(Not so) Silly Jilly: Bye Bye Binky

We decided it was time for Jillian to give up her binkies. I knew that we wanted to do this sooner rather than later because I know it only gets harder the older they get. Jillian was really only using the Binky at nap time and at bed time. but she really loves her Binky!
I have been dreading this transition for a while now. I knew that 18 months was the magic age that I wanted to take it away from her. So now that she is over 18 months, this weekend was chosen for Operation No More Binkies. When it was time for Jilly to go to sleep on Friday night, she asked for her Binky as part of her bedtime routine. Julian and I sat her down and broke the news. And, well, we maaaaaaaaaaaay have told her a little lie...
Since we just got back from El Paso, she just got done seeing her new baby cousin Mikey. He is only a month old. So we told Jillian that she had no more binkies because we had to give them all to baby Mikey. We told her that Mikey needs them because he is just a little baby, and that she didn't need them anymore.
And, well...she was devastated! She seemed to really understand what we were telling her about why she had no more binkies, but she was heartbroken that we sent them away. She cried that night for 40 minutes - devastated, heart-broken cries.  Our hearts broke for her, and I almost gave in...almost!
By nap time on Saturday, her grief had passed and she was just straight angry. At nap time, she asked for her Binky and I again told her that we sent them to baby Mikey. This time, she cried for 25 minutes straight - full out tantrum, flailing cries. It was bad...let's just say that she got put in her crib to flail/cry/throw a tantrum by herself. But she fell asleep about 5 minutes later.
And then bedtime on Saturday, Jillian again asked for her Binky. Same story. I guess she was starting to come to grips with it because she only whined for about 5 minutes, but she stopped when we said her prayers and sang "You Are My Sunshine." so it was definitely getting better.
By bedtime on Sunday, she asked for her Binky, got the same story, and just kept going, asking for her other bedtime comforts. No crying this time.
So, I think it's safe to say that Operation No More Binkies was a success.  I think/hope/pray I didn't speak too soon....