Pacifers

[junewife]

Is anyone else's LO still using pacifers?  My DS is just obsessed. It's bad because he's really stubborn and insistent. I gave in during my 1st trimester and let him have it whenever just for some peace because I was so sick. Now that I'm feeling better, we're back to where we had been- pretty much only using it in the car and for sleep/in the early morning.

Anyone have any tips for weaning him off of it at this age?  DH wants to just throw it away, but I'm the one who does most of the childcare so I'd be the one to suffer his tantrums.

[sugarkissed]

Following, because we are in the same boat! She won't go to bed without it, and it's a lifesaver for car rides… ugh. Can't she keep it forever?!

[lilqt3929]

I don't any advice personally but I've heard of people cutting the ends of it so they don't get the sucking sensation. I don't know how well that would go over or even if that's a safe thing to do but might be something to look into.

[carli]

Same boat over here! I tried to put her to bed without it last night and it went horrendously. I ended up letting her have it and took it away once she was asleep. At least that way she only had it for about 30 minutes. I'm going to try that for a few days and see if I can convince her she doesn't need it.

It's so frustrating though b/c she doesn't use it at all at daycare. Not even for naps. So why does she turn into a screaming mess when I try to hold out?!

I've also heard of cutting the end off to change the sensation. I may try that on one of them and see if it changes anything.

[fiveohfive]

My DD is obsessed also. Our pediatrician said as long as it is gone for good by 2 it's no big deal, so I'm going to let her keep it a little while longer. I feel like if I try to take it now she will just steal future DD2s pacifiers right out of her mouth

[Unknown]

DD was never a paci fan, but she sucks her left pointer and middle fingers. Not sure how I'm going to discourage that since I can't take those away.

[junewife]

Mar 20, 2015 13:58:46 GMT -5 lilqt3929 said:

I don't any advice personally but I've heard of people cutting the ends of it so they don't get the sucking sensation. I don't know how well that would go over or even if that's a safe thing to do but might be something to look into.

Thanks! I tried this and he threw the BIGGEST FIT when he couldn't get it to work right.  With his wubanub, he got angry one time and bit the tip off so I let him keep it (thinking it would be a sort of natural consequences thing), but he just kept getting angry that it wouldn't work so I threw it out.

[junewife]

Mar 20, 2015 14:32:22 GMT -5 carli said:

Same boat over here! I tried to put her to bed without it last night and it went horrendously. I ended up letting her have it and took it away once she was asleep. At least that way she only had it for about 30 minutes. I'm going to try that for a few days and see if I can convince her she doesn't need it.

It's so frustrating though b/c she doesn't use it at all at daycare. Not even for naps. So why does she turn into a screaming mess when I try to hold out?!

I've also heard of cutting the end off to change the sensation. I may try that on one of them and see if it changes anything.

This is our exact situation. He doesn't use it at all at daycare anymore, and still naps 2 hours per day.  So he's totally playing me and I know it.

I've also noticed when I go check on him in the MOTN he rarely has the paci in his mouth, he's just clutching onto it.  

Ugh.

[mommabakes]

She only uses it for sleeping-naps and bedtime. I honestly have no idea how to break the habit without losing a weeks worth of sleep :/

[happymama]

DD is very attached to her wubbanub still. I only let her have them at bedtime but DH has gotten bad about handing it to her anytime she's grumpy and now I feel like they are startig to push her two front teeth up and forward. I told DH we have to start weaning them and after I threatened him with the furture cost of braces, he agreed ;-)
We have gone back to only bedtime and will then try to stop that too. We will see...

[ajaan113]

Sleeping - naps and bedtime
Car rides. DS hates the car so anything to keep him happy. Sometimes even the pacifier doesn't help.

[jlprybs927]

Mar 20, 2015 14:41:25 GMT -5 fiveohfive said:

My DD is obsessed also. Our pediatrician said as long as it is gone for good by 2 it's no big deal, so I'm going to let her keep it a little while longer. I feel like if I try to take it now she will just steal future DD2s pacifiers right out of her mouth

Same with our pediatrician @fiveohfive!

[nymama917]

DD only uses it in her crib and the car (but we are rarely in the car because we live in NYC). I really think I could take it away but she just started sleeping well so I'm not. We started doing this thing when she wakes up we snuggle her a little then she throws the binky in her bed. Now when she wakes up we say where does binky go and she says bed and tosses it in. Maybe try replacing it with something? Or having him give it to something else that needs it. My mom made me throw mine in the fish pond for baby fish and said I never asked for it again.

[marley629]

DS still relies heavily on his. We try to keep it to bedtimes or nap times but sometimes it's easier to give in and let him have it. My goal is to have it gone by 2...here's hoping.

[jlprybs927]

Mar 21, 2015 14:34:35 GMT -5 marley629 said:

DS still relies heavily on his. We try to keep it to bedtimes or nap times but sometimes it's easier to give in and let him have it. My goal is to have it gone by 2...here's hoping.

marley629 that's our goal, too. I'll be home with dd over the summer so I will be the one to be bad cop since DH crumbles like a cookie and just gives it to her.

[joi922]

Our pediatrician gave us a scolding about him using it in the car at his 12 month visit - said it should just be for naps and bedtime. My husband still wanted to give it to him in the car, but we compromised that we wouldn't give it to him right away. We got him weaned off using it in the car by making sure he had a toy or two, and then only giving him the pacifier if he got really fussy. Around 15 months I just stopped giving it to him. He still sometimes gets fussy, but we just talk to him, play music and give him toys. We actually think he'll be much happier once we forward face and he can see more than sky out the back windshield.

Stopping it at naps and bedtime was a happy accident. We really thought it was going to be a huge battle. He was obsessed with pacifiers when he slept, and giving one to him was part of our routine. About three weeks ago, I was distracted during bedtime and put him down without a pacifier (rest of the routine the same). I got to the kitchen and realized both pacifiers were in there. H and I looked at each other and said "let's see how it goes." He fell asleep without it! We tried the same at nap time the next day - it took him longer to fall asleep, but success! The hardest night was when he was sick and he woke up about four times. He always went back to sleep in about 5 minutes, so I didn't have to give it to him, but I seriously considered it after the 3rd wake up.

So not tips really, we just went cold turkey with both situations. But @fiveohfive I'm now also worried that he'll see DD using one come August and want one for himself again.

[junewife]

Thanks ladies! Glad to know I'm not alone in my struggles.

[littlefoot]

Mar 20, 2015 14:42:49 GMT -5 Unknown said:

DD was never a paci fan, but she sucks her left pointer and middle fingers. Not sure how I'm going to discourage that since I can't take those away.

I'm in this boat. Once I stopped nursing, DD took a liking to her thumb. I would notice every now and then that she'd suck it when I laid her down for bed but it wasn't too often so I wasn't worried. Until one day I noticed that her thumb was pruny and dry and cracked open. She doesn't even do it in the day, just all night and so her thumb is constantly wrinkly. I have to put extra lotion on it daily to keep it from cracking.