addiction

"Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism." -Carl Jung.

My two-and-a-half-year-old is an addict. Yes... an applejuiceaholic. Last night we began dejuicifying her. She went cold turkey.

After she finally fell asleep, the night went better than I thought it would and she only woke us up once about midnight demanding, yes, apple juice, and needing to go potty. But the two hours before she fell asleep weren't so fun. She laid in bed crying first, "applejuice!!" then "mommy!" then "daddy" then "mommydaddy" then "don't like water!" then "gottagopotty!". I also started a bedtime ritual that I hope will help her transition to bedtime. Until a few months ago she was a dream. We put her in bed at night (yes, with a cup of juice and blankie) and didn't hear from her until morning. But the last few months have been hell. She fights bedtime and makes several trips into our room during the night. We hope taking away juice and replacing it with water will lessen her frequent awakenings during the night (plus, it may save her teeth from rotting!)

Someday soon we'll get through this phase of parenthood. I tell ya, it's a constant struggle but a simple smile, laugh or "love you, mommy" from her reminds me how much it is worth. Usually...