Kicking the pacifier habit

[BeccaB.]

Help! When, how? How do I get rid of my babies pacifier? More importantly when do I do it? What age is the best age to get rid of it? My little guy is 15 months. My husband wants to get rid of the pacifier because the baby keeps waking up in the middle of the night. BTW DH doesn't get up to take care of it I do.

I personally think it's too soon. The poor little dude is teething and it seems to be the only thing helping. I don't really want to give him Tylenol all the time which is what I have to do if I try to take the soothie away.

I could really use some advice as my older kiddo never used a pacifier so I'm new to this. Thanks in advance for your help!

[jellibeans]

At that age, we gave my ds1 about 6 pacifiers. That way if he woke up, he would just reach his arm out and most likely find one!

[lhafer]

no advice here. I tried to break mine (who was a pacifier FIEND) at 2, then 2.5, and finally we had success right around 3 years old. She would go to bed with one in her mouth, one in each hand, and couple in the crib for good measure! I have a picture of her where she has stuffed 3-4 pacifiers in her mouth at once! We finally started cutting holes in the ends of them one at a time, and when she put them in her mouth, she would bring it to me saying it was broken. We would then throw it away.

I am not who thinks keeping a pacifier too long is a bad thing, unless they NEVER take it of their mouth, or talk around it. Her speech was never affected, nor are her teeth.

[BeccaB.]

I guess if we threw ten in there he would find one eventually. DH actually wanted to put the bumpers back in to help them stay in, but I said a quick no to that. I'm glad to hear that other parents didn't get rid of the pacifier this soon. His speech is actually really good for his age according to the pediatrician. He's already said 12 words and the average for his age is 3-6 words.

[arivecchi]

Why can't you use a bumper at 15 months? I'd be ok with that unless you have a low crib and it helps him climb out. Bumpers do help the pacis stay in there!

[kerridean]

As an audiologist, my professional advice is to do it as soon as possible. Pacifier use contributes to the increase in incidence of otitis media (ear infections). This is due to the sucking which puts pressure/pulling on the eustachian tube which creates negative pressure. This is why I also recommend straw cups vs "sippy cups" with a valve. I did not use sippy cups with my own kids.

It also can be a factor in delayed speech development.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117991&page=1#.Tw9GaUqyz7g

[MamaMolly]

Lula was a teeth grinder when she was teething. And a late teether, too. I couldn't take the squeaking and grinding, seriously, I could hear it from another floor in our townhouse. If it weren't for her pacis I think I'd have happily left her on a corner somewhere. We did the hole in the end of the pacis thing at about 21 or 22 months. Just before her first dentist visit ;)

I think the reason it worked for us is because *she* was the one to reject the pacis.

[lec]

I have no BTDT experience but DD is 16 and still using a pacifier. We keep a couple in her crib and if/when she wakes up she is able to find one. That way I don't have to get up to find it for her. She is down to only using it for naps/bedtime and the pacifier stays in her crib when she gets up. She knows this and happily tosses it down and doesn't whine for it. When she transitions to the new room at her daycare she won't be using it so I plan to ditch it at home then as well which will be in a couple more months.

[belovedgandp]

I did the throw 5 or 6 in there at a time overnight.

By 9-12 months the paci was limited to crib and carseat. First one I was able to keep it to just crib by 18 months. Younger two were in the car when tired so much they too got the pacifier in the carseat until about 2.

Two older ones went cold turkey right at 3 on the pacifier. Youngest isn't quite 2 yet and still has it in the bed.

If it helps sleep I'm all about it. My middle one did have a bit of an open bite that made us make sure we quite but it has corrected over the last 1 1/2 years. Otherwise no negative effects - they all talked fine, no ear infections.

[willow33]

DS2 gave it up at age 3. He gave it to my pregnant SIL for the new baby ;) It was rough for a couple of days and then he never looked back.

We took it away from DD right when she turned 2. We "mailed it" to a friend who was pregnant and told her the new baby needed it more than she did. She cried at bed and naps for about a week and then was fine.

And DS1 spit it out at 8 months and we were done.

So I think it just depends on the child. I didn't even think of taking it away when either of my children were 15 months. I wasn't ready for that battle with a child that wouldn't understand why. Even DD at age two could verbalize where her pacifier went and we could talk about it.

Good luck with what you decide!

[Simon]

I disagree with your Dh. I don't know what it is about Dh who always seem to want to ditch the bottle, pacifier, lovey blanket, etc.

Ds2 is about to turn 2yo and still has his pacifiers. I am glad we have kept them since they still do a lot to help him calm himself. We do limit to car seat and nap/bed, drop-off at day-care, illnesses, stressful times, etc. For the most part he isn't just walking around with one in his mouth (unless he happens to find one, then I tend to take it away while he is playing).

Ds2 is in EI for a speech delay but still no one mentioned needing to drop the pacifier. He isn't sucking 24/7 and it was clearly not the root of his problems.

[clc053103]

We gave them to Santa for the baby reindeers. He was 3- wish I could find the paper bag over the head emoticon! But it worked and was tear free.

[karstmama]

ds only used one type, and it came from the nicu so i couldn't get more. we were down to one. he was 2 1/4, and we were about to go on a long trip. so i stopped the paccy. i had to rock him about 10min longer for two nights, but that was it. way less painful than i had expected. i took the remaining one on the trip hidden in luggage in case of emergency, but never had to use it.

[jerigirl]

DS1 was 3 when we finally ditched it. From 2 on he was only allowed to use it in bed. When we got rid of it at 3, he also stopped napping. :thumbsdown: We used a Wubanub and that was easy for DS to find in the crib. I think putting multiple pacis in the crib is a great idea.

[tarahsolazy]

Mine had theirs until 4 (DS) and 3 (DD). We just gave them about 6 at a time in bed, and waited until it was painless to get rid of it.

I'm lazy, so why deal with a lot of crying to 'break' their habit when I was pretty sure they wouldn't have them at age 5.

After 2, we did restrict them to bed and long car rides, though. That was painless as well.

Neither of my kids ever had an ear infection while they were using binkies, either. DS got one at age 6, and DD got one at age 4. They've each only had the one, also.

[carolinamama]

About 10 pacifiers and bumpers helped a bunch with DS1. He gave it up reluctantly at 3.5. :bag DS2 wouldn't take a pacifier. DD is 6 months and going strong with her paci. Not sure what age we will take it away but closer to 2-3 I would guess.

[LMPC]

At that age, we gave my ds1 about 6 pacifiers. That way if he woke up, he would just reach his arm out and most likely find one!

LOL this was us too. DD was a major sucker and I didn't feel right trying to get her to give it up. She bought into the paci fairy around 3 and she's done with them now. Very little fuss. And in 2 months, her teeth have straightened out (she used to have a mild over bite).

[kbud]

Don't ask me...dd#1 was 4.5 when she finally agreed to send it to her baby cousin. dd#2 is 4 and shows no signs of wanting to let go of it. In fact she's more attached to it now since she knows we are trying to push her to get rid of it. She's only allowed to have it in her room now while she is resting/sleeping. She is suddenly spending lots of time "resting" just to be able to use it!!

[barkley1]

DS is 2.5 and since age one, has only used pacis at sleep times and long car rides. He know this s the rule. I'll probably let him keep it until he drops his nap!

[amatahrain]

DD drove us NUTS waking up b/c she lost her pacifier. After buying at least a dozen soothies we found Wubbanub Stuffed animal pacifiers. They are really cute and handsdown the best money we've spent.

http://www.amazon.com/Wubbanub-Infant-Plush-Pacifier-Brown/dp/B001FGL9X0

Toysrus sells them too, but only a few styles. Good luck :)

[roseyloxs]

Ideally I aim for 2 but every child is different and I don't think night time use is a very big deal. At 2 my ds moved to a big bed. I mentioned for weeks beforehand that we don't use pacifiers in a big bed. We set up the big bed and left his old crib/toddler bed assembled. He had the choice of which bed to sleep in. He chose the big bed and never asked for a pacifier again.

It was really easy at 2. I tried to do it once when he was 18 months and it was awful. I gave it back in less then 12 hours and he only used it while sleeping. My dd on the other hand gave up the pacifier on her own around 18 months. When I noticed she didn't really use them much I gathered them all up and threw them away. She didn't seem to even notice.

[BeccaB.]

[QUOTE=amatahrain;3394571]DD drove us NUTS waking up b/c she lost her pacifier. After buying at least a dozen soothies we found Wubbanub Stuffed animal pacifiers. They are really cute and handsdown the best money we've spent.

http://www.amazon.com/Wubbanub-Infant-Plush-Pacifier-Brown/dp/B001FGL9X0

Oh my goodness! That is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Thanks for tip. TRU just sent me rewards coupons so I think we'll be headed there soon.

Also thank you to all the ladies who suggested throwing in the extra Soothies. That did really work. He slept through last night with no problems. Woke up laughing this morning. When I went in he had a Soothie in his mouth and one in each hand.