Now she decides she wants a pacifier?!

[mommyoftwo]

For several months after Linnea was born I tried everything to get her to take a pacifier. She was a very clingy needy baby and I wanted something besides me to be able to comfort her. She just wasn't interested. So now all of the sudden she discovered a pacifier and has been sucking on it all afternoon. Who decides they like a pacifier after 13 months of not wanting one? If you try to take it away she gets upset. So here is my question. Do I just let her have it and figure it's a novelty that she will get over or do I avoid letting her have it so it doesn't become a big issue? The thing is that she is a biter and she bites me which is very painful. She's been gnawing and sucking on the pacifier instead of me which has been very nice. Any thoughts on how I should handle this one?

[mudder17]

No experience to answer your questions, but I will say that Kaya suddenly decided at around 2 that she wanted a pacifier. It was mostly that she wanted one because her friends the twins and her neighbor all had pacifiers for sleep. She would help put them to bed and while they had a pacifier, she would want one too. For a while, we figured it was just a phase of wanting something her friends wanted and I let her use their extra one until it was time for her to go. But after a while, I just decided it was something she didn't really need and we told her it was not necessary for her to have one because she had her lambie. It took one big meltdown (where she was crying all the way home, "I want a paci, I want a paci, I want a paci...") and some struggles but I finally was able to convince her that it was not necessary. Of course, she was two at this point, so much older than Linnea! Today, she actually wanted to put the paci in her neighbor's mouth when we put him down for a nap and she didn't try putting it in her mouth or say that she wanted one, etc. So I'm hopefully we're mostly past that phase. What would I have done when she was 13 months? I'm not sure because DH and I (once Kaya refused the bottle) decided it would be really nice to not have to wean her of a paci and when she bonded to her Lambie, we were pretty happy about it. If she had suddenly taken an interest in the paci, I think we would have had to see if we could figure out why. If it was a need to suck, then yes, we probably would have let her have one. But if it was something else, I think we would have tried to find an alternative solution. With Linnea, she really does seem to have an oral fixation/need to bite/chew/suck, so it may be that the paci is a soothing thing for her. My philosophy is that if that's what works for her, I'd be more inclined to give in to her. One thing, though--if she is a biter, I would inspect her paci every once in a while (make sure you have some backups) and replace it when you notice it getting worn, if that makes sense.

Eileen

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33734.gif 31 months...

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[mommyoftwo]

Thanks for the insight Eileen. I definitely think it is soothing for her. She has always loved to suck on things, but in the past I couldn't get her to suck on anything besides me. When she was a newborn she would cluster feed nursing pretty much non-stop from 10pm to 4am. It was awful. She is always putting things her her mouth and chewing on them and sucking on them so I guess in some ways I would rather have it be a paci. It's better than picking up whatever scrap she finds on the floor. I just dread having to wean her off of it if she becomes really attached. On the other hand, it's better than always letter her gnaw on me. I will definitely have to check it regularly for tears because she is going to town on it with her teeth.

[CharmedOne]

Hi Jessica,

I don't have any BTDT advice, but do you think she might be teething again? Linnea's is about a month younger than Nathan. He used to rely on a pacifier until he quit cold turkey one day when he was 11 months old. I dreaded having to wean him off it, but it was the only thing for a long time that would soothe him. Now we won't have anything to do with it.

He just started biting me EVERYWHERE. I bought him a Kammi doll a while back that's working wonders right now. You basically wet the hands and feet before you give it her. You can put it in the freezer too. It's really nothing more than a glorified washcloth, but he didn't care for a washcloth anyway.

http://www.babyemporio.com/teething/kammi.html

I think I purchased mine at Baby Bella. I had a discount code.

Caroline

** Edited for errors. I can't do math. ;)

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[heidiann]

Oh my goodness I could have writen your post. Jillian is 11 months and found one in her toy box, I bought every kind you could imagine when she was a newborn and NOW she wants the darn thing. Only with her she had it in her crib and for the first time she slept through the night. I have decided to let her have it ONLY in her crib.
Why do these girls now decide they want a binky LOL...

Heidi
Mom to Jillian 10/20/05

[mommyoftwo]

Yeah, we have a bunch of different kinds for the same reason. Hmm, sleeping through the night sounds like a good reason to let her have it. We've made good progress but she was up from 2-3:30 last night. I might have to give it a try tonight.

[heidiann]

WOW, what does she do when she wakes up? Jillian would get up a few times through the night but she would drink 2-3oz. and go right back to sleep.

Heidi
Mom to Jillian 10/20/05

[ribbit1019]

Oh no! It was Jarred's binky that did it wasn't it?? Well I guess if it helps, but sorry!!


Christy
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