The Pasha Fairy Cometh
Much to my chagrin, my daughter still uses a pacifier. Now, she only uses it when she’s in bed or sleeping in the car, but we are about two years past the point when I was comfortable with the idea of her still needing it. As a former thumb sucker and all-around oral fixationist, I want better for my offspring, and quittin’ the “pasha” (as she refers to it) has been of paramount importance to me from day one.
When she turned one, she was only allowed to use it in the car, in bed, or in the stroller. When she turned two, she could only have it in the bed or when she’s napping in the car. At three, no more pasha.
Since Signe’s third birthday is tomorrow, we have been warming her to the idea of the Pasha Fairy for a few months. This past spring, I floated the idea of a very friendly lady who comes to the beds of three-year-olds and removes all traces of pacifiers. In exchange, I explained, she leaves presents. It’s part of growing up to be a big girl. As I told the story, Signe reached up to her mouth and covered the pacifier, as if the Fairy was en route right that very minute. The next time we visited my in-laws’, where Sig often spends the night, she explained to Oma that the Pasha Fairy was coming to take her pasha. I took that opportunity to enlist my mother-in-law in the conspiracy.
As the birthday loomed, we started prompting Sig for ideas about what she thinks the Pasha Fairy will bring in exchange for all the pashas. “Princess” has been the prevailing theme, and so today, I took to Target. I found a princess pillow, a fleece throw blanket with Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty on it, and a Barbie-sized Cinderella doll. The Pasha Fairy was pretty proud of herself.
So tomorrow night, I, I mean the Pasha Fairy, will sneak into Signe’s room and remove all the pashas. I pray the princess explosion I’ll leave in their stead will soothe my sleepy daughter when she wakes and realizes her own oral fixation has been kicked to the curb.