Free at last!

Well, this is a big day in the Johnson household.

We finally did it.

(Actually, Joel is the one who did it, but who's counting?)

We did that thing I've been dreading and putting off for ages.

We got Everett off the bottle!

It is a little funny that this is even an issue, considering the fact that Everett refused the bottle until after he was six months old, but it is. He has been sleeping with a bottle full of water for some time now, and while I was comfortable knowing he wasn't allowed to have it when he was awake, I always had this nagging feeling that he should be done with it by now.

Joel has threatened to take it away from him numerous times, but I always discouraged him from it because I knew that I would be the one to deal with all the backlash, and I just wasn't ready. "Get Ashley sleeping through the night again," I said, "And then I'll have the energy to think about it."

But, Sunday night we returned late from visiting my family, and Everett had naturally fallen asleep in the car. Joel decided then and there to cut him off from the bottle cold turkey--Everett had woken up, but was still pretty tired. I had many reasons to disagree with him (not the least of which was my mental schedule of slowly decreasing its usage during naptime, and transferring his dependency to a different comfort item), but I told Joel it was his battle and let it be. I was sure it wouldn't work and that we'd be back to square one, and that if anything, it would be even harder the next time we tried.

And just because I needed humbling, I'm sure, it worked. Joel told Everett he was too big to have a bottle and that from now on he would sleep without it, and that was it! Done! Everett accepted it as fact and moved on.

I am amazed. We did this with no fuss, no confusion, and no drawn-out process. I never would have predicted this. I thought it might get to the point where he is three and we have to tell him the "bottle fairy" is coming to claim his bottle and he would find a present in its place in the morning.

The best part is, I have my scapegoat. Once in a while Everett asks for the bottle again, but all I have to do is remind him that he is not to have it anymore. After that, he will nod solemnly and comment, "Pop." (Papa), because he remembers that Joel was the one who took it away.

What an event! I'm so thrilled, I'm surprised I don't have firecrackers and whistles exploding out of my fingernails.