A couple weeks ago Laurel stopped taking a pacifier at bedtime. What we once thought we'd have to pry away from her in toddlerhood, she was now refusing with stubborn resolve.

After a few nights of struggling to do our routine of pacifier, white noise, swaddling and rocking at bed time, I gave up and decided to just try without everything.

And you know what? She adapted. Within a few nights, she was putting herself to sleep without the pacifier, without the white noise, without being swaddled.

It made me think about how often we hold onto things that we think we need, but don't. How often do we resist change because we're afraid of what we'll do without our "essentials"?

Sometimes the answer is simpler than we think. Sometimes there's just enough when we stop needing more.

– Carmel