Flushed

Yesterday morning I was going through some morning rituals with Munchkin. We had just finished the morning potty ritual, and Munchkin was headed on her way to tell Wifey that she had successfully gone. Realizing that she didn't have her binky, she turned around to come claim it. It was sitting on the counter next to the sink. As she ran to grab it, she fumbled the binky and it ended up falling right into the toilet as the final swish was leaving our view.

And thus ended binky.

Munchkin asked for it a bit after it was gone because she likes to have it in the morning after she gets up for a bit. Then she goes and throws it on her bed until nap time, when she gets it again. After naps, she generally just throws it on her bed when she gets up and doesn't think twice about it until bedtime.

Nap time came and went without incident. She asked for binky once, and I reminded her that she had flushed it down the toilet. She didn't fuss or ask again, just wiggled a bit more before falling asleep.

So tonight we tried just putting her to bed without binky. She asked for binky when we laid her down to sleep, and we reminded her again that it had been flushed. As soon as we left the room, she started crying a bit. This is not uncommon for her to cry for a minute or two as she expresses her disgust that we are going to be doing something without her. But her crying continued, so Wifey went up to try to console her.

All was quiet through the monitor, but as soon as Wifey left the room, she started crying again. So then I gave it a try. I got her calmed down, but once again, right after I had left the room (after singing her two songs and telling her one impromptu story about a girl who happens to share her name who went to school), she started crying again. And hard.

We (like any sane parents) have backup binkies for emergencies. Last night was an emergency. We gave her the binky, and she informed us that her "purple binky flushed down the potty." Right after that, she rolled over and fell asleep.

Even though Munchkin is growing up, I still have to remember that she isn't a kid yet. She is still a toddler who understands a lot, but not everything. She will still have problems dealing with small changes. And I am willing to let her have her binky while she is handling the substantial change of being a big sister incredibly well.

I'll know next time not to set the binky so close to the toilet when she runs out of the room, and I'm sure that she'll make sure not to fumble it so easily next time she tries to grab her binky.