Pacifier Wean

I know you wont like my answer but I say dont take it from them. Give them about another month or so and they will learn to find it themselves. When you lay them on the floor or in playpens put the pacifier near them so they can learn to find it. Teach them. I had the same problem with my son. I pretty much taught how to put in his mouth himself and how to find it. Now he is great with it. I know you're tired and Im sorry. They are too young to wean. Hope you find and answer

Congrats on the twins.I know you are tired but the babies are too young to wean them off the sassy's. They need the suckling. Sorry I don't have any solutions--my son always found his in his crib.

E.,
I have 14 mo old twins and boy do I feel for you. I was right where you are at-and it is no fun. I actually took the paci away when having this problem. Then someone convinced me to just hold them in while I slept. This person didnt have twins. It makes a huge difference when you have to do it double. Due to that persons advice, I gave them back. My hubby & I woudld take turns doing paci patrol. After alot of nights with no sleep & numb hands from holding the pacis in- one in each hand, I took them away again for good and they fussed over not having it for about a week, but mostly during the day. I wish I would have stuck it out until they learned to do it themselves.
The response about the Wubbanub sounded good. I think this may work-I would have loved to try it. I do worry a little bit about the stuffed animal being that close to their face.

I tell you this to say that
#1, yes they do need to suck
#2 the sooner you wean the easier, but I regret taking them away because as soon as I did that then they found their thumbs and still suck them at 14 mos. I have tried (mildly) to start weaning them from the thumb (at 12 mos), without luck. So do be aware that they will most probably go to the thumb if you take the paci away too early.
#3 they will soon be able to find them if you can hold out until then
With twins you must do what it takes to survive. Trust your instincts and do what you & the babies can handle. I pray that you will find a solution that will make things a little easier.
Blessing, V.

Wait until the twins are old enough to start pulling up on the sides of the bed and you have to remove the bumper pads ... then you will be on your hands and knees in the night searching for the paci that's been knocked UNDER the crib! LOL.

I agree with the other moms who suggest not weaning your babies just yet. My OB recommended getting 5 or 6 different paci's and tossing them in the crib at night ... that way, there's always one within reach. Eventually, they WILL be able to get it on their own and you WILL sleep through the night again. Best of luck to you!

Babies have a need to suck. If you think you're not getting sleep now, wait until you try to make them go without that suckling comfort.

It doesn't take long to pop the paci back in. You adapt to broken up sleep. Over two years without an uninterrupted nights sleep here. Doesn't really phase me anymore.

i went through the same thing with my daughter. in about a month from now, they will learn to find them on their own. and my daughter also gave her passy up on her own when she got older. (by the time she was two, she didnt want to do baby things anymore) Just so you know, not all babies sleep through the night till they are older no matter what,,passy or no passy. sophie didnt sleep through the night until she was almost 10 and a half months old. she was just a light sleeper and things woke her up. now she sleeps great, goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps till 8am...she is two years and three months old now. Hang in there...and do what you feel is right as their Mommy. Whatever you decide, stick to it, that is they key with any decision you make where your kids are concerned. :-)

I, too, am trying to wean my son from his binky. He's a bit older and I'm having the hardest time. He actually put the ENTIRE thing backwards into his mouth the other day. I'm afraid he's going to choke. I would try to just take it away. You may have a few more restless nights but in the end, they may just forget they even need it in the first place. You could try some soothing music or a lights and sounds mobile over their beds. We're trying the music right now. So far, its not going great because he just wants something in his mouth. I tried replacing his binky with a lovie and he likes that but he still gets mad because he loses it at night. I am tired too. I guess it'll all be over here shortly. Best of luck to us. LOL

E. I wean my kids until they had their 1st b-day.It wasn't a problem.Either the Easter bunny took the pacifier or Santa Claus.No problems,I enjoy my kids sleeping 8 hours a nite from the time they were 3 weeks old .Thanks J.

E.,

I have a 5 month old who is doing the same thing. I also have a 2 year old who I weaned at 18 months and it was awful. For 1 whole week we listened to screaming at the top of her lungs for 3 hours each night for her pacifier. After that one week it got better. So this time I asked our pediatrician about pacifier use and he told me to keep it as long as he wants it up until a year because they have done studies that show that pacifier use reduces the risk of SIDS. So I wake up 2-3 times(sommetimes more) a night and put it back in so our 5 month old can go back to sleep. I guess we will be going through the screaming one more time in a few months time. Good luck with what you decide.

D.

That is a good month to start taking the pacifer away because if not, it will be much harder to take it away from them. If they have something else to comfort them in their crib, they will learn to depend on that. My son turned toward his blanket and stuffed animal. They may start to try to suck their thumb, but you dont want that turn into a habit either.

I gave my son a paci at night and during the day sometimes to help settle him. For a while its the only way I could get him to go to sleep. But when he was 3 months I started taking it from him after he fell asleep and not giving it to him at all during the day. He would cry for it but I didn't give in and after a week he was going down for the night without one and without any crying. I found he actually sleeps much better without it cause when he did have it at night it would wake him up every time it fell out of his mouth. He's now 5 months and sleeps through the night with rarely any interruptions. I'm sure it wont be easy but its better to take it now than to wait till there older and more dependent on it. I'm sure they'll cry a good bit but hang in there and be patient they wont cry forever and its better for all of you in the long run.

Hello E.,
I would not wean them at all. As they get older they will be able to just put it in their mouth and go back to sleep. All 3 of my children had paci's until they were 3 years old. We called it a "Papay". After the age of 1, they only got theirs in the house or in the car. I loved them. They were self soothers for my babies. Also, you can find paci holders that snap onto their clothes and will keep it close to them when they spit them out. Also saves time from always cleaning them when they spit them out on the floors. When we finally took them away it was the night before their 3rd b-day. We told them the paci-man(Like the tooth fairy) was coming and we leave them a special toy, we said that she needed them fo new babies and that were big kids now. It worked and we never had a problem with them asking for it. Well, I wish you the best of luck with your decision. Congrads on the twins :-)

I know how you feel. Mine was 5 monthes before loosing the passy was an issue. She either learned to hang on to it, or she figured out how to get it back. Either way, some things just take time.
As far as weaning them now.. it could work, but you will loose a lot more sleep before you get it back.

I'm not sure that will help. Some babies need to suck for comfort. My little ones never took a paci and I wish they would, but they still never slept through the night. Give them a feeding in the evening before bed and see if their full stomach will let them sleep longer!

Congrats on the twins! I have twins also & I have found that if you put a few extra pacifiers in the bed with them it helps. I had the same trouble & once I put a few extras in there they seem to find one of them & would go right back to sleep. Hope it helps.....good luck with the twins.

I found something that is wonderful! It is called a Wubbanub. Basically, it looks like a little beaniebaby with a Soothie pacifier in its mouth. Because it's got little beanbag feet, it holds the paci in the baby's mouth for you. I got one for my son because he was a preemie and didn't have the strength to keep it in his mouth. I got mine from the internet, and with shipping, it cost around 14 dollars, but its worth every penny. Now that he is older, he can actually put his paci back in his mouth if it is close enough. They make them in horses, cats, dogs, ducks and frogs. Their official website is www.wubbanub.com but you can just google wubbanub and lots of places sell them as well. Good luck!

I remember those days. Be patient, the time will come when your babies will be able to grab the paci for themselves. I know it seems like an eternity, but it will come. Good Luck and God Bless!

I wouldn't wean them. Another couple weeks and they'll have better control to keep them. Another month and they'll be able to put it back themselves. If they like the pacifier and you take it away now, they will most likely find fingers or thumb which are much more difficult to break. With my boys and youngest daughter, I took the pacifier away the week they began walking. With all the distraction, they didn't seem to notice and it was that easy. My oldest daughter chose her middle fingers instead of pacifier....she still uses them here and there....she just turned 5!

Trust your insticts with your children. Every child is different and what may work for your kids may not work for others. My daughter is 11 months old. She's slept all night 2 times. She can't stand to be wet! Good luck with getting some sleep!

Just thought I would echo what others have said....I had this problem as well with my now 13 month old when he was around that age. I started leaving at least one other paci in the crib with him so it was a little easier for him to find one if he lost it and that seemed to help some. When he was around 5 months or so he figured out how to find them on his own and we haven't had any issues with him losing pacifiers in the middle of the night since then.

the only way to wean them is let them cry it out and its never too soon to wean from a pacifier. pacifiers are there to pacify as the name implies however if you're still having to get up it's not much help. you'll still lose alot of sleep for a week or so but they'll calm down soon enough and then viola no more night sessions. if it doesn't work you can always give the pacifiers back after a week or two and try something else to get your sleep like earplugs...lol!