being three

Last week I decided it was high time George said goodbye to his beloved beps and that I had the will power to help him do it. The whole "only at bedtime" thing really wasn't working and George was constantly begging/crying for one or two or three beps to be given to him. I realized that moderation just isn't George's thing (I wonder who he gets that from) and that he needed to go off his beps cold turkey. I began by telling George about this really awesome batman toy that I thought he would like and we spent some time looking at it on the computer. Then we talked about how he is getting so big and is probably too old for a beps. We made a chart that required him to give all of his beps to Charlie and to practice sleeping three times without a beps in order to earn his awesome batman toy. To my total surprise George was game, did amazing, and earned his toy. In fact, he hasn't touched a beps in five days, hasn't tried to steal one from Charlie, and has only asked me for one a couple of times. He has a much harder time falling asleep without his beps but each day is getting a little better.

Yesterday morning he woke up crying and told me that he didn't want to be three anymore and that he just wanted to be two and have a beps. It broke my heart because I know he is trying really hard to be big and keep his end of our bargain and because I am a total softy. Lucky for me George is easy to distract so I made waffles for breakfast and told him that when you are three years old you get to pour your own syrup which made being three fun again. Today we talked a lot about things that three year-olds get to do but that one and two year-olds are just too little to do. Things like use the t.v. remote, go to school, go to Little Gym, ride a big wheel, put their plate in the sink, watch a show before bed, and the list goes on. I am really proud of George and how well he has done with this new challenge.

beps brothers

Charlie and George love playing in Charlie's room after they wake up from their naps and it has become a bit of an afternoon tradition. They love playing with their beps and hiding from me.

George's Currency

I really have no explanation for why it has taken me this long to figure out George's currency but now that I have I am using it to "help" him mind the rules. George is addicted to pacifiers--lovingly known as "beps" at our house. George is only allowed to have beps when he sleeps but because Charlie is allowed to have one more frequently he has started to want to "just play" with a beps which inevitably ends up in his mouth or he will go up to his room scale his dresser in order to get a beps and then climb in bed just so he can satisfy his addiction or he will drag a blanket and pillow out to where ever I am, lay down, and claim to "sleep." Other times he will walk around with his hand over his mouth so I can't see that he has a beps in his mouth or he will stand with his face in a corner. It is honestly crazy how much he loves his beps. He will grab a couple of them and switch them as if they were different flavors and he often makes yummy food sounds while he sucks on a beps. I say all this to document George's addiction and so you understand why I can't explain why it has taken me this long to figure out that beps are George's currency. In the past I have used other less valuable currency such as candy and toys but nothing makes George move faster than me telling him (even when there are no beps in site) that it is too bad he can't follow the rules I guess I'll just have to throw his beps in the garbage.

p.s. One explanation for my inability to discover George's currency before now is probably my lack of sleep and while I can't claim that I now go to bed at 10pm I have been pretty consistent about 11:30pm for the past couple of weeks (baby steps) but the really big news is: Charlie has finally started to sleep through the night pretty consistently and that is making all the difference. My plan worked.

p.p.s. My plan was really simple (yet another example of sleep deprivation and my inability to think). Before I go to bed I strategically scatter beps around Charlie's crib so that when he wakes up he will be able to easily find his "soothing tool" and be able to go back to sleep. I know it is working because I can hear him wake up and then go back to sleep.

p.p.p.s. I have not yet developed a plan for weening either of my boys of their beps.

Beps

George calls his pacifier "beps" and has become unnaturally attached to it as of late. I really don't like George to have his beps except for during his nap and when he goes to bed for the night but since Charlie was born and also takes a pacifier I have lost control of the beps situation. George steals Charlie's pacifier and then takes off running so I have resigned to just letting him walk around with his beps all day. He constantly has a pacifier in his mouth and it is driving me crazy, in fact, over the past week I have had trouble even getting a picture of him without his beps (all the pics in the slide show were taken in the past six days).

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I have decided to regain control of the beps situation. I realized that Charlie really only uses his pacifier to get to sleep so I don't need to have it outside of his room and that will allow me to restrict George's beps to sleep times only. I hope to ween him completely off of his beps within the next couple of months but that is phase two of my plan. Today was day one of the plan and we had some tears but all in all phase one is going according to plan.