Pacifier Weaning Help???

[Billmel]

I'm not sure if I am posting this question in the right place but here goes......

We are trying to wean my DGD from her pacifier (boppy) she is 16 months old and only gets it at night or during naps. She has started asking for it and my DD feels that she should try and wean her now before she can't do it at all. She cries and won't go to sleep without it. Does anyone have any ideas or things that worked for them....We would appreciate any imput anyone may have from past experiences that have worked for them...we will try anything. Thanks!

 

[kimwim8]

Boy, I remember those days! I don't envy you or your DD.

I think I started by limiting it to only in the crib (or bed). It never left there & they only had it then. Then I think I took it away at naps & they only had it at night. Then I took it away cold turkey at night. We had 2 or 3 sleepless nights. It took a few extra stories, a few more hugs, and (I admit) I'd even let them take a sippy cup with 90%water 10% juice to bed with them for the first week or so.

It's not an easy thing. As long as DGD isn't sick, then she may just need to cry it out (please don't start a debate JMHO).

Good Luck, and this too shall pass!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Nip a very small hole in the end of the nipple. The pacifier loses all of its "suckiness" (is that a word?!?!) This worked for one, not at all for the other.

What worked for the other was equating the pacifier to the crib. When we moved her to a regular bed, we told her pacifiers are for babies who sleep in cribs. Big girls who sleep in beds don't need them. She never looked back!

What worked for a friend was to go to the toy store and have the child pick out a toy. The child then "paid" for the toy with the pacifiers/bottles. Obviously requires a little precoordination with the clerk when you walk in! Then when she asks for the pacifier, remind her that she "bought" the new toy with it.

 

[kimwim8]

I also wanted to add:

The main reason I took away the pacifier both times was because my kids started trying to talk with it in. That is something I just did not want to happen. That is when I started limiting it to just bed/nap. And then about a month later is when we decided to take it away completely.

DD did fine. DS (just turned 3) has a blankie that comforts him instead.

 

[BabyTigger99]

My DS was over 2 before he got rid of his. He only got his at bedtime. What we had to do one night was put all his Nuks in a basket at bedtime, and the Nukky Fairy came. A video was left in the basket in place of the Nuks. He never asked for them again.

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

Originally posted by jwsqrdplus2
Nip a very small hole in the end of the nipple. The pacifier loses all of its "suckiness" (is that a word?!?!) This worked for one, not at all for the other.

What worked for the other was equating the pacifier to the crib. When we moved her to a regular bed, we told her pacifiers are for babies who sleep in cribs. Big girls who sleep in beds don't need them. She never looked back!

What worked for a friend was to go to the toy store and have the child pick out a toy. The child then "paid" for the toy with the pacifiers/bottles. Obviously requires a little precoordination with the clerk when you walk in! Then when she asks for the pacifier, remind her that she "bought" the new toy with it.

I was going to recommend the same thing! It really works but it is hard on the child. They just love their "binkies"!!

 

[DawnCt1]

My kids gave it up on their own however, I remember my mother telling me that when she wanted me to give up the bottle, she took me to see my grandfather's calf. I gave it to her.

 

[Bichon Barb]

One of mine and DH's fondest memories is that of our then 3 year old son, Eric, coming downstairs in the morning, with that nook in his mouth and uttering: "I uv ooo add!" We thought that boy was going start college with that pacifier in his mouth. I guess I'm not the person to answer this question. LOL.

Good luck to you!

 

[dvcfamily41801]

We had the same thing with Matt. It was so hard. I think we tried for the first time around 15 mos and he SCREAMED for over an hour in his bed. We caved and gave it to him. Then it was he could not have it unless it was bedtime or naptime.

Finally, I decided we were going to give it to Mickey Mouse. I talked it up for months that when he saw Mickey Mouse he was going to give him his binky. My DH thought it would never work. So I made a PS everyday with Mickey Mouse and vowed we were not leaving WDW with that binky.

Our first night we had dinner at Chef Mickey's. I told the server what was happening and if Mickey could just give the binky back to me under the table. He came over to our table. Matt had it in his hand took one look at it and handed it over. I have a picture of Mickey holding it in his hand and Matt kinda in the background just grinning from ear to ear. I was so proud of him.

 

[Duchie]

Three kids, three pacifiers, three different experiences with getting rid of it.

My oldest had his until he was not quite 3, but only at bedtime. One day when we went to bed he couldn't find it, so I told him he had to try without it. He went right to sleep, no problem. The next day I told him I looked and "couldn't find it". He never looked back.

My DD was about 14 months old and I took it away cold turkey. It was awful!!! She cried herself to sleep but then it was over. Blue Teddy Bear has been her best friend ever since (she's 6 now).

My youngest DS was around 2. Again, it was only at naptime and bedtime, but he started wanting to take it with him. Our good friends were expecting at the time, so we convinced him to give his pacifiers to the "new baby" since he was a "big boy" now. He found a stray one a month ago and wanted to use it again (he's 4 now) but he gave it back to me pretty easily.

You're getting a lot of good suggestions here - you might have to try several of them until you find one that works. Good luck!!!

 

[Lizzydoll73]

We just did this with my DS a month ago. He was starting to chew apart his pacifier so I was afraid he would bite a piece off and choke. I took it away completely. The first time he took a nap without it he cried for 30 min then fell asleep. That night and the next couple of days he would cry for about 30 min then fall asleep. Now he doesn't need it. He was alot easier then my daughter who used her's everywhere. I was not able to get her off of it until she was 3 and I had to bribe her to stop. It was really hard for her because she used it for so long and all the time. Good luck with whatever method you choose. I really think different methods work for different children.

 

[Billmel]

Thank you very much for all of your advice, I forwarded the link to my DD so she can read all of your responses also.....I think we will probably try them all. The funny thing about my DGD is when she is in bed for a nap or night night and she is laying there playing with her pillow/blanket/ or toes, she will put her boppy in her shirt to hold it until she wants it again....it is hysterical DD thought it was time to wean her when she started asking to go to bed so she could have her boppy...

 

[OhMari]

My daughter is 20 now and we took away her nook at 2. I will never forget how she shook for 2 days. I thought, "wow this is what an addiction looks like."

I'll take a pacifier baby over one without any day.

 

[peacefulgirl]

Ok LOL seems mine had hers the longest! She was about 4 when we got rid of the Binky !!!!

What I did was, when she her first tooth, we put it under her pillow with the tooth so the tooth fairy could take it and leave her a PRIZE !! When she woke up, there was a NEW Barbie under her pillow. That did it, wahla ... no problem. And she LOVED the binky!!!

I remember my MIL used to calm my nervous about such things, saying "it's not like she is going to have it when she gets married", so I never stressed about it.

Hope that helps!!

PG

 

[phamton]

My children would never take a binky. I tried everything but they kept spitting it out. They were thumb suckers which was even harder to break.

My pediatrician said that they had a ritual in his family that they called throwing the binky to the squirrels. He had 5 kids who all were binky babies. When the child turned 2 years old, they took a special trip to the forest in the mountains. The purpose was for the child to throw the binky to the squirrels in the woods. The child would throw the binky in the woods with much celebration by the family.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Originally posted by kimwim8
Boy, I remember those days! I don't envy you or your DD.

I think I started by limiting it to only in the crib (or bed). It never left there & they only had it then. Then I think I took it away at naps & they only had it at night. Then I took it away cold turkey at night. We had 2 or 3 sleepless nights. It took a few extra stories, a few more hugs
It's not an easy thing. As long as DGD isn't sick, then she may just need to cry it out (please don't start a debate JMHO).

Good Luck, and this too shall pass!

Did it the same way.

 

[Keli]

My dd only used her pacifier when she was a tiny infant with colic, after she was three months old she didn't want it anymore so I don't have first hand experience with this but my sister certainly does. She has three boys and all of them were VERY attached to their pacifiers. She had a very hard time with the two older boys when she took theirs away (3 years old for the oldest and 2 years old for the middle boy). Both boys really had a hard time not having it at night so the family spent some sleepless nights getting through it. With number three someone had told her to try clipping the end off of the pacifier and letting him have it. She did that and at first he kept pulling it out of his mouth and looking at it and then sticking it back into his mouth. After a couple of days (during which he still kept using it) she clipped it back a little more. He started using it less and less and a few days later she clipped even more of it off. After a week and a half or so there wasn't much left to it and he just stopped using it altogether. It worked so well and was painless for everyone.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Peacefulgirl, we're tied. Eric was 4 also. At the time, some people had us believing that we were doing significant damage to our child by letting him have a pacifer at bedtime.

Now I look back, and it was no biggie. Eric was a happy, very active and independent kid--as well as a great sleeper. I think we were right to let him have his nuk to help him wind down at night and naptime. He's almost 11 now, and he's still fairly normal.

Our other son is two years younger. He gave up the nuk at the same time as his brother. He was easy.

 

[birdiesunshine]

My DH says to people "have you ever seen a grown adult walking around with a binky?" In other words, we feel the child will give it up when they are ready. Our DD is almost two and we just cut her bottles down to two a day so we don't want to take the binky away also. I'm sure we'll get her off of it by the time she's 2 1/2. No rush. I sucked my thumb until I was 8 and then I gave it up on my own. I assure you your child won't use a binky until she's 8 but I'm sure you get my drift when I say your child will evenutally give it up.

 

[SnowAngel]

I went through that with my current 7yo. It took til she was 4 to get her off it.
I was away for a year and no one wanted to try to get her off it. It took me from when she was almost 3 to 4 to have her stop. She would scream for hours for it. And she was the kind of scream to break windows. Finally we kept losing the pacifiers and just not buying anyone. Eventually broke her of it.

My 9yo still sucks her thumb at night or when she's tired. It's one of the reasons I started the others on pacifiers.