I'm a bad mom :( - pacificer help!

star1123 · January 2013

Yep, it's embarrassing to admit, but Aiden is still using a pacifier It's mostly for sleeping, and in the car, but it seems like over the last few weeks he has been wanting it more and more outside of these two places. I have to do something!

Has anyone been through this at two that has some advice? My pedi recommended the whole cutting off the ends little by little method. I just feel so bad, but he's got to lose the thing. I know it's affecting his speech, and he's becoming more reliant on it. Please help!

keags5496 · January 2013

First off, you're not a bad mom and Evan still uses his to fall asleep. Our pedi isn't pushing us to get rid of it yet because it isn't affecting him and she thinks he will probably turn to his thumb and then we'd have that habit to break.
If it's affecting his speech though it probably is time. My friend told her kiddo that they needed to bring them to the babies who needed them more and brought them to a friends LO. I've heard that the snipping works too! GL and let me know how it goes!

missmuffin87 · January 2013

You're definitely not a bad mom!

Hazel uses hers for her nap and that's it. It used to be nap, car, store and nighttime. at 18 months we phased out all but naps. At night we would give it to her for just a minute before bed and then she would goodnight binks and put it in a drawer. I cut it out of car and shopping trips cold turkey. I gave her a lovey in the shopping cart instead (she doesn't even need that anymore).

A few months ago I tried the same thing I did for nighttime for naps, but it was a disaster. she spent 10days straight crying through her nap and never sleeping. I decided ok I gave it an honest shot, it's just not time yet. So that's where we are now.

if its affecting his speech it's probably time to cut it out of use while he's awake. I know it sucks to listen to the crying in the car, but it won't last long and it's worth it. Maybe give him a new toy for the car. Hazel has a travel size magna doodle that holds her attention.

For sleeping, there's so many different methods. You will probably have to try a few things before you figure out what works for you. Good luck!

erind0213 · January 2013

Not a bad mom at all! Courtney still uses her's in the car and at nap/bedtime. She knows it stays in her car-seat cup holder and it doesn't leave the crib.

Our Pedi didn't push cutting it out when we went to her 2 year check up, so we aren't forcing the transition yet.

Perhaps he is teething and that is why he has been wanting more?

Ltlsktl30 · January 2013

We were using it until a few weeks before her bday for naps and bedtime. Then one night she wouldnt let me brush her teeth because she had it in and then I just spur of the moment said if you don't let me brush your teeth no more pacifier.
She wouldnt budge so I took it and put her right to bed.
The next few naptimes were a little rough and she would ask for it...but we stayed strong and it probably took 4 days before she didnt ask for it and went right to sleep.
I was really dredding giving it up, but if I knew it was going to be this breezy, I would have done it sooner!
Good luck and do what is right for you and LO.

pitterpatter129 · January 2013

Nate still has one at bedtime too. Daycare managed to wrangle it away from him at naps though! I'm glad they took over that chore! I just decided one day I was going to take it away at all times other than bed and told daycare I wasn't sending it for naps anymore. There were some tears and tantrums for a few days as he looked for them, but now it's not a big deal. I told him that they were going to be for "night-night" only. Anytime he stuck one in his mouth that he found somewhere, I stuck him in his bed and said "night night". LOL Now if he picks one up he brings it to me and says "no night-night". He did start sucking his thumb mroe though, but thankfully, not all the time. I just catch him doing it occasionally and say a little prayer he doesn't become a thumb sucker. His speech has really picked up in the last few weeks too (since he's been home with me for two weeks probably, which makes me sad.) I know I can't understand him at all in the morning when he still has the pacifier in his mouth. We have an EI appt next week for a speech referral, so I'll be happy to be able to tell them we ditched the paci except at night. I was pretty embarrassed about it too, but the pedi and ENT didn't really seem concerned he still had it.

Five Months to Plan · January 2013

We still have one but only at naps and bedtime. We are trying to wean her but not pushing to hard. She does not get it during the day though at all, they do not leave the crib. They go in a special bucket, and she puts them in there when she wakes up.

jillybean800 · January 2013

Not a bad mom at all! We never had a pacifier issue since A didn't like him, but ever since I gave him a bottle of ice water at night to help with his molars coming in, he has been asking for a bottle every night. I also don't really know how to wean from this, but we will probably just go cold turkey, as we have done pretty much everything else, haha!

ChicagoBroad26 · January 2013

We're still pacifier city over here. I need to take it away soon or at least wean her down to naps and bedtime. H and I both were addicted to our pacis until we were older (I was three and he was older- he actually carried his paci-but didn't use it- in his kindergarten backpack).

watermellens · January 2013

lol if you're a bad mom, then so am I...and you can see we're in good company!

B still uses one for nap and nighttime sleep. I'm not too worried about it and I'm certainly not thinking of taking it away before the new baby is born. I want him to continue his (usually) awesome sleeping.

I figure when he's old enough to understand the "binkie fairy" coming to take all of his binkies and give them to kids that need them, we could try that Or just go cold turkey one night.

But I'm honestly not worried about it now.

PGASTL · January 2013

Our pedi said that the paci was okay until age 3, so I'm not going to push for a transition until then. LO does only use it for naps, sometimes in the car, and bedtime. She doesn't ever just walk around the house playing and using it at the same time.

Right now, I just don't think she's ready to wean off it yet. It's really her one comfort item - she has a blankie and a stuffed animal as "lovies" but she really could care less if they're there - she would definitely notice if binky wasn't there though!!

We just transitioned to the big girl bed and I am really glad we hadn't ditched the binky yet. We'll just take care of one thing at a time! Over the next year we will deal with potty training, welcoming a new sibling, AND getting rid of the binky by age 3 so I'm not in a rush to do anything more than 1 at a time!

Coltsdad · January 2013

J uses his still to fall asleep at night and for most naps. He doesn't use it at all for DC which I think is hysterical and proves he could probably give it up. We really wanted to get it away from him before the new baby gets here but at this point I don't have the energy for the battle. Like PP said, we are welcoming the new sibling and dealing with Bink and I dread throwing in potty training.

danigirl7181 · January 2013

We got rid of the paci a few months ago by cutting the tip off. I gave her one that was cut, she tried sucking on for a minute, then handed it back to me. She was sleeping in her crib up until we got rid of the paci, now she's been sleeping in our bed. So we have a whole new problem to figure out, ugh. I just hope she's in her own bed by the time the next one gets here.

mommyfied · January 2013

Then I am a bad mom as well.

J gets his paci if he asks for it. (maybe like once a day - besides nap and night). He does however get to cuddle with it in the morning if he want to.

I would say that he uses it for 45-60 mins during the day (except sleep), and I think that is ok. He will eventually be tired of the paci, and leave it. (And as mentioned above - why screw up a good thing)

onlymeggan · January 2013

Coltsdad:
J uses his still to fall asleep at night and for most naps. He doesn't use it at all for DC which I think is hysterical and proves he could probably give it up. We really wanted to get it away from him before the new baby gets here but at this point I don't have the energy for the battle. Like PP said, we are welcoming the new sibling and dealing with Bink and I dread throwing in potty training.

Per usual- Onlymeggan forgot to log out her DH before responding

mayanut · January 2013

Snipping worked great for my LO at 21 months. Start with just a small slit or hole, then move to an X. That's as far as it took for him to lose interest. He looked a little perplexed at first. Probably took about 3-4 weeks before we stopped even having it in the crib. Completely painless for us!

Want a personalized experience?

I'm a bad mom :( - pacificer help!

Re: I'm a bad mom :( - pacificer help!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards