Pacifier - soother - pip - nummy - bica - buddy - over the years I’ve heard them called by many names, but “soother” makes the most sense to me because that’s what it seems to do.Alexander is rather attached to his “soother” -- no surprise there. When I was a young child I was rather attached to mine. (Although in my case, it was called a pip) My Mom has told me stories of having a soother in my mouth and one in each hand, and sometimes that was the only way I would fall asleep. I likely would still be walking around with one in my mouth today if my Mom didn’t have the genius idea to claim that when crossing the street one day (at about five years of age) I dropped them and the birds took off with them.
Yeah, I know, I should hate birds the way my buddy Pete does from that experience. Or fear them.
But for some reason, that was quite enough to break me of my habit.
So until the birds, or some imaginary Alphagetti Gobbler-like monster I invent ends up absconding with Alexander’s soothers, they’re an important part of his relaxation and comfort.
But in the meantime, it amazes me to see how he’s very willing to share the thing that comforts him most. The other morning when we were all slowly waking up (we’d moved him into our bed in the middle of the night when he was crying -- his eye teeth are coming in and he’s still getting over a bit of a cold), Alexander offered each of us a suck on his soother. I guess he wanted to make sure we were both comfortable.
Then last night, after a long and busy day (Francine’s surprise 40th birthday party -- went off quite nicely, BTW), as I was putting him down to sleep and after we went through the exercise where I had to repeatedly kiss and hug his pal Winnie, he tried giving Winnie his soother. Seems he's very concerned that his little buddy is loved cozy and comfortable, too.
I find those raw displays of love and selflessness very soothing indeed.
7 comments:
it really is a beautiful thing to see a little one like that have such sensitivity toward another.
limelette #2 was quite attached to her 'bink.' and it very definitely had a top side and a bottom side to its shape. she was never without it and it was ALWAYS upside down in her mouth. was the funniest thing to see. put it in right and she'd flip it around with her tongue until it was upside down.
I do not what to say, I am laughing and smiling at the post in such a good way. Thanks Mark, I cannot wait to have kids myself just to experience the joys of the soother, and apply your post to the case study of kids.
Awww that's awesome he wants to make sure everyone else is comfy too!
To our kids, they were "dee-dah"s. No idea how to spell it, but apparently it is polish for nipple. My middle son used to insist on having two of them at once... one for his hand and one for his mouth. He'd stick both of them in at once, then giggle, pull them out, and announce "Look, I'm a 2 dee-dah man!"
We got rid of them by finding something that only "big boys" could do... big boys, of course, being those who do not use dee-dahs. And at some point, each of the kids decided they were big now and didn't need dee-dahs any more.
And unlike my perfect brother's kids (well according to my mom anyway) who didn't have kids addicted to pacifiers, my kids do not have cracked bleeding thumbs and crooked teeth from chronic thumbsucking that still can't seem to be broken at age 9.
So I'm pretty fond of "soothers" myself... they do their job, and apparently your son is aware of that. He sounds like a great kid. :)
You just really took me back, Mark.
My daughter had her "binky" for longer than my in-laws were comfortable with. I can fondly recall two in the mouth, and as many in each hand as she could tuck between her fingers.
And when she would bring them to me and offer them up, it was like a clear, star-filled night.
When I was a baby, a chicken in a bar stole my soother. While my Dad chased it around, another chicken jumped upon the table and drank his beer. True Story.
"we’d moved him into our bed in the middle of the night"
"Alexander offered each of us a suck on his soother"
How absolutely wonderful.
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