My baby isn't a baby anymore

I didnt want to say anything for fear of jinxing ourselves, but I think its safe to say we are officially pacifier free. About a month ago (the weekend after my cousins wedding) we decided that it was time to loose the pacifier. I didn't give it much thought, just decided to do it and I knew the longer I waited the worse it could possibly be. This has probably been the hardest thing we have had to do. She would cry and cry and cry (did I mention cry?) at night when it was bed time. When she stayed with other people she wouldn't give them a hard time- just when she was with her mommy.

We also stopped it in the middle of her 15th and 16th teeth coming in, which did not work in our favor, but we pushed through. There were so many days when I almost gave in, but told myself I had come too far to turn back. It took about two to two-and-a-half weeks before she seemd to forget about it. Until she found one at my office, that before I handed it to her I had snipped of the end so she couldn't suck on it. She didn't like it and cried and would hand it up to me, almost as if to say "fix it mommy", after walking around with it for about 15 minutes, she handed it off and hasn't seemed to need one since.

Since we have lost the pacifier and now that the initial shock is gone, she falls asleep within a matter of minutes at night and for nap time. I realize now that my baby girl is more of a little girl than she is a baby. She weaned herself off her bottle around 12 months old and now she doesn't have the pacifier. She is growing up way too fast for me. Even though I am glad we are over the pacifier and I don't have to fight with her in the future...this picture, the last picture taken of her with her paci is precious and dear- we will not ever have this again. Its a great remind to live in the moment and never take them for granted.