Toddlers: 24 Months+

pacifier weaning......how long should this take?

Hello,

DD is 2 yrs. and 3 months old.  Her best friend and first love is her pacifier.  Six months ago, it rarely left her mouth.  We started taking it out when she was happy/calm then.  Since, we've scaled down to it only being used for sleeping.  It stays in her crib at home and in a drawer at DC when she's not napping. It's not always easy as she asks for it when she's board and even cries for it at home, but she does seem to understand it's only for bedtime now that she's older. 

I'm expecting DD#2 in late January. I'd really like her to be off the pacifier a month or two before then......(three reasons: the potential of it messing up her teeth, she wakes up at night screaming for it sometimes, and she's 2 - she doesn't NEED it)

I'm thinking of having her wrap up her pacifiers for her little sister in December.  (I'll throw them out, but this way, she's part of the weaning process and feels like a big girl etc)

DH is gone for the first ten days of December. (Sometimes we find it's easier for her to do what we want when one of us is gone)  I know I'll be in for a few nights of tears when she cannot fall asleep with the pacifier, but I think she can eventually do this.....

How long should this take?  (Note: daycare will not give her the pacifier either)  A few days?  a week? more? 

 

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Re: pacifier weaning......how long should this take?

  • I think this is going to vary per child.  Here are examples from my circle.
    *Child 1 turned 2 in July.  In order to "get" his presents he had to trade his pacifiers.  He did and never looked back or asked for them again.

    *Child 2 turned 2 in April.  Her parents have tried everything short of just throwing them out.  They want her to be part of the process (like Child 1 and it sounds like you).  Nothing has worked and they're still struggling.

    Daycare REALLY helped us out on this one.  We started trying to wean from the pacifier by dropping naps first, then eventually bedtime.  It was a disaster.  2 weekends in a row and even though he said he would nap without a pacifier, he didn't.  Just cried and begged for it.  We got daycare involved.  They said they would try to get him to nap without it.  Day 1 he whined for it, but they pointed out all his "big boy" friends who didn't use a pacifier.  He took a nap without the pacifier.  Day 2 he didn't ask for it, and told us at bedtime that he was a big boy who didn't need a pacifier.  I think having daycare insert a little peer pressure really helped.
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  • I took it away cold turkey at 18 months (DS only used it for sleeping). It really only took one bad day.  Here was my experience:

    First night - awful.  Don't plan on getting much sleep.  Don't give in.  Explain calmly that pacifiers are not allowed for big boys and he can't have it anymore.

    Naptime the next day - he went down after a fight and didn't nap long.

    Second night - pretty easy.  He tried to resist, but recognized I wasn't going to give in. He decided it wasn't worth the effort (and by this time, he was pretty tired).

    And that was the end of it.  After that it was completely forgotten about.  Just bite the bullet and get it over with.  You will be thankful that you did.

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  • DD loved hers and I thought I was in for hell when we took hers away...I cut half the nipple off of two pacifiers, she tried one and declared it broken and ask for a new one and declared that broken. I told her that's all we had and she went to sleep with no tears!

    I wouldn't make the loss of pacifier relate to the new baby or she may resent the baby for it.
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  • I took it away cold turkey at 18 months (DS only used it for sleeping). It really only took one bad day.  Here was my experience:

    First night - awful.  Don't plan on getting much sleep.  Don't give in.  Explain calmly that pacifiers are not allowed for big boys and he can't have it anymore.

    Naptime the next day - he went down after a fight and didn't nap long.

    Second night - pretty easy.  He tried to resist, but recognized I wasn't going to give in. He decided it wasn't worth the effort (and by this time, he was pretty tired).

    And that was the end of it.  After that it was completely forgotten about.  Just bite the bullet and get it over with.  You will be thankful that you did.


    We did the exact same thing at 18 months. Cold Turkey all the way!
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  • DD just turned 2 and we're planning to do away with the paci soon. Am nervous about it, but thanks for all the advice in this thread!
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  • We did cold turkey at 15 months with no issue.  I say just get rid of it completely.  It will suck because she's older but if you are consistent she should be fine within a few weeks.  Maybe get her a twilight turtle for her room to sleep with at night as a nighttime "toy" that can replace her nighttime pacifiers. 
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  • I also meant to write do not have her wrap to give to the new baby.  Some kids are very jealous of a new baby and this could make it worse if she's not 100% over the pacifiers.
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  • Thanks, ladies!!  Update: We've been very consistent about not letter her have it at all except nap and bedtime for a few weeks.  DD doesn't even ask for her paci during the day now.  It stays in her bed and she puts it in her mouth at some point after we put her to bed. It's the same at daycare.  No asking etc.  DH, DCP and I all agree that she's actually way better behaved now that she knows it's never an option.  We're ready to give it up at night.  My BIL is getting married in rural Oregon this week.  We're staying in a small cabin with my IL's.  We're letting her have it for sleep this weekend.  Then it will be time to quit for good :-)  
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  • I didn't think the paci fairy or trading for a toy would work for our DD....I just didn't think she would understand the concept.   We chose the "broken binky" method.   We cut the tips off every single paci in the house.  We put those broken pacis where DD knew to look.  Once she discovered that every single paci was broken....end of story, success!   We didn't even have issue the first night.  DD was a little over 2yrs at the time.
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