Babies: 3 - 6 Months
watermellens
member
Did anyone ditch the paci between 4-6 months?
watermellens
member
I've read that the best time to ditch the paci is before 6 months...my older DS still has his for sleep at 2 1/2 years old. Younger DS uses one now (he's almost 4 months) but I'd love to ditch it sooner if possible.
Any stories/advice you can share?
My little man at 0-1-2
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Re: Did anyone ditch the paci between 4-6 months?
Charlie ditched his paci around 4-5 months.........and started sucking his thumb.
When they need to soothe, they need to soothe. If you take it away now, I feel like he's just going to find something else to take its place whether it be a toy, a lovey, his hands, etc.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
OSC - does he still suck his thumb?
At this point (if we're thinking about sleep training at some point) I think thumb sucking would be easier! That way he could use his thumb to soothe, instead of the paci, which he can't yet replace when it falls out. Hmmm.
My little man at 0-1-2
Oh okay! Most people are vehemently against thumb sucking for some reason. If you're not worried about that, you could always move away from the paci.
And yes, Charlie still sucks his thumb, but only when he's tired, sick, scared, etc. for comfort.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
We got rid of DS1's before 6 months old-- he wasn't that into it and nursed to sleep so he didn't really "need" it.
DS2 "needs" it to sleep. He rarely nurses to sleep and fusses a lot if he drops his paci. I am dreading getting rid of it and am not sure how we'll go about it.
FWIW, our pediatrician recommends ditching the paci by 3 months as they no longer have a need for non-nutritive sucking. He thinks it's fine for him to use his thumb or fingers instead for self-soothing. Unfortunately, DS2's fingers are so long, he gags himself sometimes, and he also has trouble getting a good suck going.
fwiw my ds still uses his paci for sleep. he's 2. i have no plans to get rid of it. he's attached to it, like a security blanket.
TTC since May 2006. After 3 failed Clomid cycles, 2 failed Injectibles/IUIs, 2 failed IVFs and 1 failed FET, we moved on to adoption!
Last ditch FET resulted in BFP, and identical twin girls!
Umm, anything sucking for long enough will screw up your teeth. Plus a little thing called genetics plays a role in it as well. My siblings and I all had pacifiers as infants, never thumbs, and racked up over $20,000 in orthodontic bills.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
About orthodontics the sources I read said kids who suck their thumbs aren't anymore likely to need major orthodontics than paci suckers because most kids give up the thumb before their adult teeth come in anyways. So if I have a 6 year old thumb sucker I might have something to worry about.. But you might too if you have a 6 year old paci sucker!
This. Marin has always liked her thumb WHEN she happened to find it... but always had to have the paci, day and night. Now she knows to go to her thumb and she has replaced with paci all by herself.
Agreed. When I realized I had a thumb sucker and there was nothing I could do about it, I started reading about orthodontics issues. Most resources say it is fine until about 4 years old, some even say 6 years old. The thumb sucking is pretty convenient.
I have never heard of taking the paci at 3 months. We took DS's paci at about 11 months with no problem. If I have learned anything, though, it is that it all completely depends on the kid.