Emmie has loved her Soothies (pacifiers) from the very first time we gave her one when she was a couple weeks old. This wasn’t terribly surprising to me, as I had my own “Binky” WAY too long. I can actually remember the night I had to give it up, meaning I was probably 4 or 5. I was very grateful that Emmie took to it well, though, since I had to take away her only other comfort, the boob, during my treatment, and a newborn crying with no way to soothe her would have sucked.

She can find a Soothie ANYWHERE. In the darkest room, in the furthest corner, she will seek it out. This was very helpful when we were trying to look for another baby’s Soothie (those suckers roll like no one’s business, and bounce too). We told her to look for it, and she looked high and low, until she pointed and shouted “Boo!” (her word for Soothie). Sure enough, she was pointing right at the Soothie already in the baby’s mouth. She wasn’t wrong!

Her love has now progressed to that of a connoisseur. She has preferences for which Soothie she wants for bed, and which are just backups (she prefers the 0-3 month old ones, silly girl). She will actually TURN DOWN a Soothie she doesn’t prefer (the Super Soothies), and will go without instead of taking one she doesn’t like.

She’s figured out tricks with them. When she was little, it was the “Soothie cookie.”IMG_3486Now, she’s figured out how to get two Soothies in her mouth at once. She also likes to stick her finger inside the nipple and make a kind of puppet. She loves teasing us by pretending to give us a Soothie, then laughing because she knows grown-ups don’t use them.

When she puts her baby dolls down to sleep, sometimes she will look at us and urgently point to her doll, saying, “Boo!” As in, “Mom! She needs a boo to sleep!” I think it’s sweet that she is transferring something of her own onto her dollies.

Happily, she’s still very good about giving it to us when she isn’t supposed to have one (i.e., not sleeping, in the car or upset). I just tremble to think of the day when it has to leave for good…