Getting rid of the pacifier - at Disney?

[nchulka]

Thumb sucking was actually a very easy habit to break my DD of. She was 2 1/2 and sucked her thumb all the time, she had callouses all over it. One day I told her she could not suck her thumb anymore. I never thought she would actually obey me! Later that day she came and asked if she could please suck her thumb, in complete shock that she actually ask I said no. She never sucked her thumb again, the callouses were gone in no time

 

[linnell]

Thanks all for the advice. I wasn't going to take them away at Disney, just leave them behind. I think we are just going to have to do this sooner than later.

Trust me, I had all intentions of taking it away at 7-8 months, but then he was teething or sick or something else was happening and then he was a year and I didn't I said 18months, then that came and went. He has been such an easy baby and a fantastic sleeper, as long as he has the paci... so why would I mess with that?

Being a mom is hard!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Thanks all for the advice. I wasn't going to take them away at Disney, just leave them behind. I think we are just going to have to do this sooner than later.

Trust me, I had all intentions of taking it away at 7-8 months, but then he was teething or sick or something else was happening and then he was a year and I didn't I said 18months, then that came and went. He has been such an easy baby and a fantastic sleeper, as long as he has the paci... so why would I mess with that?

Being a mom is hard!

Lots of folks have mentioned it, but the easiest way I found was cutting the tip off, then, every few days cut off a little more. My daughter went through 3 rounds of cutting before they were gone (no tears either), my son, 1, I cut the tip off in front of him, handed it to him, he put it in his mouth, and then handed it right back and said "boken". Didn't need one again!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

i like the cutting option. i've never heard of it but i will be using it soon! my son will be 2 in june and he's so attached to the paci. he doesn't say words yet and i have a feeling it might be b/c he has that darn thing in his mouth all the time. BUT, we are going to maui for two weeks at the beginning of may so i'm not even going to think about getting rid of it until AFTER the trip. just the flight alone for 11+ hours on my lap i will need him to have it so he stays at least a little calm!

i definitely will try the cutting thing once we get back though. i am due to have another baby at the end of november and i would rather my guy be off the pacis for a while so he won't try stealing the baby's pacis!

 

[MayzDisney4]

Being a mom is hard!

Isn't that the truth!
My son's teeth made me have to finally suck it up and get rid of the "bubba". He had such an open bite because of it (and he only used it at bedtime)

Good Luck ! (and I still have one of my DS's bubba's in my drawer, can't part with it yet, lol)

 

[KBW]

You could also do it in 2 stages...that's what I did for my youngest DD. She was about 3 at the time. First the Binky Fairy came and took all the binkies (except one) to give to all the babies who needed them. Then we told her that the Binky Fairy knew how much she loved her binky, and wanted her to always have one close by. So she was allowed to go to Build-a-Bear to pick out a bear, and put the last binky inside before they sewed it up. She did ask for it once after that but I told her we would have to cut open the bear to get it out. Never asked again!

 

[lady_bug_888]

I don't know if I would necessarily take away the paci while you're on vacation, I would do it either before or at the end of your vacation. If you do it at the end you could leave it behind, 'give' it to another baby (figuratively) or something like that.

What I would do is trade it. I'll use the example of a security blanket that my nephew had. He got the blanket when he was born and was never into pacifiers. The blanket was his security and he never left it anywhere. By the age of 3 it was ripped to shreds and we patched it up. We continued to patch it up over and over and by the time he was 5 it was getting ridiculous that he was still using this thing. I told him in August of that year that I was going to get him a REALLY BIG present for Christmas but he would only get it if he traded his blanket for him. I continued to remind him all the way until Christmas. On Christmas Eve we snuggled together with the blanket and read a story and I tucked him in with his blankie. Christmas morning I asked for the blanket and he gave it to me with no fuss (I put it away and I will make something from it for him when he's a bit older), I then gave him his present which was a Quillow that I had made for him and a few other little things including the book 'something from nothing'. It worked like a charm.

I really like how a PP left the paci's for Santa and then Santa left some new toys as a thank-you. You could do something like that. If you leave it for 'a new baby' in Florida, you could give your DS some toys for the plane and then send him a thank you note from tink or whoever thanking him for making the new baby so happy.

Good luck! I will be going through this sometime soon. DD is 13 months and I have her down to using it just to go to sleep but I'm hoping she'll just get bored of it one day (I know...wishful thinking!).

 

[cassiez76]

i'm so glad i'm not alone in this.

my son who turned 2 in december loved his paci. he was using it as a teether. he didn't like the normal teethers, he like the paci. one day he chewed a hole in one of them. i kept giving him that one and he'd hand it back.

it's been about a month since he's had one.

only thing is, he won't go to sleep now. *sigh* he'd get in his bed and watch thomas the tank engine video's and go to sleep. without the paci, he won't go in his room. *sigh* it's been a month...i'm ready to hand back the paci.

we were going to have mickey take his paci last oct. when we were in WDW, but he was getting molars in. but donald did take it from him. just plucked it from his mouth! we got it on camera and my baby's face is priceless. he also captured him grabbing it back.

also, as a PP commented...my 2 year old isn't talking either. he's in speech therapy because he won't talk. not sure if it's from the paci or not. i think it's ridiculous, but that's another rant.

 

[tmarquez]

Back in 1971 (I was 2) my mom told me that Mickey didn't allow pacifiers in the Magic Kingdom. I'm told that I used it on the 4 hour drive, and happily tossed it in the trash before we entered the park. She said I was so tired at night that it wasn't even an issue.

I still like Disney.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[momto2js]

I am a lazy mom and our rule was no paci after 4 (after 2 just in bed). On my son's 4th birthday he told me he was old enough to put it in the attic and he did. I will say that paci did prevent several meltdowns at disney when he was uncomfortable or scared.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

DS used a binky till his 2nd B-day *he only really slept with it between 1 & 2* I cut the tip off, he popped it in his mouth and immediately pulled it back out, look at it, was very confused ~ I said "Uh oh it's broken." he threw it away in the garbage bin under the sink and that was that, very easy. DD gave it up on her own at 9 months.

 

[3pletprincesses]

We lost the girls' 2 years ago when we went on vacation. I had packed them just in case but told them that I had forgotten them. They asked for them a few times but never really complainned about it. That was the end of it for us. I would try if I was you but would bring them as a back up and worse case tell him that you found them and had forgotten that you packed them if he cries too much.

 

[snow_white's_mom]

when DD was 2 we went to the beach and we had her leave it there because the baby fish needed it lol it's kind of cheesy but she liked it and never cried for it again

 

[Minnesota!]

I just let my son dictate when it was time to get rid of it. He decided about a week after his 3rd birthday that he didnt need it anymore. Went to bed one night without needing it and we never looked back.

but for months after...we found them in the oddest spots! he would look at them a little sadly...but I think the best way was to let him do it when he was ready. Same way I handled potty training.

 

[newserenity]

I would not try to take away the binkie while on vacation. Those first few days without it are probably gonna be very difficult. When DS was almost 2 he loved his binky. One morning I saw that he had bit a hole in one of them. I was worried that he might bite a small chunk off of it and swallow it so I got rid of them all that morning. The next couple of days were rough, but then he forgot about them. If you really want to get rid of them you have to do it all at once. They have to be completely gone. If he thinks they are still around for really tough times, he will start causing really tough times. Go cold turkey now, and they'll be a thing of the past by the time it's time for your trip.

I TOTALLY AGREE! Do not do this at Disney! Seriously, you are setting up a disaster. My 2 year old was so hard to wean from the paci. We cut the tips off, tried everything. Finally we just threw them all away and told her a mouse took them. LOL She cried off and on for the paci for about 2 days. I was ready to give in a few times. But, the only way to go is cold turkey. AND do it when the routine is normal and sleep isn't a big issue, because you may not get much for a day or two.

The best thing IMO, would be to schedule a time that works well in the next month or two and take it away! Just deal with it and don't give in and it will be like he never even had one in no time.

 

[newserenity]

Isn't that the truth!
My son's teeth made me have to finally suck it up and get rid of the "bubba". He had such an open bite because of it (and he only used it at bedtime)

Good Luck ! (and I still have one of my DS's bubba's in my drawer, can't part with it yet, lol)

Same thing with my DD! I told her to bite down with her mouth open and her open bite was so bad! I felt so bad! I took her paci away immediately and the open bite closed up completely within a couple months. I couldn't believe a pacifier could actually cause that much harm.

 

[reelmom]

Maybe on the morning that you are leaving, you could have your child wrap the pacifier up to leave as a gift for Mickey or another child. I would explain this well in advance so you don't have a cranky child on the way home.

 

[Hannathy]

Only 1 of mine used one and our rule was never when you are walking around or out of the house. So I would institute this rule now before you go and then when you are at Disney you will be out of the room so much and by the time you get back probably so tired he won't need it to sleep, if he isn't already mine where usually walking zombies by bedtime that he will probably forget about it bye the time your week is over.

 

[tlh0726]

Need to start the process now and not wait till later.
I had to take the bottle and pacifers from DD and DS while DH was out of town for work because I know he would have given in to the kids.

If you have more than one pacifer, start having problems (cutting them works great) with one of them each week to week and a half. Explain that they are broken and tell him that you will not be buying any replacements. Let him see you put them in the trash can.

If he is using them during the day start hiding them and have them only appear when he is ready to go to sleep. Help search the house looking for them.

When you are down to 2 start not finding them during sleep times. If he is still taking naps try this one first and only have the pacifer available at night.

Once you are down to 1 start not finding it at night.

If he starts the thumb sucking there is an over the counter product for nail biting that my friend used for her son that worked great. Pretty sure she got it at Walmart in the finger nail polish area and name is something like No Bite.

Sometimes things are harder on the parents than it is on the child.
Key is to remain firm and not give in.
I told DH that these things are just the pratice quizzes to prepare you for the real tests to come.

Good luck!

 

[pinkprincess30]

I understand your thinking, but your vacation might not be the time to change up the sleeping routine You may just be happy to get your son enough rest in a strange & exciting environment.

IMHO, if you are going to put your foot down, maybe try "There are no pacies allowed at Disney, so we're going to get rid of it now so we're used to it by the time we go".

Good luck, whatever you do!!! I am facing the same struggle, only with thumb-sucking. You can't take a thumb away or poke a hole in it though!