Pacifier Weaning?

The best idea I have ever heard is to give the pacifier to the paci-fairies. First, get your daughter all excited about the paci-fairies and tell her that there are new babies out there that need a paci and that the paci fairies fly around at night and collect all the pacies from the all the big girls to give to the babies. Then you tie her paci in a tree and tell her that the fairies will come while she is sleeping/napping. When she wakes up the two of you go out to the tree and see that it has magically disappeared and the wonderful fairies left a special gift just for being such a big girl. You'll have to talk it up for a day or two or maybe more, but make her excited about becoming a big girl and that the other babies don't have pacies and they need them. Plus what little girl doesn't get excited about fairies! Also, let her know that they will bring her a special big girl gift. Buy her a little something that you know she'd love and hang it in the place you previously hung the paci or wrap it and put it under the tree. She's only one so I don't know if she will understand, but it's worth a shot. My daughter was 2 when she gave it up. Unfortunetly, I hadn't heard this idea at the time. The only thing I was told to do was to cut the tips off all her pacies and then she would lose interest because they we all "broken". She found this very upsetting and was quite heartbroken. I think the fairy idea is great. Good luck.
K.

Dear K.:
Behavioral conditioning is the answer. Whenever you see her not using her pacifier reward her with her favorite food or activity, and love on her a bunch whenever you see her without her pacifier. Whenever she is using her pacifier make sure not to do anything that would reinforce that behavior, like hugging on her and loving on her. Try to withhold your hugs and kisses until she's without her pacifier. It may be hard at first, but you will see results quickly.

Hello,my name is C. and I stopped the pacifier at 1 1/2 with no exceptions. The best advice that was given to me and worked great was never let her walk around with it. It was scrictly for car and bed. So you should start limiting it now and she will become less and less interested. Start by weaning it out of the car ect.ect. Then Set a date and when that date comes take it and throw is away. Unless she is sick!! Then move it a few days. My advice C.

When my daughter was one and a half, we would exchange goodies. I would take the pacifier and give her something else that she liked every morning before daycare until she eventually forget to ask for the pacifier in the evening.

We did it cold turkey. We cleaned them out of the house so I wouldn't be go get one and give to him when the going got tough. We went to bed with one that night and during the night I slipped in and took it away and after a couple of days he didn't even ask for it.
Good luck
M.

Karen,
I have one little girl age 3.When she turned 1 the day after her birthday I took her off of her bottle.She did very well even though before I took her off of it she did not like the taste of whole milk.She took to the sippy cup and had to have it everywhere she went.She always had her paci everywhere she went also.We always had It clipped to her shirt.One week after her birthday since the bottle went good I decided to take her off the paci.One morning when she woke up there was no paci.I threw them all out.She didnt complain too much.Although I was dreading it dearly.I just knew that she was going to cry and be unhappy,but I all worked out.
T.

K.,
I didn't have to go thru the difficulty of weaning from a pacifier (thankfully) since only one of my children even used it (strange, I think) and he weaned himself. BUT, I know lots of mothers who went thru this. The trick that I've heard to work most often is to cut the pacifier (make a small incision) - this takes away the ability to 'suck' it, makes it useless really. Good luck.

Hey Karen,
I used the pacifier fairy for one child and for the other we sent the pacifiers to a baby we knew (in this case his baby cousin). Of course I didn't really send them, but we packaged them and address them etc. You could even make a trip to the post office and send them and let the person know what is coming.
I always started the weaning process with pacifiers only in the bedroom, so if they wanted the pacifier they had to go to their room and use it and could use it when they slept. They very rarely wanted to leave and go use their pacifier. It is nice to have a transition toy or blanket or something for extra security. They have learned to put themselves to sleep with the pacifier and now they need to learn to do it without. It definately is a process, but I haven't seen any pacifiers in Kindergarten, so they do give it up eventually. hee hee

Ditto to MistyB. Cold turkey at 18 months worked for us. A little extra lovin' and she forgot all about it. I'm dealing with the thumb on my second one-now 15 months. That's HARD.

I never had to wean mine from the paci but the best one I have ever heard is to take it from her while she's asleep and trim a little off the end. Do this every night until it's a nub (throw all the spares away so she only has the one). When she asks tell her that all her big girl teeth are making it go away and that she can't use it anymore. This worked great for a friend of mine. The little girl just threw it away because it was broken. Just pray she doesn't go to fingers instead. My 6 year old still sucks his pointer finger when he goes to sleep or when he's tired. Can't cut that off unfortunately.

I would help you but I dont know how.Mine will be a year old the 23rd of next month and he's never used one.He couldn't stand them for some reason.
A.

I was a single mom when I weaned my son off his pacifier. First I let him use it only for naps and bedtime. Absolutely no other time. Then, make sure you do this part over a long weekend like this coming Labor Day weekend, just say the Pacifier ferry came and the pacifiers disappeared. Your daughter will cry, of course but you have to stick to it. By the end of the weekend, my son was completely off the pacifier. I hope this helps! Good luck! Remember, stick to your guns!!!

Sincerely,
L. R.

Hi K.,

My first child loved her paci and I think we broke her from it around 1 & a half. First we cut out the paci during the day a little at a time (i.e. made her ask for it). Then we tried cutting a tiny dent in it to make it feel different, but she didn't care. Night was difficult. We took it out of the crib after she feel asleep and then the next nights just didn't give it at all. She was frustrated for about three days then got better.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
Laura

My son was 2 1/2, but we weaned him from his nighttime only paci by cutting off the ends and telling him that it was 'broken'. I don't know if it will work for the 1 year old, but many people told us to do this. They said if it doesn't work, the kids don't like it.

what we did and it seemed to work really well, was to only give it at bedtime not at naptime, which ment somedays were no naps. and each week we would give it less and less at bedtime and it just went away. i would say it was about 3 weeks. but, you need to totally hide the one that you are giving at night so they are not seeing it, because you will give in and give it to them. but, you will be amazed at how much they do not miss it if it is not in sight. bedtime was the worst for us. but only for a short time when we put our son down for the night and then he would be asleep with in 30 minutes. naptime got better after he knew he was not getting it and got really tired. but if you slowly take it away she will be fine and so will you. be strong!!!

I have 2 boys - 3 1/2 & 9 months. My 3 year old took a pacifier but one night we could not find it ANYWHERE!!! Me and his daddy tore the house apart looking for it and could not find it! I found one but it was not the one he liked. I gave it to him and he kept spitting it back out and never asked for it again!

My 9 month old doesn't take a paci - he sucks his fingers!

We started by having paci's "only in the bed" so that they continue to suck at nighttime because I noticed they really used them. It wasn't a difficult transition and they even started telling me "pacis only in the bed" after a short time. It dropped off on its own after that. They knew they were only in the bed and after awhile (I think they were 18 mos or so) they really didn't use them anymore. I feel like you do - it kills me to see a 4 year old kid walking around at the grocery store with one in his mouth. Our solution worked for us - best of luck!
B.
Mom to Morgan and Sydney 10/12/02

My oldest daughter loved her paci so much, and she would tell us, too! We did not try to wean her until she was about 2 years old. We limited it to naps and bedtime and then tried to limit it to only bedtime. It was the most miserable time in my life.
I finally cut a little piece of it off, and she told me it was broken. She did not want it after that!
Best of luck to you!

Same problem here! I have retained control of the binky - I give it to her at bedtime or when she cries after falling down, etc. But I'm ready to be done with it! I think she'd sleep better without it.

My daughter was successful in weaning her little one from a pacifer by gradually cutting the top off until there was nothing left,telling her daughter that the paci was wearing out and would soon be gone.
If you live in the Cumming area, I would like to invite you and your daughter to First Baptist Church in Cumming. We have a Single Mother's Bible study each Sunday at 9:30AM in room 215 and a Single Mother's Support Group in the same room on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. Classes are available for children of all ages. First Baptist is located at 1597 Sawnee Dr. Cumming.

My daughter LOVED her passy!!! We were so scared of the drama it would cause, especially at night, when we took it away. One day at her daycare, we decided to "give" it to the babies in the infant room. She did so with hesitation, but after we went home, she slept fine and only asked for it a few times. I told her, Remember you gave it to the little babies who didn't have passys. It worked. Good luck and lots of patience!

K.,

I don't know if this is the best way to wean but this is what I did for both my kids. Instead of going cold turkey right off I just limited the pacifier to bedtime. Then after a while I let them throw the pacifier away and told them it was gone. You will have to endure a few sleepless nights but after a couple of days they are ok. Best to do it over a long weekend. Hope this helps.

Hi I'm a mom of twin 3 1/2 yr old boys. I only gave them a pacifier when they were sleeping and occasionally when they were a little fussy in the car. I eventually gave it to them less often and within a week they didn't use it. I never let them walk around with it in their mouth or play with it. It was strictly for soothing and I think that helped a lot.
I'm also a peds ER nurse and I have used the trick of asking the older kids who I take care of if they would give my their pacifier so I could give it to the kids who don't have any (then I would throw it away). That also worked although I 'm not sure how a 1yr could grasp a concept like that. Good Luck

My mom told me that I was a "big girl now, and big girls don't need pasi's." Then she let me put it in a special "pasi hiding place," and that was where I could go only when I really needed to spend some time with it. After a while I realized that I was fine with out the pasi. I hope this helps. Alot of people I know don't really try to wean until the child is two.
A.

You're little ones birthday is 2 days after my oldest's--he'll be 5 though which makes me so sad--he's growing up too fast! Anyway, about your question--with both of my boys we phased the paci out by starting to use it ONLY at nap and bed time and on long trips in the car. My one year old still uses his when he goes to sleep. He basically falls asleep and then it falls out of his mouth (this is how my oldest was too). It really makes for easy nap time and bed time. It's almost like a treat to go to bed--they get their paci. My oldest one did like this until he was 2 and then we realized he didn't really need it to fall asleep so we stopped giving it to him all together and he was fine with it.
I guess what it comes down to is slowly phasing it out--it was easy for us and I hope it will be for you also!

Hi K.,

Have patience!! Both my children (now 5 and 2) had a paci until they were about a year old. I too didn't want them walking around with one stuck in their mouths!!! I started out only giving it to them at bedtime, and replace it during the day with a favorite stuffed animal (or in my 2 year olds case - a tag!) Don't forget to hide the others, they will find them! I then started out by taking the paci away after they fell asleep and replacing it with the animal. Eventually they were going to bed without the paci and was satisfied with their favorite friend!!!! Good luck, and again, have patience!

A.

Hi, Both of my kids refused a pacifier but I have heard of some cleaver ways to nix the habit. One person I know went to the zoo with her son (he still had his pacifier). When they got to Lemur area his mom told him it would be nice for the Lemur's to have a pacifier to share. Within minutes he dropped it in the exhibit. His mom told him what a wonderful thing he did and that now the critters would have something to make them feel safe. He asked about his pacifier a few times and that was it. I also saw an epidsode of Super Nanny where you and the child go through the house and gather all the paci's up and put them in a decorated bad. Right after dinner you go with your child and hang the bag in the tree for the Paci Fairy to come pick up when everyone is in bed. Explain that the fairy delivers all of the paci's to the brand new babies who don't have any. When she is asleep sneak out and remove the paci's from the bag and put in a small treat or new toy. Maybe write a not FROM the Fairy thanking the child for giving up her paci's for babies in need. Hope one of these ideas can be helpful to you.
~M.

Hey! My son weaned himself at 1 1/2, but I helped by telling him if he kept throwing it down that I was not gonna pick it up. He threw it down and after the 2nd time I didn't pick it up off the parking lot. We drove off and he asked for it and I told him he threw it down on the ground and now a car ran over it. He never asked for it again until bed time and I gave him his fave stuffed animal and he has been holding on to it ever since. He is now 6. You might not like your child lugging a stuffed animal, but mine still lags "puppy" around if we travel and needs him at bed time. Good luck!! F.

Hi,
I have three kids, 10,7 and 5. My oldest loved her pacy so much! I remember stressing over the same thing...but don't rush her. I cut off the nipple one time and called it her "daytime paci". I look back with regret and laugh at that!
When she reached two, she was only allowed her paci for nap and bed (occasionally in the car). I figured at those times she would not be talking. At three, it was only bedtime and on her fourth birthday, we walked to the mailbox together and mailed them to the orphanage for the little babies that might need them. I cried as we walked up the driveway, so proud of her. You will know when the time is right!! Your gut never fails! Remember, they are only little for a very short time.