Turns out this is pretty much the perfect project for my girls, and I'm glad we got a big stack of paper bags (and I found a website with links to paper bag puppet templates for about fifty different animals, from bald eagles to zebras). Hello, this is one craft we'll be doing all winter long!
Print the template, color, cut, glue (not always in that order) and you're set to go. Lydia named her cat Olivia. Since Lydia spends less time spelling (or attempting spelling) I got to write her name on the back of the puppet: O-L-I-V-I-A.
Julianna named hers Elibet. I thought it was a nice take on "Elizabeth". Unfortunately, she does all her own spelling and it came out: L-U-B-E-T. Sound it out folks, she's pretty much dead on. But it looks a lot prettier the way I'd like to write it :)
So, our two new cats (and the closest we'll get to pets for a good long while) - Olivia and Lubet!
But those aren't the only cats on my mind these days. We've got another member of the cat family that's a BIG part of our household..... Isaac's tiger, Bei Bei (pronounced Bay-Bay and named after the city where Isaac was born).
Bei Bei is a cute little thing, and I'm glad to have him around. But there's one big problem-o. When Isaac holds Bei Bei, his fingers pop right in his mouth and he starts sucking.
Both my girls were paci users. And both of them ditched the habit the same fateful day. I was already pregnant with #3 (soon to be Isaac) and not in the mood to be rescuing pacis from behind couch cushions and under bed covers. So I bit the bullet, tossed the pacis, endured the fussing, and a few days later we were a paci free family.
Then Isaac showed up and oh how I wanted him to love the paci. I love the paci, my baby loves the paci. We are happy.
But he would have none of it. Nope, just wanted those fingers. Even then, when he was just a few months old, I already had a nagging suspicion that getting rid of the fingers was going to be a smidge trickier than tucking them in a ziploc bag and hiding them in my top drawer.
So now that he's hit the official two-and-a-half mark I'm thinking more seriously about the fingers. I do love it - sometimes. He's a real snuggle bug, and is super content to sit in my lap at the end of the day, holding that tiger and sucking away. LOVE it.
But folks, long-term it's just not going to work. I've thought about trying to restrict Bei Bei to the bed - Isaac wants to hold him, he has to get in the bed with him. But I'm not sure that's the route I want to take. No way Jose can I take Bei Bei away. We'd be dealing with some sort of post-traumatic syndrome for years. Do I just grin and bear it..... and hope he looses the habit before college?
Oh, and yes, we have two Bei Beis. Isaac only knows about one of them. Bei Bei #1 gets too yucky to tolerate, he goes in the washer and Bei Bei #2 (affectionately referred to as the 'stunt double') makes his appearance.
Your thoughts please. I'm headed into un-charted territory :)
7 comments:
We have back-up lamby that I use for both Caroline and Will when their lovie needs washing! As for the fingers, I have no idea. Sorry! Mine have all taken a paci.
So we are limiting Hannah's "Daddy HopHop" to bed for naps and bedtime or during really stressful times. We have been slack about that over the summer b/c of all the transition so we are slowly working back to that. She only sucks her thumb with that bunny (we have 2 as well but she recently realized it and requests old bunny and new bunny :) ). Anyway the dentist says not to worry about it until she is 5-6yr from a tooth perspective. I am interested in a thumb guard that is sold - they sell a finger guard as well. L and D made one for A out of a plastic soy sauce bottle! :) good luck - it is a tough one.
Well, Lauren didn't stop sucking her thumb until she was about 5. (I hope you can help Isaac kick the habit sooner!) We went shopping for a special reward for when she stopped sucking her thumb - she picked a Pocahontas Barbie and we put it on top of the refrigerator where she could see it. Every day I taped a bandaid over her thumb (and drew a smiley face on it). She was old enough, and motivated enough, that she didn't take it off (and the different sensation reminded her to take her thumb out of her mouth). After a couple of weeks she earned her reward. The reminder and motivator worked for her. Of course, Lauren didn't play in the dirt regularly, so it may take a lot more bandaids for Isaac! I wish you the best.
Hey Laura,
this is unrelated to your post (hopefully...cats...) but earlier on the Travel Channel, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern was in your city! There are some um, interesting food options there! There's actually a restaurant that's name translates to "heart attack noodle." I don't think Uncle Paul needs to go looking for that while he's visiting!
Well Laura, from a coddling grandma, the road I see ahead of you, I think Isaacs 2 fingers aren't a big deal. He's only 2 and he'll be stepping aside pretty quickly. Matt sucked his thumb with his blanket. We got rid of the blanket(can't remember how old) the thumb sucking stopped. Isaac is doing what his uncle Andrew did, and His aunt Krisanne took to the paci. Go figure. You guys will figure it out too. Think of your next year a half, it might be a great source of self comfort for him during this time. Love the new craft ideas, love your kitty, Lydia. Love , Jan
My Jeff sucked 2 fingers (upside down, I might add) and his "lovey" was one of my nightgowns. . Meg also sucked her thumb and her "lovey" was a cloth diaper. Anna sucked a paci until we "ran over them" with the car when she was almost 3, at which point she began to suck her thumb!!! I didn't really try to stop this behavior . . . it didn't seem excessive - they played hard and calmed themselves when needed. They were also all great sleepers and all stopped on their own when they were around 5 or so. I don't think little Isaac has exceeded his "sucking window" - he'll decide to stop one day!
my thoughts on thumb sucking are.. I've seen many a first grader suck their finger/thumbs in the classroom, especially at the end of the day. If the fingers can be linked to a stuffed toy/blanket it seems easier to shed the habit. I've never "seen" a 5th/6th grader suck their thumb,so I commend you for thinking long term, for their best interests. I do agree with the other comments: give it some more time, you'll know what works with Issac when it is time. Love BN
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