OT: What to do with my pacifier addict?!

[cookies]

My Ds was 2.5 and we told him Santa needed it for other children. He woke up Christmas morning and handed it over and never asked for it again. (this is a child who loved his nu-nu) My daughter who turned 3 yesterday is my challenge. She loves her pacifer but only gets it at night or nap time-unless she finds one she hid on me!! The way I look at it, I've never seen a bride walk down the aisle with it. They both were off the bottle by 14 months and both are out of diapers, she is my baby so I'll let her have it a few more months.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

I don't mind it. She can take it on her honeymoon if she wants. It's cute to see my "big girl" so attached to something from her baby days.

I agree. The blankie is not really a problem. We bought one from the North American Bear company when she was born It folds up into a Pink Stuffed elephant. Its the cutest thing and they don't make them anymore. I'm terrified if we lose it.

I do have a girlfriend (mother of two now) who actually still has her blankie..I saw it while we were rooming together for a Business trip!!! She always has it under her pillow. She was a bit embarrassed but I actually thought it was nice to hold on to something like that from your childhood!

Fintastic Looks like we will be in WDW together next year! We are going Oct 28-Nov 2 to celebrate birthdays! Mine (Oct 31), DH (Oct 22) and DD (Oct 26) turning 4 as well!!

 

[macfamily]

We gave Binkie to the cow

See, there's this ice cream store the next town over, and when my daughter was 2 1/2 we went there, got her an ice cream, and I asked her if she wanted to give Binkie to the cow trash can, which happened to have a cover on it that was shaped like a cow (and yes, it was painted black and white ) Jen was tickled to be able to give the Binkie to the cow, and talked about it to everyone: "We gave Binkie to da cow!" Luckily I was always there as a translator.

Personally, if I were you, OP, I would wait until after the vacation as well, just to have one less change in the kiddo's schedule. Good luck!

 

[graygables]

8yo DD was 3 when she finally gave up her binkies. I didn't want to invent yet another "legenday figure", so we poked the holes gradually and she would throw them away as they "broke". The final one was left for Santa (next to the cookies and milk) and he left her a special surprise in its place. We were prepared to wait for the Easter Bunny if necessary, though.

It's one of those things that I don't sweat, though. I was a thumbsucker and I sucked my thumb until I was 10 years old (just in bed, though, never in public). Everyone told my parents how horrible my teeth would be and they tried everything, spikes, hot sauce, tape, you name it. Nothing worked, it only made me angry at them for causing me pain, and y'know what? My DDs orthodontist asked me if I'd had braces b/c my teeth are beautiful. Nope, just an old thumbsucker.

 

[bartleby1]

My middle child (DS) was my "binkie" kid. My two girls never took one, but, boy oh boy, did my DS love his! He was an "everything goes in the mouth" kind of kid. Once he hit about a year old, I only allowed it when he was going to sleep.

I can't help you as far as any tricks for him to find it in the night because my DS never spit it out! He went to sleep with it in and woke up with it still in.

Anyway, when he was around 2-1/2, I took him for his first dentist appt, and the dentist informed me that it appeared to be messing up his bite. So, he played "bad guy", he told my son that the binkies were ruining his teeth and we needed to get rid of them. He told my son that we had to go home and collect all of them and drive them far away and throw them in the garbage. The dentist stressed to me how important it was to actually drive them away so DS couldn't want them out of our garbage. I realized after, that the dentist had me do this so I couldn't cave in and give them back, lol

So, on the way home from the dentist, DS and I talked about what we were going to do with his binkies when we got home. DS said, "but then I won't have any!" and let out a couple of sad little whimpers. I had to fight back tears at this point because I felt so bad for the little guy! I knew how much he loved them! However, we went home, gathered them up, and drove them away to a dumpster. We got home just in time for naptime and he asked for a binkie. I reminded him that they were gone. He looked so sad but he went to sleep. I, however, left the room and bawled my eyes out! He asked again for one at bedtime and again I reminded him that we got rid of them. That was the last time he mentioned it. I was SHOCKED! I really think it was harder on me than on him!

The good news is, he was pacifier free in one day, when I really pictured him using them until at least 5 years old, lol! The bad news is, without the binkies, he began grinding his teeth really bad and has worn his lower teeth down dangerously low. We are hoping they fall out before they start causing him pain. I suppose he was probably doing this even before he gave them up because he would frequently chew through his pacifiers. I was constantly replacing them. However, the pacifier was protecting his teeth. The dentist claims most kids outgrow the grinding, but DS is still doing it now (he's 4-1/2). Hopefully he outgrows it before he gets his permanent teeth.

Good luck! Maybe your dentist can play "bad guy" for you too! It worked so wonderfully for us!

 

[Fintastic]

Fintastic Looks like we will be in WDW together next year! We are going Oct 28-Nov 2 to celebrate birthdays! Mine (Oct 31), DH (Oct 22) and DD (Oct 26) turning 4 as well!!

I'm glad to see somebody planning far ahead like me! DD's birthday is October 29th so we're turning it into a birthday/Halloween combo trip.

 

[brandylouwho]

In our house the pacifier somehow got named the "ga." My DD is still addicted, she'll be turning 3 this month. She only uses for sleeping, and hasn't used one at daycare since she was 1. It drives my husband nuts, but somehow I suspect he isn't the one that will be up with her for those first few nights after we take it away. I figure she won't be sucking on it forever, so I haven't bothered to try too hard to get rid of it. Right now I am more concerned about getting to to stay in her own bed all night.

She does seem to "need" it more when we are away from home (staying at grandma's , staying at a hotel, that sort of thing). It is definitely her comfort/her lovey.

On a side note, my cousin was also an addict, when she was around 2 1/2 years old she was at the zoo, sucking away on her pacifier when her mom said. "Gee, I wonder what would happen if you dropped your pacifier down there (in the bear exhibit)" and poof...she spit it out and it dropped down in the exhibit! It was a long 3 hour ride home from the zoo, but that was that.

 

[wisc mom]

You all have inspired me to take the plunge and break my DS from the "kwee kwee" (weird name, I know) habit. He is 3 1/2, and is supposed to only have them when he sleeps, but he LOOOOOVES them, and any chance he can find one, he puts it in his mouth. Yesterday I cut the tips off 2 of his pacifiers and waited to see what would happen. I wasn't brave enough to cut all of them in case I would cave in . He found the cut pacifiers and told me they were broken. He wouldn't put them in his mouth, and threw them in the trash. He did pretty well the first night, but had a hard time getting to sleep. My DD sleeps right acrosss the hall from him, and had to come into my room to get some peace and quiet. He got a special present this morning from the kwee kwee fairy, and that got him excited. Today he asked for them a few times, and wants me to fix them. It kind of breaks my heart when he is asking for them and crying, but so far I am sticking it out. Thanks for everyone's ideas!

 

[bigbabyblues]

My 2nd DS was a binkie addict too. I almost had it away from him when he was 15 months old, then we found out he had to have surgery on his skull. So much for that, he found the 'emergency' one in my purse the first day he saw the neurosurgeon and it calmed him right down. Those binkies got us through tons of doctor appts, a couple of CT scans, 7 hours of surgery and 6 days in the hospital when his eyes were swollen shut. Poor baby, he had one is his mouth and one in his had the whole time, except during the actual surgery. That's what got him through.

Fast forward a year and two weeks to last Christmas. We still had the binkies. Right after Christmas, when he was 2-1/2, I "couldn't find" a binkie for him at bedtime. He cried a little and I felt horrible, but I told him if he could sleep without the binkie, I would give him the Santa (beanie baby one) that was on top of the tv. He'd been asking for it since we set it out, and he said ok. I gave it to him, and he clutched that thing all night every night and nap for 3 weeks, but it did the trick. He asked a couple times about his binkie, but I just reminded him that we can't find any, and he was ok. He didn't cry for it at all though.

That was almost a year ago. Two months ago, I find out that DH grandma (who was on my case to get rid of the binkies since he turned 1) still has one hidden that he gets when he takes a nap at her house. I found it, and he just grinned and told me it was a surprise, and don't tell anyone! LOL. One at great grandma's every couple weeks I can deal with!

 

[pigletof4]

My dd was almost 3 before she gave hers up. At the time she had two. One she already had a hole in it and the other I snipped the end off. She didn't like the one with the snipped end and by the end of that week, she bit through the end of the other one and didn't like that so she was completely fine with that.

 

[disneydancer1969]

well don't bribe him. try the supernany technique. if i remember right tell him that kids around the world need binkies more than him and that the binky fairy needs to get it. put it in a bag, have him hang it on a tree. and then when he gets up the next morning there is a special "gift" from the fairy. if not then i say good luck!

 

[DizKarAzy]

In response to the pacifier addiction problem, I have been there! My DD was a total addict, I thought she would be graduating from college with it at the rate she was going. Then one day I told her about the patty(what she called the pacifier)fairy also. I explained that the fairy comes and takes all of the pacifiers in the house and gives them to the babies out there that need but don't have "patties" of their own. In reward for her good deed, the fairy would leave a present for her. So we left all the pacifiers on her windowsill and the next morning they were gone! She ran downstairs and found a brand new kitchen(Dora's talking one).. We had a tough night the next night but I reminded her about the kitchen and told her that if she couldnt handle sleeping w/o it, the fairy would give her pacifier back but she would have to take the kitchen too! Thankfully DD loved that kitchen and the next night she was fine.
Now I just have to wait until DS is old enough for this to work for him! And DD2 looks like an addict in training! Oh no!!