[nee18]

For those of you who have survived getting your children off their pacifiers, how did you do it? Our DS is 6 months and the dr. wants him off by 9 months. She pointed out that studies have shown more illness/ear infections in babies with paci use and said that, at 9 months, babies start tossing and turning more often, so we will be replugging more often (not fun-we only do it a couple times a night now). I'm DREADING taking his paci away because he needs it to go to sleep, but I know we need to do it. I've got him to a point where he really doesn't need it during the day, but still needs it to fall asleep for naps and at night. He's finally a good sleeper at night, except for a couple of replugs, and I just don't want to mess with anything, but know we'll pay for it in the end if we don't do something relatively soon. Any suggestions/advice?

[mommamarci]

Oh, I could have written this post. Except my son is almsot 9 months already. Our plan was to lose it at 6 months, but we had some medical issues and felt that was not the right time and now I just don't know how to do it...

The replug: in my experience it has gotten better because he can plug it back in himself. For the first 6 months, I was up plugging the paci back in at least 6 times a night. Now, maybe once or twice a night...

[aclee]

Our NP said they don't worry about the Paci anymore, just the bottle by a year. She said studies show Paci protects from SIDS, and the bottle when laying down is what causes the ear issues. Ty self weaned the paci when he had a cold at about 4 months though, so I have no input on how to wean really. I did a Paci/bottle party for a 3 year old once...Sent the paci up on a balloon string, and packed all the bottles to send to "new babies" and we went to the post office and mailed them off. It still wasn't easy, but having the kid help seemed to work. I have no idea for a 9 month old, but if you kid gets to 3...there you go

[sheababy]

Boy 6 months seems really early to me. Our DD was never a paci user-off of it for the most part at 3 months but went to sleep with a bottle (she would suck it dry and then be asleep). The bottle our pedi and dentist say is a much worse thing than the paci. We got rid of the bottle at 16 months but she still really needed to suck so now she goes to sleep with the pacifier. She also hides them around the house and seems to find one when she's in the midst of a temper tantrum and calms herself down (she is now 18 months).

Our dentist told me she did not get rid of her DD's paci until she was 2 so I am not stressing about it. DD knows she does not go out of the house with the paci as big girls don't need it and she does not have one at daycare. I'm confident she will give it up in the coming months (obviously we will start limiting when she can have it in the house).

My DD went to daycare and around 10 months she began to put herself to sleep there by rubbing her blanket on her face. So as they get older and can learn to sooth in other ways you can eliminate the pacifier.

Also my DD is all over the bed at night but does not need to put the paci back in to go back to sleep-sometimes she will open her eyes and appear to be awake but if I leave her alone she will go back to sleep on her own without need to have the paci. So the replugging may not be such an issue.

[Stormster]

we have a serious bottle issue around here. I'm not sure what to do! I was going to take it away when he was 17. Is that too long? (i'm only half kidding, he's obsessed with it, hes a real self soother and that's his thing)

[Linny]

Tell ya what.......my pediatrician has said that KEEPING the bottle (and thus, the paci) is one thing that guards against ear infections! Keeps that canal 'open'. Further, think about it, when your nose, etc is stuffed up, doesn't taking a drink help to loosen it all up?????

Anyway.......now raising our fifth baby......I'm a firm believer that kids will wean themselves from a bottle and a paci. I've seen too many kids that've had them taken away all of a sudden, and I don't think it does a lot of good. (Just my two-cents on this one.)
Further, some kids will use that paci as security, calming. (In drug exposed kids, finding something to calm them quickly is good stuff...). I just can't see taking that away when, in reality, it's proven it doesn't hurt their teeth (unless you're putting them to bed with a bottle and leaving it in their mouth; or putting sugar or something like that on the paci...).........what harm does it do to anyone??

Just my two-cents, like I said......

Sincerely,

Linny

[Fran27]

We got rid of them at 4 months... Basically before that we gave them their paci for naps and bedtime, but we didn't give them again when we put them back down after a bottle during the night... so they learned to fall asleep without it. Then at 4 months they started sucking on their fingers and it was better than the paci, apparently, so we just got rid of them.

Now to go to sleep they suck on their fingers or their sleep sack, but pretty often, nothing at all.

About the bottle... it's one of the reasons we only feed them in our arms. They don't hold their bottles anyway, but even if they did, I want us to have complete control of the feedings, not them... but they really don't seem particularly attached to them, so it will probably be easy for us also... And they never get a bottle before sleeping anyway.

What can I say... I have easy babies!

[devildogwife]

Well, Cameron is almost 13 months and still loving his. I'm not taking it away anytime soon either. His life has been rough enough and it comforts him. Plus, this is the ONLY thing that he'll willingly put in his mouth since he's completely tube fed. Like Linny said, it comforts him quickly and I have bigger things to worry about with him I guess.

[emtb79]

I've done the pacifier weaning many times over. I had one that I tried to wean about 16 months he ended up getting it back till he was 2.5 years that was all day. He had it up till 3 then it was sleeping times only.

I've done another cold turkey because she lived in England and brought the binky she liked here to the states lost it and then wouldn't take another here.

I now have 2 one is 18 months I forgot to give it to her one nap and she went to sleep and never wanted it again.

The other is taking a little more work. She's 22 months and talks well with the binky in the mouth. I started by giving it in the morning as much as she liked then after nap if she wanted it she had to sit in the chair with me. Now after 3 months she's limited to the binky in the chair all day. And when everyone is playing with fun things, playing seems more fun. She will return occasionally for a binky fix though.

I don't limit the amount of use on the binky just where it is allowed to be used like the chair.

Just remember this they wont go to school with it. Another experience Ive had is if you take it too early the sucks on the fingers and you cant take those away.

[sbaglio]

What's the rush? I think you need to make your own decision in this matter. Our EX-pediatrician was adamant about our taking away the paci at 6 months. We ignored her - DD has medical problems as well, and it comforted her. She's 9 1/2 months old now, and we don't plan to take it away any time soon. As for re-placing the paci, you'll find that as they get older, they often do it themselves. DD is an expert at finding her paci in the cot and popping it into her mouth, and she started doing this over a month ago, saving us from having to run into the nursery at all hours.

Some battles aren't worth fighting, if you ask me. Unless there is a real need to take it away (is there ever? Well, unless a child is on his way to college and still sucking on the thing..), I'd follow your child's lead in this.

[Yash]

I went cold turkey with Jory at around 9 or 10 months. I was sick of him dropping them as he took it in and out of his mouth like it was a toy. He dropped it when we were in a movie theater and I said, I'm done.

Someone suggested cutting like 1/4" off the paci each day or every other day until there's nothing left for the child to suck on.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by Stormster

we have a serious bottle issue around here. I'm not sure what to do! I was going to take it away when he was 17. Is that too long? (i'm only half kidding, he's obsessed with it, hes a real self soother and that's his thing)

Maybe you could switch him to a paci

Regarding what Linny said: Our NP said the bottles were an issue when the kids had them laying down, which thek kids tended to want to do when they were older, so that's why she recommended ending the bottle at 18 months, but sippy cups of water were ok in bed. Something about how a kid sucked on a bottle vs the sippy, and it allowing ear infections or not...I didn't really listen cause we're ending the bottle at 12 months, and I don't expect Tyler to suddenly decide he wants to hold it himself in the next couple months. I bought a sippy cup with handles and he's in love with it. He's not using it yet though...I am. He always wants our cups, so I'm thinking if we use this, he with love it when I finally give him a shot at it

[finallyamom0310]

I haven't read all the replies but our Ped wasn't aware of the link till I inquired based on an article. We were already at the year mark so we had more work to do.

DD did great cold turkey compared to what I though. We had weened her down to just sleep time like you and right after she would be asleep we would take the paci out of her mouth and hide it. Well we finally took a long weekend and bit the bullet and just didn't give it to her anymore. She did better than expected. Just make sure that you don't time it with teething.

[blessedbybug]

We waited a lot longer than 9 months. And DS had to go cold turkey. I decided that I didn't want to buy anymore so one night when we couldn't find his last one, that was it. He attached himself very well to some other comfort items included a stuffed dog and giraffe and his Oilers hockey jersey!

As for the bottle, we just reduced the amount in the last one until there was nothing. Both kids didn't even notice when we didn't give it to them one evening.

[maxkinzie]

Did a LOT of research on the issue and all (or many) aspects both pro and con. Personally I don't believe it's an "addiction" issue, sucking is a natural calming reflex for several years. For us, DD had it only to sleep after about 1.5 yrs. We tried a couple times to peacefully wean her off paci, but consequences were horrible so "the lost paci re-appeared" etc - I never set it up that she was "winning" it back or that I was backing down. I also didn't want to her to transfer to her thumb, can't "lose" one of those! lol

I stressed over it, felt guilty etc, but let it be. There also were no pressing dental issues or it would have been different. Finally at about 3.5 yrs it truly did disappear and that was it. (I did later find it, tossed it out) Made no big deal of it, just let it be and she was fine. Only cried about it once since, when heartbroken about Dad not making it home for bedtime.

best wishes