6 Month Old with Pacifier Addition...HELP

Updated on March 08, 2011
N.P. asks from Richardson, TX
10 answers

My sweet 6 month old can not fall asleep without a pacifier and she needs to have it put back in her mouth several times a night because she can't fall back asleep with she wakes...like 5 to 8 times. I'm not sleeping, she's not sleeping well...we are hitting a wall. I don't know what to do. I want to break her of the paci, but I'm unsure how to do so. And is it too early to break her of it? Any suggestions? Any mom's out there that have ditched the paci with a kiddo around her age with success? I'd prefer not to do CIO, but I'm to the point where I'm willing to try anything.

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So What Happened?

Hello! We decided to move forward with sleep training and take the pacifier away. We have only been paci free for 5 nights, but there is already SUCH a difference. The first night was super rough. She cried for an hour and a half (but off and on the last 45 minutes or so), but I sat by her crib an calmed her down when she needed it. After that she slept for 5 hours straight. Second, night she didn't cry, just fussed, and fell asleep within 20 minutes or so. She is just waking up once or twice a night and she does use a lovey. She is a different girl without it. I really think she doesn't even miss it. She is still learning how to soothe herself to sleep but I don't think it will be much longer. I recommend this for any baby after 5 months or so. If anyone has any questions just send me a message and I'll be willing to share anything I can.

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M.S.

answers from Dallas on

AHHHH Been there with my middle son. At about 8 months we was finally able to roll around till he found it. He loves this one teddy bear and I would stick an extra paci in the armpit of it and at 2am when his fell out he would grab Bear and know there was another in there. I personally wouldn't take it from her yet but you are right, she is not learning good sleeping patterns and eventually might start waking up out of habit more than losing her paci. We just trucked through it and I never picked my son up or fed him, I just put the paci back in and fumbled back to bed. I did a few times leave 3 or 4 in his bed and that helped that there was one always in reach. ;) Good luck! Oh and it was a little hard when we did wean him off it but it was his main comfort item. At 18 months he was ONLY allowed his paci in bed and at 2 yrs I let HIM throw them away so he remembered they were all gone and that was a rough week but he bonded with a blanket which at 6 yrs he still loves.

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A.D.

answers from Norfolk on

6 months is the perfect time to wean her off the pacifier cold turkey. Their sucking needs are disappearing at this point (mostly it's just a habitual comfort thing) and this is a perfect time to get her to use other sleep associations that don't require something in her mouth. If you wait much longer it only gets harder and harder to break the pacifier habit.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

If I remember correctly, 6 mos is "the" age where it either goes away or becomes a much larger issue.
It is O. thing I did by the book. Cold turkey.
Can you find another lovey item to sub?
It's gonna be a rough few days (nights).

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V.T.

answers from Dallas on

In my opinion, there is no way to break a baby this young unless you CIO. We slowly weaned my oldest off of his- by 2 he only got it at naptime or bedtime; if he was extremely upset and needed comforting, he had to go to his room with it. By the time he turned 3 we had gotten away from it completely, and he was old enough to understand. My son had this problem too at that age and we just threw 3 or 4 pacis in the bed with him so during the night he could find one and go back to sleep.

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

At that age, I would just put a handful of them in the crib and let them forrage around for it. My son was a paci junkie! LOL. I would leave him in there to fuss and cry, and eventually, he'd find one and pop it back in himself.

If you do CIO, you can probably eliminate the habit entirely right now. My daughter (7mos) had started down the bink path - becuase I kept giving it to her. Then we did CIO at 22 weeks, and now she doens't need it at all. It's more of something that she chews on. But she doesn't need it at night.

So I would say, now's a great time to get rid of it, if you can deal with the crying for a night or two. My son kept his until 2.5, and we had to go cold turkey. It's a lot harder at that age then it will be now, speaking from experience. But you have to decide what's right for you.

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M.K.

answers from Dallas on

I remember this stage - we just put several pacis in the crib with her so she could find one. She's always used pacis to help her sleep or if she's sick she can keep it during the day. She's 2yrs old now and still uses the paci at night and at nap time. I know a lot of folks feel like it should be taken away early, but I just don't see the harm. When she's ready, our plan is to take a paci to Build-A-Bear and put it in a bear she makes (got that idea from someone on this website). But, none of us are quite ready. :)

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C.B.

answers from Dallas on

I think addiction is the wrong word choice. My child always went to bed with the paci and would wake up crying without it too, but that was only once or twice a night. Then we would put more paci's in the crib and he just helped himself when he was old enough. At 17 months he just decided one day to give up the paci. We offered it to him for a week but he declined. That was three months ago. At 6 months to well past 12 months, you'll find the paci is a miracle cure-all for many situations that require quiet, calm or distraction.

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E.D.

answers from Boston on

Do it. Mine is 16 months and I am dreading taking it away.

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A.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

I think its too early. Its soothing to them (not to mention convenient for you) I didnt realize until recently that there is a strong opposition to the paci.

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