Sucker Fairy was here!!!

Boy, am I excited!!!! This is one of the most special posts I ever blogged. Or maybe just one of the most special moments I had with my girl.

Some time ago - I think it was before Christmas (how come I don't exactly recall the date?!) - Lenara was ready to send 3 of her 4 suckers ("Shnoolie" = Schnulli in German) to the sucker fairy. She had the idea to put them in a gift box, with a bow and a cookie and then set in outside of the door (it was Daddy's weekend at the time). I had called the sucker fairy on her cell phone the previous morning to let her know Lenara was hoping for a yellow wrapped gift. I had told her she could wish for something. I thought it was funny, that all that mattered to her was the yellow wrapping! Anyway, she was all excited that the sucker fairy brought her a gift - which meant, the sucker fairy exists and this is not a trick or something. So I told her, whenever she was ready to give up her last sucker, she should let me know and I would call the fairy again.

But she wasn't ready. By the time most of her friends had given up their Schnullis. I tried to be patient, yet the moments when I was fed up with searching for this holy one and only sucker at least once a day. I told her that I thought she could do it without. Trying not to put any pressure on her, but rather encouraging her and believing in her.

During our vacation in January we couldn't find her Schnulli one day. We seriously thought she had lost it somewhere outside. I thought to myself, ok, if that's the way it goes... we'll take this chance. But she was crying and crying. "I can't go to sleep without my Schnulli, I need my Schnulli"... it was heartbreaking. Grandma Astrid luckily kept on searching and finally found the Schnulli under the waste bag. (whatever)

Her friend's Schnulli went on vacation to Africa recently. It even sent back postcards to let little Sam know that it was doing well, but didn't know if it would come back, because he loved the adventures. He'd rather continue sending postcards. And after a couple rough nights - he accepted the Schnulli being on vacation and doesn't miss it anymore. Lenara was pretty impressed, when I told her, Sam can now sleep without it. Next time we saw him, she told him "I'm sleeping without my Schnulli as well." She sounded really convincing, but I thought... hey, it's such a lie!

During the past weeks, she brought it up a couple of times. But always added "once I'm older, I can also sleep without my Schnulli. But I'm still quite little". Sigh. Trying to continue being patient.

SOOOOOOOOO, today, out of the BLUE, she suddenly said this morning "Mommy, I will wrap my Schnulli today, please call the sucker fairy. I want a blue gift this time." What??? I wasn't sure, if she was being serious. I asked her a couple of times to be sure, before I called the fairy. But she insisted and seemed very confident in her decision. So after taking a bath tonight, she wanted to suck it a last time and then she wrapped it. I could tell, she was rethinking it all. She said, we can only bring the box outside after having read the goodnight story. Two stories. She needed just a little bit more time. I was nervous, she would want it back. And I was nervous about how to react then. We had come so far this time!

But, she surprised me. She put it outside our door and went straight to bed. We talked for a little bit in the dark. I kept reassuring her that she can do it, and I'd be there to help her. I was nervous, it would take forever for her to fall asleep and I was ready for having some rough nights ahead. I had sprayed some "sleep well scent" on her pillow (just in case... hehe) and I talked to her some sentences to start relaxing (like for hypnosis), something like "your eyes get real heavy and tired, now your arms want to go to sleep etc." - I think it rather worked for me to stay calm. And she fell asleep WITHIN MINUTES!!!! My girl who would never go to sleep without her Schnulli and even than often took half an hour or longer to fall asleep.

I'm impressed. Simply impressed. What a girl! What a good good way of ending this era! I would have never thought this would work. But I'm soooo extremely glad I chose this way and tried to be patient with this f*** sucker all this time. It was definitely worth it! I'm so thankful. Sooo thankful. And also a bit relieved to be honest.

I'm still a little nervous, what happens, if she wakes up tonight. Or about tomorrow night when there won't be a gift the next morning... but hey, I'm optimistic. I'm using the secret once again.

The proudest mother ever!