Weening from the Pacifier

Hi W., I am a mother of 2 boys. My first one took a pacifier and he pretty much weened himself. I just wouldn't let him have it in public. After a while he just stopped taking it. I am one of those mothers that doesn't really push those things. I don't feel like it is that big of a deal. If she only takes it a few times I would just let her have it and just not offer it and when she asks give it to her. My other baby wouldn't take one. Hope this helps.

I was just at the ped today.He asked me if my daughter is still using the pacifer.I said, "yes", and he asked, "why?"I stated to him that you can take the pacifer away, but not the thumb.He didnt say anything else.I feel that when she is ready, she will let me know.My daughter is 15 months old.She loves to suck on the pacifers.I was the human pacifer even when she wasnt breastfeeding.I didnt mind.LOL.I do like the idea of poking holes in it...I never thought of that.I would take one of the pacifers and do that, and see how she does.I think I am going to try it too.

My son, Jack, is 2 and still has a pacifier at night and at naptime. He used to have 6 of them in his bed. 3 of them got holes and we threw them out. Then at Christmas, we had him leave one for Santa with the point of Santa bringing him a special, big toy that he really wanted (a remote control tractor). So, now he's down to just 2 pacifiers. The one he left for Santa is hidden in a dish on my dresser. We're planning on leaving another one for the Easter Bunny and the Leprechaun (at St. Patrick's Day) in exchange for a special little something... as long as they don't get holes in them before then. Jack used to look for all of his pacifiers before he went to bed to make sure he had every single one and the transition every time one has been taken away has been a smooth one.

Don't rush on weaning from the pacifier. Our dentist suggested that we not worry about weaning our son until he's 3, if he's not ready.

Good luck.

I would not worry about it too much. If she is only having it at bed and in the car, and she spits it out when she falls asleep, it is only in her mouth maybe an hour per day. That probably will have no effect on her teeth. If it gets her to sleep, it is worth it! You will regret taking it if she gets sick or something. The only time it bothers me is when it is a permanent fixture in their mouth and they don't talk because it is in there.

When my son was 18 months I told him that the nieghbor's new baby needed his binkies. We took them over in a little bag and he never asked for them again. Of course she threw them out as soon as we left. I also have heard of the "Binky Fairy". Much like the tooth fairy. Just put them in a special bag or box in the room and the Binkny fairy will leave a very special big girl gift.
Good Luck!

I know my son will not go not one place without his paci... I told the doc cause at first he was like "whatever" for a week but that was it. The doctor told me that he could have it till he was two years with no problems and MAM says three yrs which is strange but I would just ween at two cause my son was that way and the doctor said that it isn't worth working them up that bad till they are close to their second year of life.

D.

Our daughter was attatched to her pacifer. She took it until she was 2 -2 1/2. What we did was only let her have it at night and when she was napping. Then they started "disapearing" We were taking them away. She had a ton of them hidden . LOL.. So once we were finally down to one she lost it and that was it. She cried at night at 1st and I will be honest when my son was born she wanted his so bad . So we bought her one to let her taste and it and she said yuck LOL.. Luckily that was how she felt .

My cousin told her son that the birdies took it. A friend of mine collected them to "give to the other babies that needed them" but since she is so young I dont think those ideas will work.

Good lUck

Hi Wendy. Why are you thinking about taking her pacifier from her? All 3 of my children had pacifiers when they were babies and all 3 of them gave them up when they were ready. They were all around 2 years old. My oldest had gotten a hole in his and I told him to throw it away and we'd find another later. He didn't seem too be bothered to get rid of it, so I just didn't replace it. My 2nd was the same way. She got a hole in it and I told her to throw it away. My 3rd was the youngest. She had hers outside while playing in the snow and she dropped it and we couldn't find it. She gave hers up that day. The reason I ask why you are trying to have her give it up is because I think that is a comfort for her. It has probably been a comfort since birth. She will not understand at such a young age. Maybe give her time to do it on her own.

I think we all have and need "pacifiers", they are just not sticking out of our mouth.

Hi W.,

I'm curious as to why you want to take it from her so soon? First, she's still very young and sucking is a comfort mechanism for babies and toddlers. It seems unnecessary to me to take it away at this young age.

My son is a thumb sucker--he sucks much more frequently now than he did previously, but at 2 1/2, I realize his little mind is experiencing so much and developing so rapidly, he needs that extra source of comfort for a while.

For the record, I vowed I would never have a thumb sucker! Oops! That was his choice, not mine. My sister sucked her thumb until she was 7--maybe later if she hid it. lol That is entirely too late! But with your little one, I'd say let her be and just enjoy knowing that she derives comfort from something so easy to provide!

D.

I have 2 things that might work. The first is poking little pin holes in it so it loses it's sucking. Another thing you could try is the binkie fairy. You put the binkie on the dresser and explain about the fairy and then when the child is sleeping leave a small gift for getting rid of the binkie. Both of these have worked on my children. Good Luck!

She in only 11 months so she isnt going to understand much. If you maybe also try instead of giving her the pacifer a sippy cup with water in it. or even a blankie. If it takes awhile for you wean her off it. If she gets older adn understands more you could take the pacifer with you to a BUILD A BEAR store if you have one near you and have her watch you put it in the bear and then give her the bear and explain that her pacifer is still with her but its helping her bear.

Hi W.,

I know exactly what you are up against. My daughter was absolutely hooked on her binky. She also used it only in the crib, but she was very, very attached to it. Any attempt to remove it resulted in hysterics and screaming until she made herself sick. I thought she would go to college with her binky because I could not see her giving it up. Granted, we let her have it until after her second birthday, so your child is much younger. She is now 28 months old and binky-free!

We decided to wait until age two to wean her from the pacifier because it was such a comfort to her, and neither her pediatrician nor her pediatric dentist were worried about it (I believe this becomes a concern around age three or so). Crying it out was too upsetting for all of us, the "binky fairy" concept did not work, and she wasn't interested in giving her binky up to another baby who needed it more than she (all of these methods were recommended to me--I posted on this subject a while back). What eventually worked was this: I cut a small hole in the tip of the pacifier so there was no longer any suction. As time went on, I cut it shorter and shorter every few weeks until all that was left of the nipple was a stump. Eventually, she just held the binky as a comfort while she slept. A week or so ago, she told me that she did not want it in her crib at all. So far, so good. Looking back, I wish I had not worried so much about this. They will give it up when they are ready. It is just up to you to decide if earlier or later is a better time to make the break. Good luck!

Hello W., I am a mother of 3 beautiful girls. For all 3 I made them keep it in the crib from their first birthday and they could have it in the car if it was a longer trip. My oldest went to be one night when she was 17 mos. old without the pacifier so that was how I got rid of it for her. My twins I just decided one night that I wasn't going to give it to them at bed time and they were fine. I didn't make any fuss that we were going to throw it away or anything like that. I just took them out of the crib and they did not get it all day that day and they went to bed without it. You will have a few tough nights, but it does soon pass.

Good Luck. I would keep doing what you are doing and maybe stop letting your daughter have it in the car first and then after a couple of weeks try taking it from the crib. Do one first not both at the same time.

I had a very hard time with my son, which is 4 1/2 now. He was 3 1/2 and he also just had it to go to bed and sometimes for car rides. We told him when the next time he got a cold (it was winter) that he couldnt have it 'cause he wouldnt be able to breath. Well, he caught a cold and I took it away. He was very mad and cried and screamed for an hour afterwards. It took about 2 weeks, without anyone mentioning it, and he forgot about it and now he dont care for it even if it is mentioned. Dont worry about it he still has time to get rid of it, it's his 'security blanket'.

I would definitely try and get rid of it when you can. I don't think it's that bad, but I do think that the longer you allow them to have it the harder it is to take it away. My daughter was using hers until she was just over 4 years old. He brother was born and there was no getting rid of it then! He luckily didn't get hooked on it for too long, he weened himself off around 9 months or so. When that happened I got rid of all the pacifiers in the house. I firmly believe that what they don't see they forget about. But to ease her at night you could definitely give her a sippie cup with water when she goes to sleep at night. Both of my kids go to sleep with a cup of water. Maybe this is their replacement for a pacifier, but it's a good replacement. Good luck!

My son had reflux and his pacifier helped him so much. He was very attached. At age 2 1/2 i cut the tip off when he wasn't looking. When he went to get it for bed, it was broke. I told him he was toooo big and it broke. THe first nite when we put him to bed...i was so nervous. He wimpered for 1/2 hour then off to bed through the nite. He kept the broken one three days until trash day then it was gone. He didn't nap for three days but then he was fine. NO PROBLEM! i think i was more scared than him.