Pacifier weaning advice before next baby arrives!

BekW2009 · November 2012

Hi ladies! I've got a 22 month old with an awful "paci" habit! We need it everywhere we go and loose them all of the time, and honestly it's just not cute anymore on a child that sorta talks. Please give me some advice, if you have any on how to wean an almost 2 y/o! We would just like to break the habit before baby no. 2 arrives!

Note: I had her pretty much weaned at 12 months old when I found out MIL was giving it to her when I wasn't around... We won't go into that! And FTMs, listen to you pediatrician when they say to wean them at 12 months, it's much easier at 12 months than at 24 month!

sillypit · November 2012

Take it cold turkey and don't look back. Throw them all away. Anything else takes too long, it sucks but it's only for a couple days.

pitterpatter129 · November 2012

We weaned down to night and nap only now (same age as your LO) and he seems fine with saying bye to them during the day (literally saying bye-bye and putting it up.) We have no plans on taking it away for good for awhile. With a new baby on the way, and it being his only comfort object, it doesn't seem fair to strip it away amid all the other change + give one to the new baby. Our pediatrician said as long as he isn't walking around with it when he's trying to talk during the day that it doesn't matter and he'll be fine. He also sucks his thumb when we take it away though, so we'd just be replacing it with a worse, harder to break habit.

bumpuser5078523 · November 2012

RootBeerFloat29:
Take it cold turkey and don't look back. Throw them all away. Anything else takes too long, it sucks but it's only for a couple days.

I was going to suggest this. My friend had three days of hell, but it was so much better after they made it through. She was finally sleeping through the night! (She would wake up if her paci fell out of her mouth.)

bumpuser5078523 · November 2012

pitterpatter129:
We weaned down to night and nap only now (same age as your LO) and he seems fine with saying bye to them during the day (literally saying bye-bye and putting it up.) We have no plans on taking it away for good for awhile. With a new baby on the way, and it being his only comfort object, it doesn't seem fair to strip it away amid all the other change + give one to the new baby. Our pediatrician said as long as he isn't walking around with it when he's trying to talk during the day that it doesn't matter and he'll be fine. He also sucks his thumb when we take it away though, so we'd just be replacing it with a worse, harder to break habit.

Very good point. You don't want your LO hating the new baby. They will already feel left out and have to share attention as it is.

jrjl450 · November 2012

i would just do it cold turkey; it does suck for a day or two though. i would also let your MIL know what you are doing and how she needs to support your decision and not give in to him.

sillypit · November 2012

doeie04:
pitterpatter129:
We weaned down to night and nap only now (same age as your LO) and he seems fine with saying bye to them during the day (literally saying bye-bye and putting it up.) We have no plans on taking it away for good for awhile. With a new baby on the way, and it being his only comfort object, it doesn't seem fair to strip it away amid all the other change + give one to the new baby. Our pediatrician said as long as he isn't walking around with it when he's trying to talk during the day that it doesn't matter and he'll be fine. He also sucks his thumb when we take it away though, so we'd just be replacing it with a worse, harder to break habit.

Very good point. You don't want your LO hating the new baby. They will already feel left out and have to share attention as it is.

If you take the pacifier several months before the new baby arrives, they will never connect the two.

PandasMama0626 · November 2012

We are going through the same with our DD (shes 2.5 now.) I had her almost completely weaned just before her 2nd birthday but MIL and SIL both fought so much with DH about it that DH gave in and decided to be on their side instead of mine saying I was just being mean and forcing her to give it up before she was ready. long story short, she has it now and after some serious discussions with DH, we have agreed to take it away for everything but naps and bed for now. I started by taking it away when we went outside to play and told her "we don't want your bink to get dirty so mommy will hold on to it. If you want to have it though we can't play outside." This works great for outside play, park trips, and anywhere there are other kids. At home I tell her "when we are up and playing, we don't need a bink because your a big girl! binks are only for babies, not for big girls." Most of the time, she doesn't notice, but when she does notice it can go into full meltdown mode pretty quick. So we have "quiet, calming snuggles" where we sit and read, watch her favorite show, or work on art. Something that distracts and helps to calm her down until she forgets about it.

Our main issue is when we are out and about. She has serious anxiety around crowds and strangers and her bink is her security tool. We can go into full meltdown mode that doesn't quit in a blink of an eye when we get in a store. So we are working on self soothing techniques. Its a long process. If I had it my way, we would do it cold turkey and not look back. But, as part of the compromise with DH (more like DH's family *rolls eyes*), I agreed to wean instead. The main thing is to stick with whatever method you choose and don't give up. With a new baby around who is using a paci there is likely going to be some issues with your toddler taking it and using it or begging for their own again, so just remember to constantly explain in a soothing and sweet voice that baby needs it and your toddler is a "big kid" just like mommy and daddy and they don't need a paci because mommy and daddy don't use them either...so they are just like mommy and daddy! Make it a huge deal and praise praise praise.

MrsCarroll.6-10-07 · November 2012

Since her 2nd birthday is coming up for you, I would try to coordinate the "big girl" party and getting rid of pacifiers at the same time. Maybe take her somewhere special for her birthday and pump her up about it and throw them all away there. And when she asks for it later, remind her how you left them at that place for her birthday or something like that.

We're dealing with this at 19 months old. Though we have less time before #3 is here than you. =/ We're doing a room sharing transition soon and after that we're going to go to just naps and night, then just night, and then cold turkey after that. We plan to have it gone before baby is here and hopefully she will forget about it.

MouseInLux · November 2012

DD's just down to when she's sleeping and with her horrible sleeping I'm leaving it for now.

I've heard a lot of people have had great results by including the LO in the disposal of the Pacifiers, I've heard of people using them to pay for a new toy, having a ceremony and berrying them in the back yard...umm I've forgotten the others.

Unknown · November 2012

This content has been removed.

mrs.birdie · November 2012

We just weaned last week. DD was chewing holes in her pacis and eventually chewed the last one we had. It was not fun and I had about 4 nights of no sleep, but it's much better now. Cold turkey sucks, but I really don't see a better way.

Angela814 · November 2012

Ehh. DD2 has her paci at 27 months, and I'm not too worried about it. But I have an almost 6.5 yo who still sucks her thumb. There's not much I can do about that, so I'd rather let DD2 keep her paci at naptime/bedtime than have her start sucking her thumb instead. Right now DD2 still gets her paci in the car too. I plan to start limiting that soon and hopefully have it taken away completely by 3 years. Bedtime is difficult enough now that I'm not going to start making it harder on myself.

erbear · November 2012

pitterpatter129:
We weaned down to night and nap only now (same age as your LO) and he seems fine with saying bye to them during the day (literally saying bye-bye and putting it up.) We have no plans on taking it away for good for awhile. With a new baby on the way, and it being his only comfort object, it doesn't seem fair to strip it away amid all the other change + give one to the new baby. Our pediatrician said as long as he isn't walking around with it when he's trying to talk during the day that it doesn't matter and he'll be fine. He also sucks his thumb when we take it away though, so we'd just be replacing it with a worse, harder to break habit.

This. My 21 month old takes a paci at night and for naps and I have no plans to take it away anytime soon. It works for her, she talks fine, and she's not walking around with it all day.

brighteyes2123 · November 2012

RootBeerFloat29:
Take it cold turkey and don't look back.nbsp; Throw them all away.nbsp; Anything else takes too long, it sucks but it's only for a couple days.

yepp, I completely agree. My DS is almost a year, we did it cold turkey after his nine month appointment... why? Cause I thought I lost it and I didn't want DH and I have to replace it. It was definitely tough for about a week, but sooo glad we did it when we did. He's definitely more vocal now and does so much better without!! Good luck

BekW2009 · November 2012

PandasMama0626:
We are going through the same with our DD (shes 2.5 now.) I had her almost completely weaned just before her 2nd birthday but MIL and SIL both fought so much with DH about it that DH gave in and decided to be on their side instead of mine saying I was just being mean and forcing her to give it up before she was ready. long story short, she has it now and after some serious discussions with DH, we have agreed to take it away for everything but naps and bed for now. I started by taking it away when we went outside to play and told her "we don't want your bink to get dirty so mommy will hold on to it. If you want to have it though we can't play outside." This works great for outside play, park trips, and anywhere there are other kids. At home I tell her "when we are up and playing, we don't need a bink because your a big girl! binks are only for babies, not for big girls." Most of the time, she doesn't notice, but when she does notice it can go into full meltdown mode pretty quick. So we have "quiet, calming snuggles" where we sit and read, watch her favorite show, or work on art. Something that distracts and helps to calm her down until she forgets about it.
Our main issue is when we are out and about. She has serious anxiety around crowds and strangers and her bink is her security tool. We can go into full meltdown mode that doesn't quit in a blink of an eye when we get in a store. So we are working on self soothing techniques. Its a long process. If I had it my way, we would do it cold turkey and not look back. But, as part of the compromise with DH (more like DH's family *rolls eyes*), I agreed to wean instead. The main thing is to stick with whatever method you choose and don't give up. With a new baby around who is using a paci there is likely going to be some issues with your toddler taking it and using it or begging for their own again, so just remember to constantly explain in a soothing and sweet voice that baby needs it and your toddler is a "big kid" just like mommy and daddy and they don't need a paci because mommy and daddy don't use them either...so they are just like mommy and daddy! Make it a huge deal and praise praise praise.

While I would love to do cold turkey... I don't think my support crew would "support" me, so Pandas I'm in your boat. And my DD has some social anxiety too, and I notice she wants it more when something embarrassing happens.

Thank you ladies for your advice, I wish I had just done this a year ago!

MrsSt2009 · November 2012

Go cold turkey and get them out of the house and a forgotten habit before you need them again for the new baby. If you need more motivation, read this FB post from a friend last week.

" 's orthodontist changed her mind and instead of any nine-year-old boy's worst nightmare, Sam gets two glow-in-the-dark retainers for his top and bottom teeth to correct his "my mom let me have my binky until I was over 3-years-old" overbite."

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Pacifier weaning advice before next baby arrives!

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