The End Of An Era

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Well the Seilback home has seen the end of an era. . .Maia is DONE with her pacifier! As some of you know, we tried to break Maia of her pacifier in January 2008. We prepared her for this event, she threw it away in the trash and we were ready to endure a couple nights, 3 at most, of difficulty falling asleep. Well after 7 nights of VERY little sleep and things getting worse and not better, Matt headed out to Walgreens at 4am (after our second round that night of hours of crying and screaming) to get another pacifier and save us all from losing our minds. We then decided to not try to wean her again for a while, seeing that she would be adjusting to a new baby in the house in May. So once we got back from Christmas break this past January, I started to poke holes in the pacifier hoping it would lose its appeal. When that didn't seem to phase her, I began snipping away a portion of the rubber every couple weeks. She would be sad each time she noticed that some of her pacifier was gone but was convinced it was because of the "cooking" (sterilizing) I would give it every couple days. Well last week, she just up and decided she didn't want her pacifier anymore and that was that. I was convinced she would be taking the plastic hub to bed with her once all the rubber was gone, but thankfully she gave it up before then. Knowing what we do of our daughter now, I'm not surprised she reacted so dramatically and with such endurance and intensity to the removal of her pacifier last January. In the past year or so, we have learned that our daughter has come equipped with quite a strong will and if she has a strong idea about how something should be done, be prepared to do battle. Maia walked at 9 1/2 months, basically potty-trained herself in half a day and I can count the # of accidents she had on 1 hand. She is definatly a child who is a determined go-getter. While there are definite positives to a strong-willed personality, not many of them are evident at 3 years old when emotions are so immature. That has left us dealing for the past few months with some tough and ugly situations. By God's grace we are learning how to deal with these situations with love, wisdom, endurance and patience, but it has been a process. It leaves us praying outside Maia's door most every night, pleading that God will use this strong will, that he has soverignly given her, for His good purposes and that Satan, who is on the prowl for the hearts of our children, would not have victory over her. It leaves us pleading that God would give us endurance when we are tempted to give in after a 2 hour stand-off. . .praying that God will break her will in those situations and help her to desire obedience more than getting her way. It leaves us humbled before God, admitting that we are unable to parent our children without Him imparting to us the wisdom, strength and unconditional love needed to do this in a Christ-like manner. We love our dear little Maia so much, and would appreciate your prayers for her and us as we journey through these challenging days!