STMs: Paci Weaning

[Deleted]

Any words of wisdom?

We only do paci at nap time and bedtime. But it's time for that to stop with the arrival of teeth. I'm thinking of just going cold turkey starting tomorrow with naps. Any input much appreciated

[ns1]

Thank you for posting this! I was just going to.

With DD we stopped around 5 months cold turkey because I read at 6 months or so they really get emotionally attached. So, I wanted to do it by the book. There was a little crying and such, but it went over pretty well. The girl still sucks her thumb like crazy though.

With DS, I'm all about convenience with 2 kids and working full-time, so if I can stick a paci in him and make him happy, I'll do it! I haven't worried about it until DH tells me the teacher at daycare asked when we were going to do away with the paci because he was crying when other kids took it away and getting really attached to it. Now I'm paranoid. I just figured I'd take it away between 1 and 2 and it'd be fine, but now I'm questioning myself. And now DH is questioning me. I told him he's still a baby, but he said that was a bad reason to still give him a paci...? I thought it was pretty good reasoning.

[rainbowsockmonkey]

No experience here since DD never really took to the paci, but I would recommend quitting the over nights when you have nothing to do the next day since you might be getting much sleep that night.

[kendy20]

This is what my sister did with my nephew who is almost two, she would push the nipple of the paci in and tell him it was broken. He was smart enough to pop it back out laugh at her and walk off. Well she kept at it and one time she told him "it's broken, you better throw it away" and he walked to the trash can and threw it away! It was their only one and he cried the first night but he's been doing well without it. Not sure if that helps but she tricked him that way ;-). Kinda made it his choice and didn't make it a big deal for him. Maybe that's why it was easier for him to not have to have it.

[Deleted]

DS doesn't like to suck his thumb so I see this as good and bad. I did try to wean him around 6 mos without much pushback but then when the categories leap started he got really screamy again and the paci seemed to ease that. I am trying to put him down with music glow worm at naps so he has another distraction but I dunno if that's just gonna be another bad habit.

[SpinsOffResonance]

Just wanted to say good luck. I have no advice, the 2yo is still totally addicted to her paci. At least DD2 never took one.

[babybarlow2014]

Jakob has been our only pacifier user.
He's totally attached. I'm scared he's going to be sucking on that thing forever.

[buster]

We haven't successfully weaned DD from hers yet. That's probably flame worthy since she will be 3 in a few weeks. She gets it for naps and bedtime but wants it more often. I also had a hard time giving mine up as a toddler. :/

[typeset]

Go cold turkey.

[ksyknelvr73]

We did cold turkey with DS1 when he turned 2...he only ever used it for sleeping. I just threw them away and told him they had to leave because he was a big boy now and pacis are for babies. It was a little rough for about 2 days but he got over it quickly. Maybe I am weird but it seems early to be weaning right this moment? DS2 won't take one so one less thing to worry about.

[jerssey]

Jan 25, 2015 17:16:19 GMT -5 typeset said:

Go cold turkey.

This...
DS actually stopped cold turkey himself when he had a cold just after Christmas. He couldn't breathe and suck on it at the same time, then
never wanted it since.
GL, hope it is an easy transition

[aimeefarrahfowler]

No help... DS1 got sick around 15 months with mouth sores and it hurt to take the paci and he didn't want it so we threw them all out and that was that. Up to that point pacis were only for sleeping and lived in the crib.

DS2 is a thumb sucker and I have no idea how to stop that (not that I plan on trying anytime soon)

[kat8805]

We'll probably be a while yet, but with DD1, they kept getting lost, or too torn up to use, and we stopped replacing them. By the time we were down to the last one, she wasn't all that sad to see it go. That was when she was about 1.5.

[lulu]

I'd say cold turkey - DS loved his and used it all day long and all through the night. He was just a sooky kind of guy I suppose. Then we moved house and without even realising or meaning to, we seemed to forget to give it to him. I don't ever remember a decision being made about stopping - it just happened by mistake. DS is obviously very easily fooled because I think he forgot about even wanting one.

DD was a completely different kettle of fish. She never had one and didn't seem to care. Then she got chicken pox in her mouth and put her thumb in to scratch and very quickly got addicted to the comfort of sucking her thumb. Fine....until she wouldn't literally take it out. By the start of school she would suck it all day long - she was a bridesmaid once (all pictures were terrible as her thumb was rammed in her mouth). Her teeth are all pushed forward because of the constant sucking so now she'll need a brace. We tried everything to get her to stop - bribery, horrid tasting potions painted on the thumb, painting her nails pretty, shouting ha ha! Nothing worked. Then when she was seven and still sucking, she got......worms. (Yep, everything happens to this poor kid!) She was absolutely horrified (as were we all ha ha!!) and terrified of getting them again (the teeny wee eggs live under fingernails) and without us even saying anything to her, she made the connection and I have never seen her suck her thumb since.

Not that getting worms is to be recommended to anyone as a solution ha ha!!!

[mamarazziof3]

Definitely go cold turkey! You will have a couple of rough days probably, but then it will be older. We did that with DS1 and I think bedtime was rough for one or two nights, and nap was tough for three or four days, but then it was over and we never looked back!

[Deleted]

So far he's been rocking and rolling in his crib for about.. 35 min, fussing/crying for maybe the past 20 min. This is fun..

[mary97]

If she's still using it by 1, we'll start trying to break the habit because there are no paci's in the Toddler Room at her daycare and I'd rather her broken of it before than. She was only using it for meltdowns but now she's using them for teething, she chews on them more than sucks on them.

I think I'm going to have more of a problem breaking DH of the habit of shoving the paci in her mouth all the time than I will breaking her of the use. He'll give her it even if she's not fussing or looking for it. Need to talk to him about it again.

[Deleted]

Took a full hour of fussing/crying but I guess he's "asleep" now.. still making noises but looks asleep. Hopefully he can get at least 30 min in so he's not insane today.

I actually went in at one point and he wouldn't calm down, wouldn't let me rock him etc, so I tried to give him his paci and just restart again at next nap but he refused it? So I just took it and left again.. probably messed that one up a bit.

[luckynumbers]

I'm not where you're at yet, since DD has only been using her pacifier for naps and sleeping (and even then, it's becoming less of an occurrence), but apparently my sister had a hard time giving hers up. I don't know how old she was, but my Mom said they "tricked" her into weaning by telling her the pacifier got lost. She was upset for a day or two, and then she was done. I think our LO's are still a bit too small to understand that concept, but I also don't think it's a huge deal if he keeps taking one now.

Of course, I am also a FTM, so take all of that advice with a grain of salt.

[Deleted]

We only use paci for naps and night time but since now every time you lay him down to sleep he opens his mouth for a paci, I've decided that this is only going to get worse + with teeth coming in, I don't want to really deal with it.

DS actually naps well and sleeps well throughout the night but we do still have to get up at least once to give him a pacifier at some point in the night. When I had weaned him for a few days back in december, the night wakings stopped. I want that again..

[miles]

I just bought some new pacifiers yesterday. So....yeah. So not ready to wean. You create that emotional attachment, baby. #enabler

[Deleted]

Nap 2: fell asleep in 5 min with no paci, no fuss!!!

[Deleted]

round 2 @ bedtime sucked. fussed/cried for about 30 then went to sleep. hoping this lasts ttn.

[babybarlow2014]

Jan 26, 2015 11:12:02 GMT -5 miles said:

I just bought some new pacifiers yesterday. So....yeah. So not ready to wean. You create that emotional attachment, baby. #enabler

We just bought new.
The nurse practioner commented on how attached he is yesterday at his appointment. And?

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2015 7:32:42 GMT -5 babybarlow2014 said:

Jan 26, 2015 11:12:02 GMT -5 miles said:

I just bought some new pacifiers yesterday. So....yeah. So not ready to wean. You create that emotional attachment, baby. #enabler

We just bought new.
The nurse practioner commented on how attached he is yesterday at his appointment. And?

That is so irritating. File that under moments when people need to mind their own business. 

**

DS did pretty good last night. I only heard him cry out once but he was just shifting over to another spot in his crib and went back to sleep on his own. Cranky this morning, but went down for his nap with no protests! 

Edit: That was a short nap  

[zolten]

DD got new ones at Christmas. 12 new ones to be exact. We haven't lost any yet but I figure as these get lost/destroyed we won't replace. But who knows. My DD has had teeth for 4 months. She likes chewing on pacis for teething and only uses them properly for naps and bedtime. Im not worried yet.

[miles]

Toddler thought I was a human pacifier.

This is much better.

[Deleted]

This was actually a total success. He can still be a little screamy at bedtime or a random nap, but he goes to sleep with no paci and has been STTN no problem from like 6/630-645. DH actually commented on how easy it's been and that he'd definitely do it again this way with another kid.

[becole]

Did he sttn with the paci before? Or wake and cry looking for it?

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2015 17:11:52 GMT -5 becole said:

Did he sttn with the paci before? Or wake and cry looking for it?

He would wake up usually 1-3x a night looking for it after it fell out of the crib. It was an all-out scream fest when that happened. Occasionally he would go the whole night without losing it, but that wasn't very often.