Pappy Detox

I loved Pappy. It was a magic wand, an instant comfort, my sweet boy's secret weapon and as he reminded me, his "friend." Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be widely acceptable for grown men to walk around with pacifiers. We had to let it go.

We heard at school Monday that Gehrig's friend, Tommy, had thrown his pappy in the river...yep, the big Savannah one. Gehrig was intrigued and talked about it all day. He wanted to throw his in the river too. I couldn't bear the permanancy! We put it on the bathroom counter instead. He was brave until bedtime and wanted it back.

Tuesday, he started telling everyone that he wasn't going to sleep with his pappy anymore. We felt like we needed to act. If he's ready and Daddy's ready (even if I'm not!), then it must be the time. We started with a ceremonial last picture of the two of them together and then...he threw it in the trash.

We then went to Build-a-Bear to get a new pappy! (Thanks for the idea, Owens, and the reinforcing encouragement, Mareks!) Gehrig got to pick out whatever animal he wanted and name it Pappy. We had a great time picking out a lovely green triceratops, stuffing it and bathing it. Gehrig was thrilled! We took it to show the neighbors and made it a place at the table for dinner...

And then, bedtime. We read extra Bible stories, spent extra sweet time with him and prayed that his transition would be smooth. As it neared time to tuck him in, he started..."I want my old pappy." Over and over. I have never seen him so sad. It was so hard. I wanted to just go get it! It was apparent that the attachment had been greater than we even realized. Finally, at 9:30, he was asleep. We had made it!

Until 10:30. This is when the detox reference comes in. He must have woken up and looked for his pappy like he had done thousands of times before. He started crying, we went in and his mantra began again, "I want my old pappy!" He was wringing his hands and pitiful...and I felt like the meanest mom ever. Finally, I told him that I wanted it too. (I really did.) And that I was so sorry. And that we would have a special breakfast date in the morning if he could make it through...a donut with sprinkles. Seriously, he stopped crying and cuddled New Pappy and by midnight, he had stopped whimpering and was fast asleep. (I know, May May...he loves sprinkles just like his mommy!) We didn't hear anything again until morning.

Today has been a big celebration day with our breakfast date at the donut store. (Mommy got one too...I needed it!) He took New Pappy to school to announce his news and show him off. They were all so sweet and supportive. And now, he is napping! It took him a little longer to fall asleep, but there was no sad crying. We're hopeful that tonight will go as smoothly...