need help with nighttime pacifier weaning

dglvrk2

DD (2.5 yrs) is great about only using the pacifier at night and nap times.  We've had to work on weaning her, but it's been successful.  She was well behaved but definitely tired by the end of the day yesterday.  DH is out of town; (I don't think both of us need to endure the crying that goes with taking the paci away from DD at night.)  So I decided to take it from her.  I told her that one of her favorite characters took it to give to a new baby when she asked about it.  She cried for over a half hour before she fell asleep.  However I didn't give in then.  I felt good about this until midnight when she woke up screaming and cried for another half hour.  Beyond tired and feeling terribly sorry for her, I gave in... I'm eight months pregnant and exhausted; working more than full time and taking care of DD on my own this past week hasn't helped this much.

So do I try again tonight? Just cold turkey?

Should I try a different method like cutting a hole in the paci?

Or should I just wait and see when she'll give it up on her own?

The only reason I want her off of it while she sleeps is because she doesn't need it and I know she can develop better coping/soothing mechanisms.  

I've spoken with a could of dentists and an orthodontist who claim that using the paci for sleeping is not affecting her tooth development etc.

Any ideas welcome!! TIA

jls5121

Hi there,

I have a two-year old who has been sleeping without a pacifier for about four months now, and we did it cold turkey, however, I was talking with my mother about it, and she said that when I was a toddler, she couldn't get the thing away from me. 

The only thing that worked for her was to take me to a Salvation Army or clothes drive for people in need to show me how we can sometimes give the things we don't NEED to others so they can live happier lives. She then asked me if I wanted to donate some of my things to the children who don't have a lot of toys and clothes. We picked out a few toys I didn't use anymore because they were "for babies," and my mom somehow worked in the fact that pacifiers are probably good for "babies" as well. I was so excited to help the other kids that I "gave all my pacifiers away." I'm sure she kept one or two for emergencies, but if you can somehow get your little girl to think that giving up her pacifier is going to help other kids (I'm not sure what level of comprehension she might have about that as she's pretty young still), you might be able to do without them. It might also help to show her other ways she can soothe herself - a "glow worm" toy that sings lullabies distracts MY girl at night if she's cranky or doesn't quite want to go to bed.

Anyway, that's a very complicated route, but it worked for me, AND it was a good way to downsize from the million toys I'm sure we had in the house. 

Best of luck! I hope you find your solution.

luvmygirlss

My advice and trust me I had a VERY paci dependent child. Cold turkey is the best way to go. 3-5days of crying and then they forget about it. It won't take longer than that, trust me. I hate the idea of weaning or playing games like cutting holes in it. That just prolongs things. I could only take so much of the heart wrenching tears, I couldn't imagine prolonging the process. Good luck!

mrslucid

Cold Turkey is the best way.  I had gotten my daughter down to having it just at nap time and bedtime.  I talked it up for a few days, about how she is getting bigger and then stopped giving it to her.  The first couple nights were rough but she soon stopped asking for it. 

FabulousMrs.P

I just posted up above, but we did a combo. I first "broke the paci" and let her keep it for the night...then the next day I suggested that she throw it out since it was broken. She got a "big girl" cookie for throwing it out. That night when she asked for it I reminded her that she threw it out because it was broken. We had a few rough nights, but 3 days later, she was over it and is back to sleeping normally.  It broke my heart when she was crying, but it got significantly better each night (1st night: 1hour 15 minutes 2nd night: 15 minutes 3rd night: 3 minutes: 4th night: no tears...back to normal!)

We also kept stressing over the last few weeks what a "big girl" she is and how she can do SO many things that a baby can't do.

SuperMom17

Also just posted above on PPs post- cold turkey for us too. The whole snipping I thing simply would have gone over like a turd in the punch bowl with DS. It would have been more traumatic for him the just ditching it, and really it would just prolong the inevitable. We took his away on Wednesday and as of yesterday DS is going to bed for both naps and bedtime without any fuss, tears, or whining. I tossed the packs, said nothing about them, and continued on as normal. He cried the first few nights and would not nap at all day one, but after that it was smooth sailing. You are in for 3-5 days of toughness and than you are done. Take the plunge!

FabulousMrs.P

Oh, and I would recommend starting on a Friday...that way during the worst of it, you don't have to try to get up and go to work if you have a rough night.