OT: Giving up the pacifier

[cwnhokie]

Not the movie but the real thing. My 2.5 DS lost his last one yesterday. We had a restless night but not too bad. We weren't planning on giving it up just yet, but now that we have started I kind of feel like we should just keep on. I'm a little worried because we leave for Disney in 17 days It would be nice not to have to keep up with it on the trip, but would it be nicer to have it on the plane, in lines, in a strange room at night... without being able to "plug him up" or to put it nicer, offer him some comfort. What are your opinions?

 

[campingcorgi]

If he made it through one night without I would NOT get a new one. In 17 days it will be just a memory and he'll be fine!! Our little one lost her pacifier the hard way--she knocked out a tooth at about 2.5 and when they reimplanted it--no more night-night. It was only about a week before a trip to Disney for us and she did fine. She did try to go with a little boy in Publix, though--he had a blue and white sucker just like hers!!

 

[Nini]

DO NOT GIVE IT BACK!! My dd3 just kicked the habit approx. 3 months ago...whew!!! It was not as big a challenge as I thought it would be. However, she still will wistfully comment that she "misses her nunus". She used to look around the house calling "nunu where are you!?!".

She found one in my df's truck and I convinced her that it was from another baby. She was mad at papa for having another baby in his truck but agreed to throw it away! She is old enough to be without it and has proven to be a wonderfully adaptable "Big Girl"!

Stay the course!! Freedom from pacifiers is yours for the taking!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[krissynkayla]

Hey everyone! I run a daycare and I personally have seen what pacifiers do to childrens teeth. One of my kids (9 now) had hers for 6 years and now they are going thru the process of fixing her very very crooked teeth, and it was because of the pacifier(dentist and orthodontist both aggreed), her parents really regret it now!! Her dentist bills are gonna be high I also have another girl whom her parents just took hers away and she is only 6 months old! They took it a litlle early i think... But anyways, DO NOT GIVE IT BACK, he is 2.5 years , it should have been gone a long time before now.
It will be rough at first but keep with it and he won't even ask for it in a couple of days. Good Luck

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

My DD3 still has hers and we keep trying to have her give it up, but my DD15mo has one so DD3 will just take hers. We thought about taking it from both until nightime for starters and then see how that goes.

 

[digskat]

When my DS was little we mailed ours to Santa Claus and Santa left a little something in the mailbox for my DS. He never had a probelm with it, he thought he was helping santa by sending his SUZY for a "baby" now that he was a big boy. He was 2.5yrs then now he is 5 and he still remembers mailing his package to santa. I did make an ornament for the chirstmas tree for both kids using a Suzy and a piece of ribbon tied to it. I put their name and Bday on the ribbon the kids get a real kick out of hanging their's on the tree.

 

[txgirl]

Your almost there momma! I agree with the previous posters. The timing of losing the paci was meant to be I think it is always sad when the paci goes away because it signifies a big change. BUT it must happen and it is only downhill from here. My oldest two were "pappi" lovers and I must say weaning mommy was almost as hard as weaning the child. Still, we said farewell. One traded hers in for a treasure at Wal-mart. The other "accidentally" left hers on the airplane and it flew away.

So bye bye paci, hello Disney!

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

When my DS was little we mailed ours to Santa Claus and Santa left a little something in the mailbox for my DS. He never had a probelm with it, he thought he was helping santa by sending his SUZY for a "baby" now that he was a big boy. He was 2.5yrs then now he is 5 and he still remembers mailing his package to santa. I did make an ornament for the chirstmas tree for both kids using a Suzy and a piece of ribbon tied to it. I put their name and Bday on the ribbon the kids get a real kick out of hanging their's on the tree.

Great idea!!! Maybe Santa needs ours too

 

[Jenn]

The Binky Fairy took ours. We had about 3 in the house (1 main one plus a couple spares for emergencies). So, 3 nights in a row we left one binky and in the morning, the binky was gone and replaced with a fun gift (stickers, play dough, new crayons, etc). Worked like charm with both my daughters with no tears for anyone (them or me!!). My oldest never even mentioned it again, the youngest asked for it one the next day and I reminded her about the fairy and that was that. We did this around age 3 with each of the girls.

 

[2dogmom]

My oldest DD was 2.5 when I made her give it up. Actually, she threw it out herself. She was really starting to understand that when something is broke we couldn't use it anymore, so I cut a few slits in her binky. She noticed it, I said it's broke, we should throw it out, and she did. She really didn't have a hard time with it. She would ask for it and I would remind her that she threw it out because it was broke.

Good luck! And try to resist giving it back.

 

[MrsPete]

My oldest was a big-time paci-baby. About a month before her second birthday, we got rid of ALL the pacifiers except one. We cut a tiny bit off the end of that one; when she picked it up and tried it, she immediately pulled it out, inspected it and declared loudly, "PACI BROKE!" (She was very verbal from a young age.) The next day we cut a tiny bit more, then a tiny bit more, then a tiny bit more. She complained that her pacifier wasn't as good as it used to be. We pretended ignorance. After a week, it was so small that it wouldn't stay in her mouth, and she was forced to hold it to her mouth; of course, this meant that she couldn't play with both hands, and she didn't like that.

It was an easy way to "wean her" off the pacifier.

 

[NJDisneymom]

OMG! We are dealing with the same thing right now. My ds just turned 2 last month and I know its time to give up the paci but I am waiting till after our Disney trip (in 2 short weeks) for sanity sake. He is biting thru them all now though and I'm not sure we will have any left and I really don't want to buy more!!!

Unfortunately I had a different experience with my dd (now 5). We gave her's to Santa at age 2 like a previous poster but she cried and cried and woke up 4-5 times a night for TWO WEEKS straight. Finally, in my sleep deprived state I gave it back. That summer her last one broke and we threw it away. She went to bed that night and wimpered a bit for it but then slept straight through the night. We never had any problems. It was only 6 months later than the last time we tried but I truly believe when they are ready they are ready and its not worth putting them thru torture for it. My daughter's teeth are just fine too.

 

[DisneyPhD]

My oldest DD was very atacthed to her passie. For a long time she was only able to have it in her bed.

The night before her little sister was born she lost it. I laid with her until she feel alseep. I went into labor at 6:00 am, sister was born by noon. (she was 3 years old at the time)

It was rought for a while. Her sister didn't take one right away (about 2 weeks) and after that even when she was really crying and upset and DH tried to shove her sisters in her mouth (out of desperation) she would not take it. We have no problems with her wanting it anymore and her teeth are starting to get better on their own. It was really hard, sometimes she still has a hard time stopping crying with out it (espcailly at night.)

 

[HeatherinVT]

Ugh im so glad for this thread!
Im getting ready to take my DD's when she turns 3

We have been talking about it for months that when she has her 3 yr old nemo party there are no more paci's.... That she is going to be a big girl then and we wont have them anymore....

More and more since she is convinced she is going to be a big girl when she has her birthday party that im going to say your 2 big for them now and they dont work any more and what i will do is cut off the nipple all togeether and that way she can still hold them while she is falling asleep but wont be able to suck on them??

Its my DD security thing and if she can still hold them going to bed i think it might make the transition easier what do you think??

 

[NJDisneymom]

Its my DD security thing and if she can still hold them going to bed i think it might make the transition easier what do you think??

If she likes to sleep holding one this will probably be a good idea. My dd had one broken one and one good one for the longest time. The broken one was nicknamed "yucky paci" and she used to fall asleep sort of rubbing it on her cheek. I prepped her for months that when the other one became a yucky paci too it would be time to throw them away. I finally cut a hole in the good one because it just wasn't dying, LOL!!!! She had no problems getting rid of it once she knew it was now a yucky paci.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

DD never had a pacifier. We didn't see a need for one. This has really led me to wonder who is the one being pacified -- the child or the parent?

 

[KATIESMOMMY]

Wow a paci at 3 yo? Here I was feeling quilty because the pediatrician gave me grief for having DD still on the bottle at her 1 yr old checkup Monday (she turned 1 the 14th). SHe had me wean DD off the paci at 6 months (she was also a 34 week preemie) and it was *heck*. Now we are on day 3 of no bottle and its just as hard........is my ped wrong in having me do it this way?? Now you all have me thinking maybe I am putting DD thru all this way to young.........

 

[cwnhokie]

Thank you for all of the responses. I knew once we made it through one night we should continue to see it through. I just didn't know if I was ready. I has been going pretty well. We have made it through two nights and one nap. He's gotten up once each night.

We just took my oldest's "ninny" away at Christmas. He was 3.5 and soo attached. The dental hygenist said she understood that it was a comfort and not to worry about it, just know that we would be spending a fortune later to correct his teeth. Anyway 2 days before Christmas he left one at Grandma's. We told him they were all there and we would have to go get them later. Grandma said he must have dropped it in Santa's bag when he came through the neighborhood on a firetruck. (Which she thinks he really may have, because he had it before but not after) so we told him Santa would bring him toys for it. We told him the same thing the Christmas before when he was 2.5 and he said he'd rather have his ninnys than toys. We had already weaned him to only having them in his room. They were quite a comfort. Whenever he got upset he would go to his room, suck on them for a while and then come back ok. So for a while that was tough, he didn't have a replacement method for soothing himself, but now he is fine. We decided to wait til next Christmas for little brother, he doesn't sleep well anyway and didn't feel it was worth the effort.

Well a month ago he climbed out of his crib and transitioned into the big boy bed, now he's given up the pacifier, I guess now we are on to potty training. Should I start a new thread? Ha Ha! Big brother just got trained in Sept. I told the doctor I had to catch my breath from that before I started on the next one.

 

[Loops]

We are getting ready to pull the plugs from our 2 1/2 year old twins. We only give it to them when it is nap or bedtime. I thought it would be better to wait until after we return from our Disney trip next week. I'll start with not giving it to them during naps and go from there. Wish me luck. My daughter was 1 month shy of her second birthday when her night-night broke and she never asked for another one.

Good luck everyone.

 

[moopdog]

Don't give it back FOR sanitys sake... you'll soon notice that they act differently without the binky. You know how like if they have it, they act tired & whiny, etc. my kids did it with their blankies too & if they don't have those items, they run around happy and play, etc. It make them act a little more grown up, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

My DD was at her 2 year old well-baby visit and my doc (who also happens to be a Mom with little ones) told me that it was really "time" to give it up. I asked the doc if she would tell Madison for me (thinking it would be more official) and she did and I was right because I had to remind Maddie a few times over the next day or two what the doctor said that she had to stop using it since she was 2 now and a big girl, etc. It wasn't quite as smooth as with my son.... he just lost all his like your son... but welcome to the world of differences between boys and girls!! Nothing is as smooth with my DD!! Good luck!!!