pacifier and bottle advice

[torinsmom]

DS never used a pacifier, but he had a bottle until he was 2 1/2. When we went to the beach, I told him I had left his bottles at home and if we went back to get them, we wouldn't be able to drive back to the beach. I replaced it with a pop top water bottle and he cried for a few minutes each night that week, but then that was that.

 

[ColonelHathi]

We did the "nu nu" fairy for DD at almost 3? She was using them at night. One night we hung her remaining "nu nus" from the tree in our front yard, and in the morning the nu nu fairy brought her a new Tiana doll she had been admiring.

Just a couple of weeks ago DD lost her first tooth, and

 

[ColonelHathi]

Oops - iPhone!

She lost her tooth and it was so cute when I had to explain how the nu nu fairy and tooth fairy were good friends, but nu nu fairies lived outdoors and only collected nu nus.

With bottles, DD was also harder to ween off. We uses sippies that she got to pick out, and that made it a bit easier. We made a big deal about the sippies.

 

[2binak]

Thanks for this. Sometimes I am sure it's just my kids that do some of these strange things.

 

[Happiest mommy]

my oldest DD didnt care for the paci and gave up the bottle on her own, but my now 3DD its a different story she only takes 1 bottle at night and in the morning we are now in the process of taking away her paci and as a pp said when we took it away she replaced it with her fingers which I do not like so I gave it back to her but only for nights I feel you good luck

 

[arthuruscg]

Of all things that helped transition for bottle to sippy cup was WDW. It was hot and DS 18m had picked out a straw cup at Rainforest cafe. He loved drinking out of it, I think because it was a "big boy" cup and he could get a lot more juice faster.
So when we got home we bought more sippy cups and would only let he drink juice and eventually milk from them.

The getting rid of the pawpaw wasn't that bad. When DS was around 2yr, One day when we were leaving after visiting his younger cousin (10 m), she stated to cry. He founder her blanky and gave it to her but he couldn't find her pawpaw. He pulled his out of his mouth and said "here hayhay" (Haden).
Well, I guess he thought he was a big boy and gave up his pawpaws. So when we got home we asked if he wanted to give his pawpaws to baby Haden and helped collect them. But when he was tired, he wanted them back and he was smart enough not to give us all of of them. Which we let him keep and slowly they wore out and were thrown away.

Also, DS wasn't as attached to his pawpaw at and after WDW because he would fall asleep with out it due to shear exhaustion.

Don't stress about it.

 

[kandb]

My son is 3 1/2 and just gave up his binkies after loosing his favorite one in disney last month. I felt so bad, he kept saying "that one was so special to me", but he got over it rather quickly. He still has a bottle of milk in the morning and at night. I hold him and we cuddle when I feed him and I will stop the bottle when he wants to stop, it really does comfort him and I get a full bottle of milk into him.

 

[torinsmom]

The little boy I babysit for had his bottle until he was 5. It was just one at night before he went to bed. He is 7 now, and it did not affect his teeth at all. I say do what you(as a parent) think is right.

 

[dsneygirl]

The easiest way (for the child, at least) is to just stop. Period. Throw them away and don't look back. You will feel like the meanest mom in the entire world for a couple of days, but it's going to be much easier than a long, drawn out transition.

We did cold turkey with the bottle as well. Just put milk in the sippy cup one day and that was that never looked back. Probably at 18 months we stated the pacifier could only be in the bedroom or the car he had it until he was about 2.5 at night and I wish we had cut it sooner. Thankfully DS#2 never took the paci so we don't have to deal with that this time.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We got rid of bottles at 12-18 mos, and the last bottle to go was the bedtime bottle. None of mine were particularly attached to the bottle, so it wasn't a big deal. They could have a sippy cup of milk instead of a bottle during storytime, then it was off to bed.

All of mine were super attached to the pacifier and all of them had pacifiers until age 3. Then, the pacifier fairy came. The kids decorated a paper bag and then put the pacifiers in it and left it by their bedroom door. While they were asleep, the pacifier fairy came and took the bag of pacifiers to give to new babies who needed them. In its place, she left a big kid present.

The first night or two was a little tough. They'd ask for the pacifier and I'd remind them that the pacifier fairy took them. There was a little bit of crying, but not much and then it was over.

My youngest had his tonsils out at 3 and during recovery, he was not allowed to suck on anything, including his pacifier. So, the pacifier fairy came when we got home from the hospital and he never even asked for it again.

I agree. Our pediatrician warned me when ds was around 9 or 10 mos old that by 12 mos he should be off the bottle. Keeping it any longer only makes it that much harder to stop. They both had binkies way into age 3 but we did not take them into public. Just kept under their pillow for bedtime. Neither wanted to hear about sending them to new babies. They both said someone should go to the store so they can get their own.
I finally told them they're getting too big for it and we set a date to give it up. I snuggled with them at bedtime and a few nights were rough but it all worked out. They're 15 & 12 now and it didn't harm them.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The day each of my kids reached their first birthday, no more bottles. Neither seemed to mind losing the bottle. With the pacifier, we put the pacifiers out with the milk and cookies for Santa, so Santa could take the pacifiers to needy kids. Worked like a charm. My dd, did miss her pacifier the first couple of nights, after that, no problems. DS never asked for a pacifier again.

Good luck!

We tried this the year prior. It only made him mad at Santa and wasn't at all excited for Christmas. YMMV.

 

[badblackpug]

I just took the bottle away and gave them sippy cups at 12 months. I think (and this is my theory only) that because they were so young they hadn't formed an emotional attachment to it, in that they didn't use it for comfort.

The pacifier was a different story. My daughter never took one. My son was very attached to it. As they got lost we didn't replace them. AT 18 months we were at the shore and he lost the last one, and we decided "that's it." Since we were on vacation, he was too occupied during the day to think about it, the 1st night was a little ugly, but after that he was fine.

I have heard the method where you cut a small hole in the nipple of the pacifier and it makes it less enjoyable. You gradually increase the size of the hole until the child just gives it up because he gets no satisfaction from it.

Maybe like a PP said, take him to the store and let him pick out a "big boy," cup and heap on praise and attention about being such a big boy.

On a note of warning, and I know a lot of people are going to come back and say it didn't happen to them, but my ex's daughter needed 4 root canals at the age of 3 from "baby bottle tooth decay." (google the images, it will make you determined LOL) Trust me the root canals were much more traumatic to the child than taking away the bottle.

 

[Jenny3]

My kids all were on a sippy cup by age 1. I started with giving them all their other fluids (juice, water) in a sippy cup during the day and just the milk in the bottle. Eventually, milk went in there too until they were fully weaned off.

My oldest DD and DS were binkie babies - they had theirs until they were 3. A few months before their 3rd birthday, we told them "when M turns 3, she is a big girl and binkie goes in the trash!" We said this ALL the time to prepare them for the big day - so much that they repeated it anytime anyone asked them about turning 3, LOL. It worked out perfectly for us... on their 3rd birthday, they literally threw their binkies in the trash! Had 2 rough nights, but that was it.

I think the key is preparing them. My sister had the 'binkie fairy' come (again, prepared them ahead of time); the fairy took the binkies and left gifts. I've heard people say to leave them for Santa, but I didn't like that idea as I didn't want my kids to get upset at the big guy for taking their beloved binks.

Good luck however you decide to do it!

 

[RyMacJ]

Just wanted to say thanks to those that brought up cutting the tip off a paci. My DD3 (will be 3.5 right around Thanksgiving) has been so stubborn about giving hers up. Her older sister just handed it over when we told her to. So this one being difficult was new to us!

Anyway, yesterday I cut the tip off her paci, and she put it in her mouth and looked at me and said "I don't like this. Why is there a hole in my paci?" I told her that was how it had to be as she got bigger. LOL I didn't really know what else to say.

So she tried using it for a while and it kept falling out of her mouth, and she finally put it on the coffee table and said, "I don't like it. I don't want my paci anymore." And never picked it back up! She even went to sleep without it last night. We offered it to her, just to see what she'd do, and she said, "no, I don't like it."

!! fingers crossed this keeps working and thank you! I have been struggling with how to get it away from her for months.