18 Months Today ~ To Binki or Not to Binki

Today Mason is 18 months old. We went to his pediatrician and she said that he looks great. He is now 24 lbs and 11 oz tall (putting him in the 50%) and 33 1/4 inches tall (75%). He also had a shot in the arm and never cried. I am not sure that he even knew the Dr. did it, he is such a big boy! My cousin had sent me an email about what her little girl is doing and it got me wondering how many words that Mason is saying. So, this morning I took out a notebook and started to count. As of now, we are over 50. I really wouldn't have guessed that he spoke that many words, so I was pleasantly surprised. He has also started to cough a nasty sounding cough, so we went to Wal-mart and bought our first cool mist humidifier and Tylenol and Ibuprofen for 2 year old and up per the pediatrician.

TO BINKI OR NOT TO BINKI??

Lately, Todd, the babysitters, and I have been working hard on only giving Mason his binki at night. I was explaining to her that it is really only a crutch for Todd and I since Mason will sleep through until 6 or 7 if he has it and otherwise we have to get up several times in the night to comfort him. Now, I know that we could probably let him cry and he would fall back to sleep, but he is still my baby. The reason that we were taking it away in the day was because I couldn't understand him when he had it in his mouth. (Last visit the Dr. said that he could have it until he was 5 that it wouldn't delay his speech or ruin his teeth.) Well today the PA said maybe it would be a good idea to let Mason have his binki since we are going to have the new baby and it could help to comfort him during a difficult time. Her other thought was that if the new baby takes a binki that it could be an issue as well. I am asking for ANY thoughts on this topic.