Help, Need Advise on How to Get Very Attached Twins off of Paci's!!!

Hi Kara,
I have to tell you that I have a VERY sensitive daughter that was ADDICTED to her paci. What we did was start mentioning that she was getting to be a big girl and no longer needed the paci. We needed to send the paci up to the angels for them to give to all the new babies that are going to be born and need them. We talked about it for a few weeks, everyday and asked her what would happen if she a new baby didn't get a paci. It also helps if you know someone who is going to have a baby b/c then you can say....."Don't you want baby so and so to have your paci?" Then I took her to the party store, got 4-5 big helium balloons blown up, tied the paci to the end of the balloons with a note to the angels, went outside and had HER let the balloons/paci and note go. We watched it until we couldn't see it anymore and that was the end of it. She still asked for it for the first 2 days but after reminding her where it went and telling her how proud we were, it was done. If you use this, make sure you have them watch it go into the clouds and as soon as you can't see it say "LOOK, the angels took it!"

As for the letter.....very simple...."Dear angels, I am a big boy now and no longer need my paci. Could you please give mine to one of the new babies about to be born? Thank you! That's it! It worked like a charm! I don't suggest just going cold turkey. My peditrician said that it can cause more harm then good just taking it away.

If you have any questions, please email me.
Good Luck!
K. :~)

My little guy is younger, 22 months, and I have been working on eliminating the paci for some months now. I started by eliminating paci use during non sleep times and then I eliminated it from the car. Over the last couple of months I eliminated it from bed time only because he didn't ask for it. I just don't offer it unless he asks at night time and even then I try to ignore him. He still gets it at nap time and really at this point that will be the last elimination and then he will be off of it. I am not sure if this is helpful but it worked for us but of course he is a bit younger. Good luck and I hope you find a strategy that works!! I also ALWAYS make sure they are out of sight. If he sees one we have an ordeal either with me having to distract him or him having a tantrum. I just stand by the rule of no paci unless it is nap(night, night)time.

My daughter turns 3 in Mar and we have started talking about the Paci Fairy coming and giving her paci to a baby who needs one.

When she turned 2, we limited paci to naptime and bedtime. We had a baby in Oct and I knew she might need her comfort object more. So we gave her a new rule- she can have it anytime but only in her bed. No books, no toys, no mommy or daddy, etc. It's her alone time. After about a week, she got bored with being alone so much...

Our son is 2 1/2 and in October I decided that it was time for the pacifier to go. He was only using it for nap and bed time, but I was sick of seeing him with it to be totally honest.

So, I started telling him that the pacifier was for babies (my second son was only 11 weeks old at the time) and that he was a big boy. I asked him every day if he wanted to throw the "A-DIER" in the garbage. He would say, "No" and then one day, he took it and put it in the garbage...only to grab it out right away while saying "No garbage."

One night, we just told him it was all gone and he sobbed and sobbed. We (actually, my husband) gave in. About 2 nights later, he asked for it at bedtime and I said "The pacifier is all gone." He said, "A-dier, garbage?" I told him, "Yep, it's all gone in the garbage." He was fine with it and he hasn't used it since. He'd ask once in awhile, but I just told him it was all gone and he was ok with it.

We had to tell day care not to use it anymore and we actually took it home so they wouldn't be tempted. They told us that he's been fine without it. At first, the only issue is that he was a GREAT napper. When it was naptime, he'd get the paci and knew it was time to lay on his cot. For a little while after the paci was gone, it wasn't so easy convincing him to stop playing. But, he's now past that and doesn't even ask about it.

I think it's best to give them warning that it's going to be gone. And with us, we kinda let Jacob decide. We just really prepped him up for it.

Good LUCK!

T.

(I'm so very glad that our second son really doesn't care for the pacifier!)

My daughter whom will be 4 in May was also attached. We told her every day for 2 months that she had to throw her paci away on her 3rd birthday. When we woke up she did but she cried that night and I felt bad and wanted to give it back to her. The key was that I knew that it had to stop so I removed all the paci from the house car every where I could get to them ( because i knew i would givein) We also took her and got her a new stuff animal made a big deal out of it. After 2 nights you would of never known she had one. But my best advice is you are going to have 3 days of hell and crying you as a mom have the be strong and say no and not given in it is not going to be easy but will not hurt them either. You might lose sleep but that comes with this great "job" we are allowed to do!! Good luck!!

My twins were going to be turning 2 that March and we thought of the Christmas before telling them that Santa needs their paci's to give to other girls and boys. They were excited to know that Santa was coming, it taught them sharing, and most of all it worked!! I know the holidays have gone, but think about it for Valentines day or Easter. It really worked.

When my son was 2 1/2 (more like almost 3) we went out of town and forgot the binky! He had this one particular binky that he absolutely loved and it was the only one left and I had to wash it every night. Oh my gosh- I thought it was the end of the world when we forgot it and I was about to run out and buy a new one. I told my son we forgot it and he told me it was ok. I was completely shocked! When we got home from our trip- I took a really fast break for his room took the last gross binky from his bed and we haven't spoke of it since. He never asked for it again.

My 2.5 yr old daughter was addicted to her "pawa". At Thanksgiving, we went to my P's house out of state, and my mom saw that my daughter bit a whole in her pawa. My mom told her it was broken, put the pawa on a shelf, and there it sits to this day. My daughter never asked for it when we got home, so we actually asked my daughter where was her pawa. She responded - All gone, I'm a big girl now. Now if we can just get her to potty train.