Operation: Bye Bye Bink

So, if you've spent any amount of time around Cole, you know that he is a binky baby.  SUPER attached to his bink.  So much so, that I occasionally worried that he would need one packed in his bags as we sent him off to college.

I jest.  But not by much.

While we managed to limit him to just having it at nap time and bedtime, it was still starting to become an issue - his teeth were starting to realign differently because of his ferocious sucking habit as he was drifting off.  And our pediatrician recommended we wean him off of it sooner rather than later, because "it will only get harder". 

But...I didn't want to.

See, Cole is a child that DESPERATELY needs his sleep.  And a lot of it.  Twelve-plus hours at night, plus a hour and half to two hour nap during the day.  He is a crabby little apple if he's missing his sleep...not to mention that I also desperately need that break as well.

And he was doing awesome - sleeping so well and so independently. 

But this weekend, I realized that we just needed to do it - like ripping off a Band-Aid.  So, after talking it up for a few days, we told Cole that he was such a big boy, we needed to pass his binks onto his baby cousin.  (I wanted to play up to his sense of empathy - it seems to make things easier for him when placed in the context of helping other people.)  I told him how happy Baby Rowen would be with his old binks, how Baby Rowen would cry until Auntie Meggie gave her a bink and then she would be so happy.  I told him how glad I was that he could be a big boy now and help out his baby cousin.

So, we gathered up all the binks (even the ones hidden in random places...like a true addict, Cole had some secret hiding spots) and plopped them into an envelope to "mail".  Baby Rowen even sent us a box with a new toy truck in it, complete with a thank you note.

Well...I'd love to say it was all smooth sailing.  But it has not been.  If I could do it over again - at this point - I would just let him have it until he DID take it to college.  I can honestly say that this week has been the worst week we've ever had. 

Cole's behavior has been horrendous, my patience has been limited, his sleep has been sporadic, and I'm at my wit's end. 

Can someone PLEASE tell me how long until I have my sweet, sleeping 12-hours-plus-2-hours-for-naps, well-behaved little boy back?  

And if you can't do that, can you at least bring me some wine?