Help me wean DD off of her Paci

[BabyBearsMom]

DD is turning 1 next week. She uses a paci in the car and in bed only. I will occasionally use it when we are out running errands and she is getting toward the end of her rope, but that is very rare. I feel like the longer I wait to take away the paci, the harder it is going to be. Any advice on how to do it? Should I just go cold turkey?

[arivecchi]

Cold turkey is probably the best way to do it for a child that young.

I am probably the wrong person to answer as my 2 yo still uses his for naps and nightime and my 4 yo used his until he was 2.5! We have no idea how to take it away from DS2. He loves his paci and he is a great sleeper, so we don't want to mess that up! :ROTFLMAO:

[BabyBearsMom]

Cold turkey is probably the best way to do it for a child that young.

I am probably the wrong person to answer as my 2 yo still uses his for naps and nightime and my 4 yo used his until he was 2.5! We have no idea how to take it away from DS2. He loves his paci and he is a great sleeper, so we don't want to mess that up! :ROTFLMAO:

Honestly, I don't even want to take it away from her, but DH is adament that this will only get harder. DD is a good night time sleeper, but can be a tough napper at daycare, so I am worried that this will really set that back.

[twowhat?]

Definitely cold turkey. We did it with the thumb at that age. It was a rough couple of weeks. Interestingly it didn't affect nighttime sleep or naps - but it made for a VERY VERY cranky baby who wanted to wake up sucking her thumb. I did a lot of holding and hugging during the times she wanted to suck her thumb. Honestly, I think it was harder on me because I knew I was taking away something that she uses to soothe herself. She probably doesn't even remember it now.

eta: we did it because it wasn't impeding the resolution of DD1's torticollis.

[egoldber]

So I am probably the wrong person, but my younger DD was using her paci a lot at home until recently. Yes, she is 4.5. No, I don't feel bad about it at all.

If it were me, I would talk to daycare first. See what they think about the paci use. If she uses it for nap at daycare, and is already having a hard time napping with it, then I would have serious reservations about taking it away for nap and nighttime. We took younger DD's paci away at daycare at 2.5 and she promptly stopped napping there. But they didn't want her to have it there any more, and that was the consequence.

We also recently just stopped all daytime use, but she does get to use it at bedtime.

Also, if your kid has a strong need to suck, then they are likely to replace the paci with another oral self soothing behavior: thumb sucking, finger chewing/sucking, hair sucking, shirt sucking, etc. There are worse things than the paci, which is relatively easy to control.

[boolady]

Honestly, I don't even want to take it away from her, but DH is adament that this will only get harder. DD is a good night time sleeper, but can be a tough napper at daycare, so I am worried that this will really set that back.

Honestly, I don't think it's necessarily true that the older they are, the harder it is. DD was still using hers for bedtime only until almost 3, and we kind of accidentally on purpose "forgot" to bring it on vacation. (We actually had brought it, but my dad put her to bed, couldn't find it, and told her we had forgotten it). She said, "Okay," and that was it. We decided to roll with it. She asked for it a few more nights in a row, we reminded her that we had "forgotten it," and that was really the end of it. It was a huge comfort thing for DD, who was an absolutely terrible sleeper as an infant. She wouldn't even take the pacifier until around 4-4.5 months, and it helped, so it became part of her nighttime routine.

My reason for not weaning her off of it sooner was the same as yours-- she has never been a good napper, at daycare or at home, so I really wanted her to get a good night's sleep.

[egoldber]

Honestly, I don't think it's necessarily true that the older they are, the harder it is.

This is true. As I said, we recently stopped all daytime use. There was one, maybe 2 hard days and that was that. But she also doesn't nap anymore so I wasn't concerned about that.

[HIU8]

DS did not give his up until age 3 (we didn't attempt at 1). So, I guess I have nothing to offer on a child younger. But, we spend a month talking to him about giving it to the ped so another baby could use it. At his 3 yr old checkup he handed it over (all of them). We had a rough week following but after that it was fine. FWIW, at 6.5 DS still talks about it--recounts the story. He did not substitute something else to suck on though.

[MSWR0319]

I agree with pp. If she wants to suck, she may replace it with her thumb. Our ped would rather have a pacifier at 2 than a thumb because you can take the paci away. Her philosophy is that after 2, the pacifier stays in the bedroom. If they want to use it, they must do it in there. She thinks that will stop most use because toddlers want to be with people, not alone in their room. Coming from a thumb sucker you don't want her attached to her thumb!

[LMPC]

I am probably the wrong person to answer as my 2 yo still uses his for naps and nightime and my 4 yo used his until he was 2.5! We have no idea how to take it away from DS2. He loves his paci and he is a great sleeper, so we don't want to mess that up! :ROTFLMAO:

We are in the same boat! DD looooves the BaBa -- so I am saving for braces instead of taking it away :tongue5:

I agree, at 1 it's probably just easier to do cold turkey. Or you could ween a little further by just allowing it at bedtime.

[mikeys_mom]

Add me to the list of those with a child who used a paci past age 3.

DD1 was close to 3.5 when we got rid of it and it was super easy. No difficult nights. My twins are still using them and they are just over 2. I plan to wait until they are over 3 to determine if they are ready to get rid of them.

Beyond 12 months, I unly use pacis at naptime and bedtime. My kids know that pacis belong in their cribs and it has never really been an issue. The only exception was on long car drives from 12-18 months. It just made the trip easier on everyone ;).

When DD1 was around 3, I started mentioning the idea of getting rid of her paci and we talked about the paci fairy. There is a whole website with a book about it. I never ordered the book, but DD1 liked the website. One day she said she was ready to leave her pacis out for the paci fairy to take away and leave her a present. I had a Barbie doll ready for her, bought some pink balloons and she was happy as a clam in the morning. The next night she didn't even ask for it. It was very uneventful. She still talks about the paci fairy that took her pacis to give to new babies because she didn't need them.

If you need to take away the paci, I would do it cold turkey, but it really isn't true that it gets harder as they get older. Once you can reason with them, and they understand, I think it's actually easier.

[Green_Tea]

Another BBB mama with a long time paci user. DS is 4.5 and still has it at bedtime. He sucks for a few minutes and it falls out of his mouth the minute he's asleep. It's his only comfort object - he never got into blankets or stuffed animals. The dentist says his teeth look fine - she was surprised to learn he still had a paci. I figure I would never take a beloved stuffed animal or blanket away from him simply because I deemed him too old to have it, and prefer it to thumb sucking (which I think is a harder habit to break.)

All that said, I haven't purchased pacis in at least 2 years. As they get worn out or lost, they are not replaced. We're down to one, and on the occasions that we haven't been able to locate it at bedtime, he's slept without it and hasn't made a big fuss. DD2 had hers until she was 3.5, and one night we couldn't find it. That was the end of it. She never asked for it again. Many kids are fine to give it up at an older age.

ETA: If it's a transition object your DD uses to fall asleep, I'd proceed with caution. I think a 1 year old who uses a paci is far preferable to a 1 year old who never naps again :).

[ohsara430]

Also, if your kid has a strong need to suck, then they are likely to replace the paci with another oral self soothing behavior: thumb sucking, finger chewing/sucking, hair sucking, shirt sucking, etc. There are worse things than the paci, which is relatively easy to control.

:yeahthat: We had hopes of taking it from DD around 1 but decided against it because when she wants to suck, she will suck on something. She has always had a strong urge/need to suck. If she doesn't have a pacifier she will suck on her clothes, baby wipes, toys, whatever so we stuck with the pacifier. She doesn't get it much during the day just when winding down before naps and the occasional fussy teething times and for bed. We joke she's going to go to college with one and her soothing sounds giraffe :rotflmao: My DH occasionally says he wants to take it away but I always tell him that I'll do it on a Friday then so he can deal with her all weekend, that changes his mind!

[GvilleGirl]

Okay, I guess I am one of the few that dropped it by 1. We only used it at bedtimes. It was kind of rough for a day or two, but then it was totally forgotten. She did not replace it with her hands. I was surprised at how easy it was. She hasn't used one since, except for the two times I put it in her mouth instead of her younger brothers. Oops! Took me a second to realize why there was still crying and she was completely surprised but didn't want it.

[Simon]

Unless you really want to take it away, I would spend your energy working on Dh and not on the Dc.

Ds1 never took a paci but Ds2 uses his and is 14 mo now. Starting around 13 mo, he only used it at nap, bed and car or, as you said, if we're in public and need to finish something when he has reached his end.

Over the last week-10 days, he is less interested in using it at bedtime. I now sometimes don't offer it and he doesn't always look for it. I can see that as his interest/need wanes it will become easier to drop it entirely.

A nurse we saw a several weeks ago was bragging about having taken her Dd's pacifier and bottle away at 6 months and her attitude really turned me off. Especailly as Ds2 was hospitalized then and sucking away all the time as he was compltely miserable. I have been grateful many times in the last few months that he can find comfort in his paci and blanket.

So, one more vote for not taking it fully away unless you feel strongly about it, as clearly some people do. I think a paci is a useful tool.

[BabbyO]

DS weaned from his paci (& bottles for that matter) between 12 and 15 mo. We more or less went cold turkey at home with the paci's (he only got bottles at the sitters) around the 13-14 mo mark. Every once in a while he'd find one, or one would come home from the sitter's, and we'd just pull that one out of rotation. By 15 mo he wasn't going to bed with a paci, nor did he need it, want it, ask for it.

I guess we weaned just because he seemed less interested in them anyway, and it was more of a hassle to keep track of them, than to just forget them.

Good luck.

[soon2b4]

We did it pretty much cold turkey, but did talk to DD1 about it. We let her help us gather up the paci's for the new babies since she was getting so big. Then they just disappeared (I threw them out in the garage can) after she went to bed. She really did not have a problem with it - was never a thumb sucker and was a good sleeper (although I was VERY protective of her sleep/bedtime when she was that young, as I was never a good sleeper as a child/teen - my family probably thought I was nuts, but were kind enough to go along with it :love-retry:).

ETA: DD1 was not at daycare or MDO at that time, so you have a bit of a different issue with naps than we did... best of luck!

[dogmom]

Well, we got a new dog that kept chewing the business end of the pacifiers, usually a couple of hours before bedtime. Finally my husband and I were, "We are not running out to get a new pacifier again, sorry little guy." And that was the end of it. Although I doubt getting a new puppy to eat them is really a good idea in a cost benefit analysis.

[sewarsh]

My kids were paci-addicts. But starting around 10 months, they only got it in the crib. I was terrified to take it away, but it ended up being SO easy for both of them. You may suprirse yourself!!

DD: She literally slept with 3 pacis b/c she'd cry in middle of night if it fell, so i started throwing in a couple extras, well, she ended up cuddling with 1 in left hand, 1 in right hand and 1 in mouth and if any of the 3 fell, she'd cry. Sooo...i phased out 2/3 at about 2 years old. No problem. For the 3rd, we left it for Santa Claus to trade for toys and give to other babies. She was almost 2.5 years. No issues again. i was amazed.

DS: Forgot to do the Santa trick so ended up going on a playdate where someone had a little baby sister. My DS never met this baby before and had no attachment, but i told him she needed paci and that we were giving it to her. Again, no problems. Amazed all over again. He would ask for it on and off for 3 or 4 days, and when i'd remind him we gave it to Baby Kate he'd say "aaahhh" but then go to sleep. Also 2.5.

Don't stress over it too much and if it doesn't go well, then give it back and try again when she's older. Good luck.

[eh613c]

I know cold turkey seems like it's cruel but I think it's the best way to go. It's not going to be easy but your DC will get over it pretty quickly. Good luck!

[kerridean]

I am an audiologist and am here to support you in taking away the pacifier NOW vs later. Research strongly suggests that pacifier use increases the the number of ear infections in kids. The same thing happens with extended use of sippy cups (we introduced open cups very early for this reason). It is caused by the constant suction being put on the eustachian tubes. This creates pressure on the eardrums and can create an environment for infection.

In addition, the use of a pacifier CAN delay speech. Now before everyone flames me, I know it does not happen for everyone, but I have seen it happen very often with children. The placement of the pacifier in the mouth during the day simply prevents them from speaking as often as they would without it.

[Pinky]

Another one here with a 1 year old that uses pacifiers for sleep and in desperate situations only. She sleeps so well right now and we put her down awake without any fussing so I really don't want to mess that up... I think we'll keep the pacifier for a while.

Right now we've started the routine where when I walk in to her room in the morning she hands me her pacifier and I put it away (for washing or whatever) so she knows that it is mainly for sleepy time.


Well, we got a new dog that kept chewing the business end of the pacifiers, usually a couple of hours before bedtime. Finally my husband and I were, "We are not running out to get a new pacifier again, sorry little guy." And that was the end of it. Although I doubt getting a new puppy to eat them is really a good idea in a cost benefit analysis.
The cost-benefit analysis is so true! Very funny. :rotflmao:

I am an audiologist and am here to support you in taking away the pacifier NOW vs later. Research strongly suggests that pacifier use increases the the number of ear infections in kids. The same thing happens with extended use of sippy cups (we introduced open cups very early for this reason). It is caused by the constant suction being put on the eustachian tubes. This creates pressure on the eardrums and can create an environment for infection.

Oh now I was so ready to let my 1 yo keep hers for a while until I read this... I don't like the idea of increased ear infections. She only has it for sleeping and I dont think she actually sucks it the whole night, just when falling asleep but then keeps it in her mouth the whole night usually.

[boilermakermom]

Does she have a blanket or a y kind of lovey? We let DD keep her paci until close to 2.5 b/c that is what worked for us. She was incredibly shy, and wasn't ready to let it go yet.

At that age, cold turkey will be the easiest. It wil be a rough couple of days, but you will get through it.

We were able to rationalize with DD when we took hers away. We put them in a box and mailed them to a friend who had just had a baby. I told her the new baby didn't have any paci's and needed some.

The first nap and bedtime without paci were rough, but after 24 hrs, it was over. She was so excited she shared them with the new baby. I think that really helped.