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Success after IF
How do we wean from the paci?
DS only gets it when he's tired, to help him to sleep. So, he's not just running around with it or anything, but it is a major part of is fall-asleep routine. It's like it triggers his brain to relax or something.
At night he falls asleep with it, and he often wakes a time or two, realizes that it's not in his mounth, and cries. We go in and get it for him - or, more often, find him a new one as it's fallen from the crib - and everything's fine. (We have chosen to do this as it keeps him from ever waking fully and allows him - and us! - to go back to sleep, which doesn't happen if he wakes up sufficiently to find it himself.)
Anyway, the pedi said we really need to get him away from the paci. But I have NO idea how to go about doing that. We've never let him CIO, and I don't intend to start now. But what other way is there?
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Re: How do we wean from the paci?
We didnt ditch it til just after their 2nd birthday. We talked up the paci fairy. Oh we talked her up for about 2 weeks. Saying that soon she was coming and they were big boys. We walked them around target and watched for what they asked for on a few different trips. Every time they saw a pillow pet they wanted one. One day we took them back to target and let them pick the pillow pet they wanted. When we got home the paci was gone. We pointed out that the fairy came and took the paci and they had pillow pets now because they were big boys. Every time they asked for their paci we told them the fairy took it. Eventually we started asking them when they asked and they would tell us the fairy took it. It only took 3 days for them to stop asking about it. They would talk to each other about it but someone would remind the other that the fairy took it "cuz we big boys".
I really think if you want to hand onto it for a little longer you arnt hurting him. We had tried a few times to take it and mine like yours were only getting it in bed. It was much better waiting til they were ok with giving it up. We asked the dentist and they said we could keep it as late at 3 so long as it wasnt an all day thing and was just for bed.
We didn't get rid of Jacob's until 6 days after he turned 2. Overall, he did well with the transition. Sure there were nights where he woke overnight looking for it and had a harder time falling asleep (for overnight and naps). But its been gone for 2.5 months and I think we're doing well.
That being said I was TERRIFIED to take it away. I was so sad for him because he really didn't/doesn't have another item that he loved as much as his paci. I felt like he was going to wonder where it was and that made me sad.
But he's really into babies right now. He LOVES them. So, we told him that we gave the pacis away to other babies and that they needed them. It seemed to work well - even a week or so later when he was looking for it, I asked him where the pacis went and he said "babies."
My BFF took her son's away at 15m and they just took it away. It took a couple of weeks of transition, but he was fine.
Good luck! I think that was one of my hardest parenting moments.
we just yanked Ava's, she's 3y3m. She was told long time that when it broke (she chews them) it's gone. Well, one day it happened. I FREAKED.
She had some tears the 1st two days, then nothing. Not even when we traveled a week later, thought for SURE she'd melt down.
Sleep at night was never really an issue (again, just some whining) and somehow she decided that the dump truck took it, and brought it to her baby cousin (whatevs). I will warn you though - naps could suck. She just could NOT settle down, and has slept very little naps since. We switched to "quiet time" with her ipod/movie thing. But she is a lil' older.
We just said things like "I know you're sad" and "it's hard losing something you love, huh?" and praised her a lot for being brave and a big girl.
It was harder on US than her, I'm convinced. lol.
GL !
Did they wake up asking for it in the middle of the night. I'm so afraid of what my night would be like if I took away the paci. He also only uses it for sleep. I have not decided when I will take it away. Your plan sounds great (it's what my mom says she did with my brothers also) - again I'm concerned about the middle of the night.
Thanks for the ideas, ladies! One common theme, though, it seems, is to try to talk with them about it. (The fairy took it, when it breaks it's gone, etc.) DS is just too young for something like that to work right now, I'm afraid. If he understands anything I'm saying at all, he's very good at hiding it
It also seems that you all weren't given the urgency that my pedi was giving us today. . . It followed the conversation about him not talking yet (other than bye bye) and I think he was suggesting a correlation, but he's only 15 months. . .
I would think there may be a correlation if he was using the paci all day long. Can't talk with something in your mouth! But since it's only for nighttime use - I really can't see how there can be a correlation.
I tried getting rid of it when N was 18 months old. My friend (a Speech Pathologist) told me to get rid of it before the new baby came. I caved after 3 days. His naps went to chit, and he was waking up earlier. I was tired and pg and for my sanity, I gave it back. He is 24 months and still has it. I'm too lazy to take it away. We'll revisit it later this year or when he turns 3. Who knows maybe I'll take it away when we Ferber Ava in a few months. Kill 2 birds with one stone.
Funny how Nicholas loves his Paci and Ava could take it or leave it (sometimes I wish she would take it though).
If they did wake in the night (I think they only did once or twice) we would just tell them to cuddle/snuggle their pet (wim the turtle= owen and tbone the dog= Ethan), that it was still night time and we would see them in the am. It really wasnt a big deal. I think the important thing was taking it up when they were ready to understand.
We weaned her down to only nights/naps and she LOVED her binky!
I used to make sure that it wouldn't fall out of the crib by putting a small blanket in there to 'hold' it in, and that helped. I eventually took the blanket out, and if she lost it in the middle of the night, then she CIO (well, 'fuss' it out) and went back to sleep. A few nights and she quit looking for it when she lost it.
When we decided to ditch it all together I cut a teeny hole in it, after the Pedi said to try it. DD didn't care... at first! She eventually knew that the binky was broken and was mad. She then climbed out of her crib. I guess she would stay in there for the binky, but otherwise, no.
I decided to get a crib tent and 2-3 days of CIO/FIO and she's fine in the middle of the night, she just gets upset when I put her down, and that's only for a minute or two. GL!!!