancy book series, and it was a huge hit with our two little ladies. Lil Sis adores her. She wants to read Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany every day before nap time. Which is why she can use the words glamorous, lavender and plume accurately in a sentence. Okay, I exaggerate, but she's not far off. Little Sis, too, enjoys adorning her ensembles with fabulous and chic accessories, like tu-tu's, plastic jewelry and rain boots. They are cut from the same cloth, and it's totally adorable.

So when we came across the Fancy Nancy Doll at Target somewhat recently, all 18 inches tall, curly haired, tiara and tulle, layered skirt wearing Fancy Nancy... and I saw Little Sister light up and exclaim, "Look, Mommy! It's Fancy Nancy!" I knew we were onto something. Enter the bribe.

A few weeks later we bought the doll. Fancy Nancy, still sealed in the box, sat in Little Sister's room for 2 more weeks. We spent those 2 weeks gearing up for the big pacifier send off; describing how we'd mail them to Baby Cousin M, practicing lullabies she can sing to herself if she has trouble sleeping, etc.

Tonight was the big night! We opened Fancy Nancy! Later, we took pictures while Little Sister placed all her pacifiers in an envelope to mail to Baby M, and we had high-fives and hugs before beginning our bedtime routine.

It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes for Little Sister to fall asleep without her pacifier, but with her long time treasured blanket and newly adored Fancy Nancy doll tucked in next to her. There were some tears, some hugs, and several reminders of how proud we were of her for being such a big girl. And then... silence...

Night #1, for now, seems to have gone well. Thank you, Fancy Nancy.