Need Major Help Weening My Son off the Pacifier!

A. ...

I so understnad what you are going through. I understnad the pain and guilt that as a mom you may be feeling about abolishing the paicifier and the looks that you probably get when people realize that your son still uses a pacifier.

Last year my son was 3 heading to 4 ... ... we had tried a number of things but nothing ... nothing seemed to work. Then my Brownie Troop decided that with their cookie money they wanted to go to Teddy Bear Connections (similar to Build A Bear) ... ... well I had the bright idea to let my son cmoe with us (he loves trips with his girls) and to allow him to stuff a critter. The catch ... all his binkies had to go in there and be sewn up. He chose a black lab ... we stuffed it and put each binkie in (multiple ones because he is my baby and I was not ready to let him grow up) ... ... then we put in its heart ... ... sewed him up ... ... named him and dressed him in a really cool police outfit.

The first few nights were a little rough but he knew he was not getting them back ... he could feel them through the stuffing so he usually went to sleep holding onto one through the stuffing. Each night got a little easier and to this day when he is having a bad day he will get dog dog and cuddle up with him.

Hope that helps and good luck!!!!!

A., I feel your pain!! My oldest was just over 3 1/2 when he stopped using his. It was sooo sad. He was down to his last one and was only allowed to use it for naptime and bedtime so he would put on his pillow when he woke up so that he always knew where it was. So one morning we were all snuggling in bed - my youngest was probably about 3 mos at the time. He had gotten up to go pee and in the mix of trying to hold his shirt up and pants down and not drop his teddy at the same time he started to yawn and out came the "buddy". Trying not to drop his shirt pants or teddy he kind of put up his arm to catch his buddy and it fell in the toilet. Oh my gosh I have never to this day heard him cry the cry that he cried!! So so sad. And it probably took about a week for him to really be able to fall asleep like normal. The one good thing was that my kids used different kinds of buddy's so he knew that his was his and his brother's was his brother's so he didn't try to take his brother's away from him. (Sadly within about 2 months he stopped napping too!) Good luck!!

Half the battle is for YOU to be totally ready to give up the pacifier. I learned from personal experience with my own children (who were also very addicited to their beloved pacifiers) that we, as parents, also get dependent upon using them as a quick fix to soothe our children. Let's face it, it's much easier to cave in and give them the paci than it is to deal with crying/crankiness. When I first started weening my oldest, I realized just how much effort I had to do to calm him down/ distract him.
My advice to you is to pick a date to get rid of all the pacifiers and stick to it. If at all possible, get him to throw it out himself. My son bit a hole in the one last paci we had. I told him that since it was now broke, it would need to be thrown away. After a couple of hours, he walked over and threw it in the trash can. That was at 19 months. He did ask for it from time to time after that, but I just reminded him that it was broke and HE threw it away. Much to my surprise, he was okay with it and just went about his usual routine. I think it also helps to have a stuffed animal/lovey/blanket that he can use for comfort to replace the paci. My son had (and still has) a stuffed animal that he sleeps with.

I'm sure you'll get some creative ideas of how others got their child to get rid of the paci, but whatever method you decide to use, you must be willing to tough it out after the pacis are gone. Make a vow not to buy any more! Hope this helps! Good luck and remember that it's only a phase. This too shall pass!

I did the whole poke a hole in the binki too for my son just before he turned two. He was in love with his binkis! So after I poked the holes in all of the binkis and told him they were broken, he was so about it that he started to suck on the other side, he had the "binkis" (the round plastic ones), and then still wanted to take it to bed with him for about 2-3 weeks after that, but it was the only way I could find to get rid of it! You just must enforce it, put holes (small holes that are not visible to the child) in ALL of the pacis, let the child try each one and if they still want to carry it to bed, it's fine, it takes time to let go of things even as adults, but it will go away as they lose the feeling they used to get from sucking on it! Good luck!

I just did this 1 month ago! My middle daughter who is 2 3/4 LOVES binkies as she calls them. She not only had to have 1 in the mouth and 1 in each hand, but any extras that she could sleep with was great. Sometimes she went to bed w/ a dozen binkies. Binkies were a must at bed time and a must in the car and anytime she could have them inbetween was great too! I decided a month ago that I was over the binkie thing and it was only going to get worse if I didn't stop it. So the "Binkie Fairy" came one day and took all the binkies away! We told her that there are new babies being born and the Binkie Fairy came and took her binkies because the new babies needed them. The first day was rough, but she and I got through it. Then day 2-4 she would have a more difficult time at nap time and not at bed time or vice versa. But every day it was easier and the WHOLE process was SOOOOOO much easies than I ever thought it would be. Trust me you will be surprise. Trust me, you get through the first day and it gets easier. My girlfriend, who went through the same thing, told me it really is easier than you think and it is. But there is no weining...you just have to do it and stick to your guns!!

I didn't read the other requests..and I haven't taken my daughter off the pacifier yet..but I do have a couple ideas I have heard and seen along the way.
1. Just stop cold turkey..stop buying pacifiers...eventually they all disappear and though they might have trouble the first night or two getting to sleep (if they use it at night) they will learn to cope without it.
2. I watch Supper Nanny. She tells the kids to collect all the pacifiers and put it in an envelope (they can decorate it) and address it to the "Pacifer Fairy". What the Pacifier Fairy does is come gets the pacifiers for other children being born...and leaves a special present for the child. (kind of like the tooth fairy). The important part is for the child themselves to put the pacifiers in the evenlope themselves and seal it...and with getting a gift at the end..(can be a stuffed animal, action figure...things like that) they don't feel like they are short something. They are actually getting something out of giving up the pacifier.

Hope that helps. Good Luck =)

Hey A.. We were having the same problem with our oldest daughter (2 & 1/2 at the time) getting rid of her pacifiers too. When we had our 2nd daughter in Nov. we had the big sister bring the baby some pacifiers (they were new but looked like hers) and told her the baby needed them now and since she was a big girl she didnt need them anymore. By the 2nd night we had our 2nd daughter home from the hospital we told her that her baby sister needed them and she gave it up pretty easy. Now she asked for it for a couple weeks after but we just kept on reminding her the baby needed them and that she was a big girl. Since your son sleeps with one in his hand have you tried letting him pick out a special stuffed animal to sleep with instead of the pacifier. Good luck. The first few nights without it are hard but it gets easier!

I tried 2 different things. I was only giving the binki when my son went to sleep. The other was cold turkey. When I did cold turkey, I distracted my child by taking him to his grandma house. It took a couple days of crying on and off, but he got over it. When I talked to the doctor about getting rid of the binki, she said to make sure the child had something to replace the binki (example: blanket, stuffed animal) She also said to let the child pick out the blanket/toy also, so that it was special. Also, Make sure you make a big deal out of the new toy/blanket. I perfer cold turky.
This is a hard task for any mother. Good Luck! I hope my advice is is helpful.
T.
The MOM Team, Helping Moms Stay Home.
www.cheerforyourfuture.com

My son was just under 2 when we got him off his pacifier or "choo-choo" as we call it. He was the same as most kids, had to have one in his mouth and a few to sleep with. One morning I noticed that he bit thru the pacifier and that's when I decided to get rid of them. I was concerned that he would choke on a piece of plastic. I put them in the trash and left him a new blanket that he loves and prepared myself for a few restless nights. To my surprise, he did great. I have to sit with him now for about 10minutes in my rocking chair before he will go down, but I'll take that extra bit of mommy time over worrying about his choo-choo anytime. Good luck and be strong!

My son also slept with a "plug" and kept a backup one in his hand. He did not use one in the day only when he slept at night. Looking back, I did stress about it when he was nearing his 4th birthday and still slept with a pacifier. I had gotten him down to just one after he had bitten a hole in one. We went on a week long beach vacation and he bit through the nipple of his last one. We threw it away and I told him I couldn't buy a new one because the stores at the beach didn't sell them (this was true, they didn't have them in his size). He slept through the next several nights without a pacifier and without any crying or waking up(it helped that he was exhausted from playing at the beach all day) and when we came home, he no longer needed one to fall asleep! A year and a half later, it seems like no big deal to me that he used it for so long. If your son is only using his pacifier at night and it isn't impeding his speech, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. He'll give it up when he's ready. It's more important that he can self-soothe.

Cut just the tip off. My pediatrician told us to do it with our daughter. It looses the suction and they don't want it. Just tell him you don't have any paci money and it is that or nothing. Every day, secretly nip a little more off. 2 days and our daughter was broke, 2 months before her 2nd b-day. You just have to be tough and not give in and go buy another one. Try giving him a special teddy bear or car to bring to bed instead, and always make sure you tell him how much of a big boy he is. The positive encouragement really makes a difference.

Hi A.,

We went through this with our son last year. I tried everything. Nothing worked until he was ready. He only used it for sleep/comfort. He finally bit a hole in the very last one, and told me it was broken. I told him that they didn't make "his kind" of pacifier anymore. He didn't want the broken one, so we were done. He was almost 4 years old!!! I had spoken to the dentist about it, and there really isn't a risk for their teeth as most pacifiers are orthodontic. So, what's the problem? He won't go to college with it - I promise! I wish I had something that could comfort me that way, dont you? Best of luck to you!!

T.