bottle or pacifier - which to drop first?

lovechop

crazy, i know, but my dd is 18 mos and still drinks from a bottle and uses a pacifier for sleep-time. I'm as horrified as the next person, but I've got no good explanation for this other than my own fault

We're going on vacation next week and when we get back, one of these 2 things is going COLD TURKEY!! I'm terrified by this, but have definitely noticed that she is getting way more attached to both of them the longer we wait, sooo....which is it going to be??

franciscaz

I've always heard paci does more tooth damage.

*Scuzzlebutt*

At 15 months we dropped the bottle cold-turkey.  She was only down to one at bedtime by then.

About 2 weeks later, we had to drop the pacifier cold-turkey because she had to have one of her teeth extracted (poor baby fell down and chipped it and it got infected)  The dentist told us no pacifier for one week, until the empty space in her mouth healed, but we weren't about to take it away and give it back a week later!

I'd say that my daughter was way more attached to her pacifier.  She only used it at bedtime and naps, but I could tell that she loved them.  We'd put like 10 in her crib each night and we'd peek in on her and she'd be playing with them and banging them together, throwing them, etc.  She loved them!  We'd been planning on taking it away at 1 year but we kept wussing out.

I don't know what the right answer for your daughter is though.  I'd probably get rid of the bottle first though, and then the pacifier.  Let her learn how to fall asleep without having a bottle before bed, and then take the pacifier away once she's cool with that.

aimeelv

We were going to go cold turkey on the paci at one year, but now we're moving halfway across the country, so we're going to wait until we're settled into our new home before we change anything major on Zachary.  I have a feeling we're going to need that paci in the car on our way out!  He also still has one or two bottles each day.

When we get to Texas, I'm going to wean him off of the bottle and then go cold turkey on the paci.  Hopefully we'll be done with both in one month (two months max).  GL!

Mama Jan

It seems to me that bottle would be easier to go cold turkey.  Even if she fights it, she will eventually decide to eat, right?

I am much more lenient with paci's anyway.  DS is allowed to have it whenever he wants it, but he usually just has it at night.  I had my own until I was at least 3yo and it wouldn't bother me if DS did the same thing... I turned out alright

Pesky

Unless your DD is a casual paci user and could take it or leave it, chances are it will be easier to ditch the bottle.  My pedi didn't seem concerned that DD still uses her paci for naptime and bedtime (only at home).  I think she's getting close to giving it up but don't want to force the issue just yet.  Hopefully soon, she'll get the pacifier fairy thing and be good with that.

cess525

Pacifier was the worst to get rid of (DD dropped bottles on her own).  I was going to wait till a year but at the beginning of 11 months DD started shoving the whole thing in her mouth (plastic and all) and would gag on it till one of us took it out.  I couldn't risk her getting it stuck while we were sleeping so we cut that cold turkey.  Its been almost a month and getting her to go to bed without one was easy; it was naps that killed us.  Just make sure you have something else to comfort DC while you are ditching the pacifier. 

Taylor44

I would say bottle first.  The paci is probably a comfort item.  The bottle is just a source for milk, water, etc.  I would think that at her age, she will take to a sippy quickly.  Depending on how often she uses the paci, this might be more of a battle.

ANJ410

I think the bottle is easier.

My DS gave up the bottle on his own with no problem by the time he was a year old.  The pacifier was a lot harder.  We took it away from him during the day a month ago, but we still let him sleep with it for naps and at bedtime.  The only major problem I face now  is the first few minutes after he wakes up and I take it away.  Until I find something to distract him, he throws the mother of all temper tantrums.

MrsAmers

I would drop the bottle first.  She won't let herself starve - she'll learn to drive from a sippy or a regular cup.  And bottle drinking can allow the milk to sit on her teeth and speed up decay.

But I'm not horrified by the pacifier, either.  If my DD doesn't have a pacifier when she's teething she chews and sucks on her whole hand.  She's working on her 2 year molars now and there are some days she's fine and other days that she needs the paci most of the day.  Many days she only uses the paci for sleeping and naps and quiet time (reading books, riding in the car).  We'll work on getting rid of it when all of her 2-year molars are thru.  I don't want her to get used to sucking on her hand because you can't ever take the hand away.  :-)

lovechop

thanks for the advice. she does drink from a sippy and sometimes from a regular cup - but never milk! only water (we dont do juice unless she has a cold and needs some vitamin C) We'll do the bottle first - I'm prepared for a battle