Taking Away the Pacifier... Any Tips???

With my son, who was very attached to his pacifier, I simply took it after he fell asleep at night before I went to bed. As long as he didn't wake up w/ it, he would go all day without it. Then one day I just didn't give it to him at night...said he lost it and it was gone.

With my daughter who did use it some but not a lot, she weaned herself by 8 months.

Since you have already told her what is going to happen, you simply help her "mail" them on her birthday or you take the pacifier before she wakes up on her birthday and if/when she asks for it you say "Remember, I had to mail those to the babies". Make it a non-issue.

The bigger the issue is for you, the bigger it will be for her.

Just take it away, throw it away. I did that with my oldest and he was fine with it and his paci was taken away before he was 15 months. My youngest never took one. If you don't want to take it away cut an X into the tip so when she sucks it pinches her tongue. She will eventually not use it. Those are the two best things I can tell you.

I think your "babies need pacifiers" story should work for a three year old.

My twins are now 15, and I swear I thought they would enter high school wearing diapers and sucking on a pacifier. Happily, they did not.

Once you make the decision, do not go back. Be strong. You can do it!

Make it more immediate and giver her more control.
On our daughter's 2nd birthday, we collected all of her paci's and put them in a gallon ziploc bag. Then we went to the bakery (grocery store) where we had prearranged with the lady there to do this. Daughter perused the collection of cake toppers (you know the usual bunch---Pooh, Dora, etc) and several were laid out for her to decide what she liked/wanted the most. Then she chose 2 of them and traded her bag of paci's for the toys. The lady in the bakery actually had my daughter go "put" them in the big gray bin for her (the trash can).
She was SO proud of her toys (trinkets really) and that SHE had chosen them and "paid" for them. She only asked about a paci one time after that... I think it was the next day at bedtime. That was it.

Our daughter was also very attached to bedtime lovies besides her paci. She loved (still does and she's 10) stuffed dogs. She slept and dragged around Pluto for EVER. Then it was Bob. Then Blackie. Then MudBud. Then Angel Dog. Then .......
She gets a kick out of having traded for Dora stuff. She play-whines at me... "I gave them away for DORA?!" (she's SO embarrassed, lol)

Maybe you could tell her that the pacis turn sour when little girls turn 3. My parents wouldn't take my paci away (and I was 5 years old). On my 6th birthday, my uncle, who was tired of me running around with paci in my mouth, did just this thing. It must have been vinegar or something like that. I'm not sure exactly. Anyway, I popped my paci in my mouth and it was awful! lol It didn't hurt me or anything, but I never wanted it again. And my uncle had a big laugh at my "sour face". We still laugh about it now.

Just keep telling her and do it. She won't like it on night one, she'll be a little upset on nmight two and by night three, you're done.

When she asks for it, just matter of factly remind her that you had to give them back to the babies. Then change the subject.

Stick to your guns, you'll be fine.

I did a more immediate response. The "baba" fairy was coming THAT night to get the pacifers, she slept with one in her mouth and the other few that were left in her hands (great picture for the scrapbook). The pacifiers were gone in the morning and at the foot of the bed were three wrapped presents, one for each pacifier. They were all things she could play with through the day and appreciate. So when the first nighttime came WITHOUT the pacifiers, there was a tangible reason we were going to bed without them ("remember, you traded them in for these great toys!") so it didn't make it too difficult the first night, She was a little sad, but no major meltdown. It was smooth sailing after that first night.

That's how I would recommend doing it. Give one last night with the binky, and have the "reward" come immediately. She'll definitely have withdrawals if the binkies are gone and there is no reason she can see except some promise of something coming in the mail, what, when, we don't know... that's too abstract.

We went down to just nighttime and then he left it for the paci fairy. He was about 2-2.5 yrs. In turn, the paci fairy left a Pillow Pet (he had been wanting one). I thought it would be a nightmare but really wasn't as bad as I thought. First night he would wake up looking for it and cry but then fall back asleep. I think it only took maybe 3 nights before he was sleeping through the night. He still has his blanket that he loves. Bottom line, I think I was more paranoid than I needed to be. I do agree that you should have something tangible right when you do it though, so they feel the immediate gratification of giving it up.

Our pediatrician believes in cold turkey, no "teasing" as she calls it with the child getting it sometimes and not others. So at 13 months my guy gave up his bottle...and his pacifier the same night because I couldn't find it at bedtime (I never did multiples of them.) He fussed and cried a little that first night, asked for it and fussed a bit the next day, by night 3 he was done with both, she was right, it was easier than "weaning" him off them. In retrospect he did miss the pacifier more, but at 3 your daughter is much older than him and can understand what you've been telling her to prepare her, he had none of that.

My advice is to stick to what you've told her, "mail" them off and have the Pacifier Fairy send her a thank you gift. (Personally I would have the gift for her that night to surprise her with, preferably a new lovie like a Pillow Pet to take the place of her paci.) If she complains remind her that the pacis were sent off, she's a big girl now, etc. As long as you don't cave and are positive, loving and encouraging she should be fine and this shouldn't be traumatizing, even though she is very attached...just remember, there will be even bigger events in her life to survive : )

No matter what you name the little gift the hospital gives you when your baby is born, it begins right away. How do I make sure that my little one does not become dependant on this paci/binkie/pluggy?

At first, you think you'll only use it during naps; then only until the age of 1; and finally you decided that you will definitely will throw it away by the time your child is 2.

The truth is that every mom goes through this at some point. You are not alone.I know when I started thinking of throwing away the pacifier, I wondered, "How is my little one going to soothe herself to sleep?" Well, every time I wanted to throw it away I made another excuse. Then one day I noticed she bit the top of the pacifier. Did I mention we had three? So at first I thought well, if she does it again, I'll throw it away. And she did. So my decision was easy. I tossed the remaining two in the trash, too -- I did not want her choking on the top of the pacifier.

The first time she had to sleep she asked for her binkie (that is what we called it). The following day she again asked for her binkie, and I explained she is a big girl now. Well, after only a few days, she fell asleep on her own and doesn’t even ask for the binkie.

Only a mom knows her child -- each child is different, and each circumstance is different. In my situation, "cold turkey" worked best. Do what works for you, but remember: children are amazing and will surprise you!

P.S. great link on babycenter -http://www.babycenter.com/0_ten-ways-to-help-your-child-g...

I love your idea of "sending" them to babies who need them and getting a thank you back. I heard of mom's tying all the binkies to a helium balloon to let them go to binkie heaven, but yours is more believable.
My kids both sucked their thumbs and you cannot take those away. Both still started their night with their thumbs until about age 7. The dentist got them to stop by showing them the device he would put in their palate between the molars if they did not stop (sort of like a S-shaped wire from the top rear molar bowed up into the palate to the other rear molar which prevents the thumbs from creating suction). We used the bitter polish that is used for stopping nail biting. I once got some on my thumb and hours later licked my thumb and it tasted AWEFULL.
I like the idea of putting it into a build-a-bear soft toy as well so she can have it but not suck it. Stay strong mom, it is much easier now than later.

We first switched to nap and night time only, which sounds like where you are already.

I have twins and one was chewing through them regularly. So for him, I cut the tips off and let him have one that way if he wanted. He just looked at me funny and gave it back. Occasionally, he tried to steal his brother's, but surprisingly he didn't seem that bothered that he didn't have one and his brother still did (for sleeping).

Then the other one started to chew through them. So I just went cold turkey with him. When he looked around for the pacifier in his bed, I just said it was "broken". For the next couple of days, he'd look around in the bed and say "It's broken." I also tossed in a couple stuffed animals, hoping he'd use that to attach to instead. It went surprisingly easy. A week later, we had some rough time and we wondered if it was a delayed response, but we just pushed through.

My suggestion, if you really want to stop, is once you take them away, really get rid of them. All of them. Otherwise, you might be inclined to give-in if she is asking for one...especially if it's in the middle of the night.

If she does have a hard time, ask her to pick out a stuffed animal or other (safe) lovey to take to bed with her instead.

Oh, another suggestion would be to take one pacifier and take her to a build-a-bear type place and let her put the pacifier in there. I know some parents have done that. So she gets to keep it, but can't use it in her mouth and has a new comfort item to take the place of the pacifier.

Good luck!

Cold turkey worked best for our son. He didn't even fight us (he was 2 yrs, 2mos). I just pushed his blankie back to him, and he was fine with using that.
My DD, on the other hand, is 19mos, and she's going to be a challenge. We've been hiding it from her during the day. Out of sight, out of mind. We'll eventually go cold turkey, but I konw she's going to battle us...

Let me know how it goes cause i am about to approach this same issue with my 2.5 year old daughter and like yours she is less than thrilled with the idea of giving the paci's to a new baby who needs them.

The pediatrician suggested that I cut a small nick in the paci each night. Eventually, my son would not get the same satisfaction from sucking that he used to, and he will give it up on his own. That actually worked with no problems!

How about a cupcake party?