Weaning Your Baby From The Pacifier
Many babies like sucking on a pacifier. The sucking reflex is a normal part of their development. But, at what point should you take the pacifier away and how do you go about doing that?
Both of my boys were crazy about the pacifier. With my first one, we must have spent hundreds of dollars on pacifiers. We had them all over the place. There were a few in his crib, a couple in the car, and a few stashed in various other spots around the house. We feared leaving the house without a pacifier because he would just scream and scream if he didn’t have one.
My second son had a speech delay so I knew it would be important to get him off the pacifier. If he was continuously sucking on one, there would be fewer opportunities throughout the day for him to try talking. It’s also not good for his teeth. Sucking on a pacifier will cause the front teeth to move forward giving them an overbite.
I started weaning both boys after their first birthdays. At first they could only have one on long rides in the car and at nap and bedtime. I was surprised to see how quick they acclimated to the new plan. It seemed like my husband and I were more stuck on it than they were. Maybe we just found it easier to stick a paci in their mouth when they were fussing.
We needed to let them learn how to soothe and comfort themselves when they’re upset. Instead of giving them the paci during the daytime when they had meltdowns, we just hugged them and comforted them more. Redirecting them seemed to help a lot too. When they were looking for their paci we drew their attention to something else like a toy. Or we tried to initiate a game of hide and seek.
Napping and nighttime were much harder to deal with. After waking up from their naps, we had them put the paci back in the crib. They didn’t seem to put up much of a fight with that. The most difficult was now that they were weaning, how do we completely take it away at night. My first born is strong willed and he gave us the most resistance to taking it away at night. Our pediatrician at the time gave us the best advice on what to do.
He told us to cut the tip off of the pacifier. Because the tip is cut off he won’t be able to get the satisfaction from sucking on it anymore. This doctor was a genius. To this day, I credit him for helping me with a lot of issues, this being top of the list. So we cut the tip off and let my son have it. He made a strange look and then fussed for a few minutes. I had to explain to him that it must be broken. He got angry and threw it and went to bed. I couldn’t believe it.
Over the next few nights he was still asking for one and we kept giving him paci’s with the tip cut off. Again we would explain they were broken. This went on only for a few days. Eventually it was a week and he was sleeping soundly without a pacifier. After that, he never asked for one again. We used this same technique on his brother too.
Weaning your baby or toddler from the pacifier can be stressful. Just know that if you stick to it, you will get them off of the pacifier. Being consistent is the key. You can’t take it away one day and then give it back the next. Be there to offer more support and cuddle time to get them over this hump. Good luck
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