The Pacifier

It has always been fine with me that Bradley doesn't take a pacifier.  He's not a big fusser and as soon as he discovered his thumb, that has been his choice. 

The other day though, I really wished Bradley would take one.  He had a little cold and had been having a fussy day.  He had be coughing and the more he fussed, the more he coughed.  The more he coughed, the more worked up he got...you get the picture.

I needed to change his diaper and he was really not happy to be on the changing table.  He was crying so hard he turned red.  I needed to get him settled down because he was starting to cough.  I sang songs, he cried.  I tickled him, he cried.  I pick him up and swayed with him, he started to cough.  He was coughing so hard he stopped crying.

I needed something to calm him down.  As a last ditch effort, I put him on the changing table and grabbed a pacifier.  When he opened his mouth to cough, I shoved it in.

He looked a little surprised, but he closed his mouth and sucked for a few seconds.

Then he spit it out.

Me, at the brink of just putting him in the crib and going down stairs for a few minutes, laughed and said, "You aren't supposed to sit that out, you silly boy!"

He looked right at me and laughed!  I put the pacifier back in his mouth and he spit it out again.  I repeated the silly boy thing and he laughed again.

When I stuck it back in his mouth, he spit it out and giggled.

We were playing a game!

I managed to change his diaper and we played a few more rounds.  He was having a great time, and we were both calm.

The next time I started to put the pacifier into his mouth he grabbed it.  He stuck it in his mouth.

Backwards.

The handle was in his mouth and he was chewing on it rather happily.  It was kind of funny to watch the nipple part bobbing around.

This new game is pretty popular.  We play it just about every time he gets a diaper changed.  It always ends with it in his mouth backwards.  But, hey, at least he's happy.