Heaven, Thy Name is Pacifier!

Oh. My. Goodness. In a split second this afternoon, it was like the clouds parted and sunlight finally broke through-- Nikos took his pacifier!!! I should preface this by saying we had a pretty good early afternoon. I managed to feed him and get him in his swing long enough so that I could pump (I'm starting to save milk for when I go back to work), eat my own lunch, AND go to the bathroom. That was a miracle in and of itself! He was doing so well that I decided to press my luck and take him out for a stroll around the neighborhood. When that was successful, I had a sudden surge of confidence and decided to go to the supermarket to pick up a few things. He was a little fussy in the car, but calmed down as soon as I put his car seat into the shopping cart and pushed him across the parking lot (it was a bumpy ride- and I think he liked that!). He was a little angel as I rushed around and got the things I needed, but started fussing when we had to wait in line to check out (luckily, everyone was understanding... I still hate being "that person" with the crying baby-- it makes me want to cry!!). I tried putting the pacifier in his mouth, but he made a horrible face and started crying louder. He calmed down again during the bumpy ride through the lot, but the crying came back as soon as the car engine started. Frustrated, I decided to try the pacifier one more time. I held it firmly in his mouth, and voila! Suddenly, he was sucking on it! I let go, and he was STILL sucking on it! And he was quiet! By the time we got home, he was completely asleep in his seat with the pacifier still in his mouth:

He woke up for a little bit right after I took this picture, but I gave him the pacifier again and he conked out completely in under two minutes! Normally, when it's time for his nap, I spend anywhere from ten to twenty minutes holding him and patting his back until he finally gives in and falls asleep. Meanwhile, he WAILS the entire time, and I just want to cry along with him. But this was absolutely amazing. He even woke up as I moved him to his bed, but he sucked a few times on the pacifier and was off to dreamland again. Amazing. He is actually taking another nap as I type this, and the pacifier is once again working its magic. It didn't happen as quickly this time (he was really tired earlier), but it still worked-- and without listening to twenty minutes of crying, which has got to be the ultimate form of torture! Hallelujah!!