Bye bye PACI!

I think it is safe to post now....Owen has officially stopped using his PACI!!! YAHOO! One more BIG milestone in that little boy's life! Two weeks ago Owen went to the dentist for is second cleaning. He was such a good patient and did not cry at all (unlike his first visit in April). He got a little scared when they started moving the chair back so they could look in his mouth. He looked at me with a horrified face and said "Mommy, I'm falling.". Poor thing. But nothing a little reassuring didn't cure. The dentist suspected he used a paci. I told the dentist (the truth) that he only uses it to fall asleep at night and for naps on the weekends (he has not had his paci at school in over 18 months). The dentist said the damage it was doing to his bite was minimal and would probably be reversed, but that we should think about phasing out the paci completely.
We had been talking to Owen about getting rid of his paci for a few months now. We told him that they are for babies and that he should throw his in the trash. Owen's response to that "No no".
So that night, Owen didn't ask for his paci. He went to sleep and awoke at his normal time. GREAT! The next night, he didn't ask for it again. But...he woke up at midnight asking for it. A little pep talk and a pat on the back and he went right back to sleep. He asked for his paci when he woke up that morning too. The third night...Owen asked for his paci. We reassured him that he didn't need it and he went to sleep. Since then, he has only asked for his paci once. It was one night this past weekend when Avery was in his room sucking on her paci while we were getting Owen ready for bed. A little pep talk, a big hug and a request for him to pick out a story before going 'night-nights' distracted him from needing/wanting his paci.
That said....I think it is safe to throw Owen's pacis away! Now....on to potty training!