Pacifier

We are dealing with this very same issue with my 2 year old son(27 months exactly.) We have started letting him have it anytime he wants, but, he has to get in his bed to have it. The rule is that the binky and blanky stay in bed, so if he wants them, he must get in his bed. Sometimes he decides it is worth it, other times, not so much. That way, he still has the "power" to control if he needs his binky or not, I just get to decide where he gets it!! It is sort of working for now, he still will cry about it sometimes when I say we have to leave it in the bed...but baby steps right! ~A.~

Let her keep it until she is ready. You are right, a pacifier is better than the thumb. You can always throw a pacifier away but not a thumb. Eventually she will give it up. Give her some more time.

I feel for you we just wen tthrough the pacifier ordeal and was about to give in when his dentist showed me on xrays what it was doing to his jaw line. When we got home I took the pacifier and when he went into his fit for it I told him if it was in his mouth he had to be in bed. He gave it up with a little whinning but not what it was. Then at bed time after a couple of days and no asking for it I told him the reason his teeth hust so bad was because of the pacifier. I bought some teeth tablets. They are small and disolve in their mouth with no flavor at all wonderful little things work much better then gels that taste bad and I gave tylenol for the teething pain but said it was so his mouth would not miss the pacifier so much. 2 tablets and small dose of tylenol I laid down and cuddled him till he fell to sleep. I pointed out how much easier I could give him kisses without it and his teeth felt better and 2 days later no pacifier and does not even ask about it. Now just as you said thumb sucking he grinds his teeth which the dentist said he would slowly quit he is just used to chewing at the pacifier. Hope you can use some of this for the health of her teeth and bones in the long run.

L.

Give her a teething ring instead, they even have the ones that vibrate, she can use it while she teeths. It also helps with biters. She is going to have to replace the pacie with some other way to sooth herself.

My daughter loved the Pa-pa! She's 23 months old. This is what happened with her: I would put it up high and give it to her when she asked for it. We tried to make sure that there weren't any laying around that she could just find and put in. But when she would ask, I gave it to her. She just started to ask for it less and less until one night before bed, she didn't ask for it. I couldn't believe it! She just forgot that night. It was 3 days later that she asked for it and I told her no because it had been too long. That was about 5-6 weeks ago. We had a babysitter come over one day last week and she gave her one, so she has been asking me for it again, but I just say "No, you are big now, you don't need it" and she goes on. It's funny because my mom called today and said she asked her for one. I guess she's just checking to see if anyone else will cave. She got the babysitter to do it, so she just has to try.

A.
www.greenbabydiaperservice.com

My daughter sucked her pacifier till she was a little past 2 years old. It didn't bother me because the pediatrician said that it wouldn't hurt her teeth. Like your doctor, mine said that she would get rid of it in her own time. My now ex-husband didn't agree with letting her continue to suck the pacifier (mainly because of pressure from his mother and sisters); so what I did to wean my daughter from her pacifier is every day I would cut off a small piece of the nipple of her pacifier. You have to do this with every pacifier because once you start cutting them she is going to not like it and she will look everywhere for a pacifer that is not cut. Eventually after so much is cut off it will not be comforting any longer and she will get rid of it herself. Make sure that you cut the pacifier out of your daughter's sight or she will be very mad at you :-). This is the best way to help her make her own choice to get rid of the pacifier. Good luck to you!!!

My suggestion would be to still give it to her at nap and bed time. Keep the normal routine you had before your vacation. For the teething issue, you might want to try homeopathic teething tablets. They melt right onto her gums and numbs it immediately. Good luck!

good luck! my daughter just turned 4 and is still soooo attached to her paci!! she's my youngest (of 3) so of course, gets away with a lot more than her olders brothers ever did! i need advice too!! LOL

I have 3 children and 2 of them was very attached to pacifiers. My oldest did not get off of it until he was almost 3 and the youngest was 3 1/2. Both of them gave them to Santa. The thing is that is their security and I felt like if I took it away that would just make things worse. I tried a few times and it was like they were loosing a part of themselves. So I did the same thing as you and asked the doctor about it and he said the same thing as your doctor. So hang in there Christmas is coming up and see if she will give it to Santa or leave if for him by the cookies and milk. Tell her he needs it for the baby reindeer. Just make it a fun thing! Hope this helps and good luck!

I think that you should let her have the pacifier, useing things she wants that are "big kid" things to do to get the pacifier away from her. Any kiddie rides etc. It will be a struggle if you allow it to be. Use your wisdom to slip it out of her life and to bring her attention to others that don't have pacifiers. I hope you get a advice, and good luck.

My son was a HUGE paci fan. Once I felt he was too old for them I started taking them away. I found out very quickly this did not help as he would find another that he hid. So instead of just taking them away I would have him watch me throw them into the garbage. The first time he tried to take it back out. I told him no and it was nasty, dirty, yucky now. So he left it. Every paci he would get a hold of the same thing would happen. Soon he had no more pacis to get and didnt miss any of them.

I do however like the idea of tying one to the crib for nap/bed time only. Might have to try this as the babies get older.

My daughter lover her pacifier. She was just over two when we did away with it for good. We were on a road trip and she had chucked it up to the front of the car. She was warned not to do it but did it anyway...well, a long story short, we told her it was gone and couldn't find it and that is the only one we had. She was a little restless for a few nights but got used to not having it. She clinged on to her raggy (little pink burp cloth) and a stuffed kitty. She never had or did suck her thumb. For the teething pain I would just rub some baby orajel on. It may be rough for a few days, but you'll get through it :)

If she is throwing fits and not accepting the pacifier as a bedtime/nap time thing, I'd just get rid of it altogether since she is so close to the two year mark.

my husband and I went through the same situation with our now 3 year old daughter when she was 22 months. What I can tell you is that we also had an ear infection with the teeth erupting so the chewing on the pacifier was what kept her and me sane. It only lasted about 10 days and then she was back to normal again, only nap and bed. Little brother arrived at 33 months and she gave her pacifier to him.... I promise it will get better. She is just looking for something to sooth her. As long as she is still talking... no harm no foul.

My first dd always wanted her paci all day when she was teething and then would go back to normal with naps and night time once her teeth were thru and not hurting anymore. It did take some convincing. But I figured if my teeth hurt I would want something to help them feel better too.

If she's teething, you might as well give it to her. Otherwise, she'll just find something else to chew/suck until her teething subsides. Or, you might get teething rings or other such soft toys around and when she asks for her paci, redirect her to one of those. If it's something she has to hold in her mouth, she's less likely to suck on it all day because she'll want both hands free for other things. I think that most kids, if they're going to be thumb-suckers, are going to develop that early on. They're less likely to become thumb-suckers if they are paci users because the sensations, tastes, comfort, etc are very different between the paci and the thumb.

My dd had one until she was 3...a normal age, really. She stopped nursing around 7mos and the pacifier was her other comfort. Kids (toddlers) this age really need some sort of portable comfort that they can use to soothe themselves. Sucking is a normal, natural urge that needs to be "pacified." I understand your fears completely and there were times I thought we'd be sending our dd to college with her pacifier, but, just as your pedi mentioned, she quit cold-turkey when she was ready. At about age 2 1/2, we limited it to naps and bed time (or car only). After she adjusted to that, my hubby had a great idea (that may have come from my MIL, teehee), about the "Binky Fairy." We told her that if she went around the house AND the car and gathered up ALL her binkies and put them on the fireplace that the binky fairy would bring her a surprise. Little did she know that, waiting in the backyard for her (she was 3 at this time) was a trampoline that my husband had set up for this very occasion about 3 days before (it was winter, so easy to hide)and it was just waiting there for the right moment. After she threw her beloved binkies at the fireplace, we told her we should go wait in her room for a few minutes so as not to scare the binky fairy away....she and my husband did so, and i grabbed the binkies and hid them on my way to her room....we waited a couple minutes and then told her it was time to see if the binky fairy had come. She was so excited when she saw that her BELOVED binkies had VANISHED fromt he fireplace (i know....fireplace...real origional, huh?) and so she started looking around the house for her surprise....then we told her that maybe we should look outside! We jumped and bounced into the night! She loved it and NEVER asked for a binky (pacifier) again! Not even to sleep with.

Your dd is using her pacifier as a constant, steady, unchanging comfort at a time in her development where she understands that other things can change (good and bad). Staying with grandparents, going in the car, babysitters (even if only every once in a while), a bad dream, a scary dog on a walk, etc. Your dd isn't old enough for the binky fair, of course, but she will be...

I know this isn't really what you wanted to hear and you can take it or leave (no hurt feelings here! we all have to choose our own style of parenting!) but she may just not be ready to give it up. If it comforts her and it is not hurting anything, why take it from her? Especially when teething?

It's a tough decision, mama, but I think you'll know what to do...just sleep on it for a while....she's 20mos....not 20yrs...you have time to figure it all out!

Best wishes! Keep us posted!

A.

Hi A.!
My 3.5 yr old son had his paci untill he was three!! We weaned him from it to where he only had it at nap and bedtime. Then just bedtime. Then a few weeks after he turned three the "paci-fairy" came and got it(and took them to babies who didn't have any! lol) and left him a toy in its place! A tractor he had been wanting!! I let him be part of the process. He gathered all his paci's and put them in a bag,then we tied them in a tree outside! Then he went to take his nap. When he awoke there was a bag in the tree with the tractor1 He was SOO excited. The first night was a little rough but REALLY, not after that. I think your daughter needs to be a little older to grasp the paci-fairy concept. I would let her keep her paci till she's a little older and can understand a little more why you are getting rid of it. Oh-my dentist said as long as we weaned him from it at age three his teeth would be fine! And they are! Good Luck! I know its hard.
J. G.

Your pedi is right... Just let your little one keep the pacifier. My oldest had a pacifier for a long time and he is perfectly normal and has not yet required therapy!!! I'm kidding but I do think people make to big a deal out of it. He has no speech problems and has great straight teeth. Plus studies show that kids who had bottles or pacifiers taken away to soon were more likely to become smokers (oral fixation kinda thing I guess)!! Good Luck either way

In my experience, kids are either thumbsuckers, or they are not. I'm not an expert by any means, but two of my three kids never even thought about sucking their thumbs, and one sucked hers no matter how hard I tried to exchange it for a pacifier. So, if she hasn't tried to suck her thumb before now, she's probably fine on that. At that age, it's the paci itself that's the comforter, not the sucking. Good luck, and know that someday you'll look back on this stressful time and smile!

Hi A., I have an old remedy for teething. I used it when my girls were little and it was amazing.. Hold her in your lap and cuddle her, at the same time.. put a thimble on your finger and rub their gums. It help ease the pain and also help the teeth to break through the thin lining of skin and makes it less painful..Worked many years ago.. hope this helps..
Good Luck, R.

Have you tried the lotion to put on their gums when they are teething? There are several for babies on the market. Also some teething rings that you can put in the frige help sooth them also. I would't be worried that she starts sucking her thumb, or she would already be doing it. I would think this will pass, it is just something new since you were gone, even though she had a good time, & probably won't last long,she will soon learn it is only for bed time.

My boys had theirs all day till they were almost 3. Then it was bed and nap time till almost 5. Then the tips came off. My one still sleeps with the plastic end he plays with.

I always thought that the pacifier would go away by at least college. However I can not take away their thumbs.

It will get better.

Mom of 10 yr old twins.
Nat

We also give the Paci at night time and nap times and want to get rid of it all together...but when she started cutting her back teeth she wanted it all day.

So now we are back to her having it in the day as well...I try to take it from her when she is drinking her sippy in the morning. Most days she doesnt realize she doesnt need it until nap time.

She will also start sucking on her fingers when she doesnt have it and when I see this I POP that Paci back in. I dont want her to learn to suck on the fingers...I cant get rid of those!!!

I have tried Chewy Tubes that her Occupational Therapist has given us. They are hard rubber tubes that she can chew on. Some days she is interested somedays not.

This is the type of tubing she gave us.
http://www.bizatomic.com/clients/stretchwell/catalog.php?...

But told us of this website for Chewy:
http://www.adaptivechild.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPRO...

We dont deal with tantrums over the paci that often so we are lucky there.

I was suggested by her OT to tie the Paci to her Crib. That she will realize that if she wants her Paci she has to be in her Crib to get it.

I hope this helps.