Bye Bye Monkey...No More Thumb Sucking...Bye Bye Naps

Those of you that know Liam well, know he was the owner of the beloved, Monkey.  He slept with Monkey since he was 6 months old.  They also shared another special bond...Liam sucked his thumb whenever Monkey was with him, which was primarily at night.  After two discussions with Liam's dentist, we officially decided to take Monkey away and replace him with a new "big boy stuffed animal."  This was just as hard on me as it was for Liam because it was yet another sign our little guy is getting so big.  I also had a hard time watching Liam be so genuinely sad to lose his best friend (I know it sounds silly because it is a stuffed animal but in his 3 year old mind, it was true).  This Monkey made sad times happy, hurts feel better, and was the best companion Liam could have.  It was now time for a new chapter.

We went to Toys R Us and had Liam pick out his new stuffed animal.  He chose a cuddly puppy that has yet to be named anything but "Puppy."  Yes, creativity runs deep in this house:)  We boxed Monkey up to send to other little kids who needed him.  It was so sad to hear him say his goodbyes.  After many tears that nap time, Liam eventually adjusted to no Monkey.  Unfortunately, he just found another stuffed animal to cuddle with and suck his thumb.

Now we knew we had to go a step further and buy the nail polish the dentist recommended.  After three or four nights with this, we can officially say that Liam no longer sucks his thumb!!!  We are so happy but this has led to another development in our house...no more naps:(.  In our opinion, Liam just doesn't settle enough to nap anymore.  He was getting to the point where we were questioning if he needed one anyway but the no thumbsucking just was the last straw.  He has had a hard time adjusting to his new sleep habits but with going to bed a little earlier, he seems to be doing alright.  He still "rests" for an hour in his room each day.  This took a week or so for him to understand that this time was to be quite (and not to wake up Marlo) but he seems to be understanding and doing well with it now.

one of the last nights with Monkey

new Puppy

Sleeping with his new crew..yes..this is how I found him one night while protesting not going to bed.  He was in the hallway until we went to bed.