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Pacifier Weaning - Advice Please

cherryberry

cherryberry

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My son is 2.5 years old. He is very attached to his "binky". He only uses it for sleeping. He will not sleep without it. I've tried negotiating giving them up for toys, etc. He will have none of it. I tried taking it away cold turkey once, but he went into full blown tantrum mode and did not let up until I gave it back to him so he could go to sleep.

What did you do to wean your child? I've read about giving them away, switching brands, cutting the top ...

Do any of these really work or do I just have to let him have a few rough nights?
 
With both my kids, we told them about a month in advance that their binkies were going away. We timed it to be at the same time as their 2nd birthday. With my oldest, we were moving him to a "big boy" bed, so we told him he couldn't have it when sleeping in his new bed. He cried for about 15 minutes the first night, then never cried again. My youngest's birthday is 3 days before Christmas, so Santa brought him a new Spiderman doll and took the binkies with him. He never cried.ood

We hid the binkies in a top dresser drawer for about 3 months, then threw them out.

Good luck, Tiki!
 
my daughter didn't use a paci, but she did sleep with a bottle of water until she was a little over 3 (!) ... i took it away when we were going on vacation - so she'd have new surroundings and also be really tired .. she had a few rough nights, but then it was OK ... i also gave her 'treats' each morning to say "yay! no bottle!"
 
I waited till my son was 3 to even try to take the binkie away. We did the cut the top route and it worked really well. He had two pacifiers and we did one at a time. He was old enough to understand that it was broken and that it belonged in the trash and he never cried for it. I plan on doing the same thing with my 2 year old also when he turns 3.
 
We also cut off the top when Addy turned 2. We did them all at once though (I KNOW I am MEAN but for us it was the only way) Then I told her they were broken, and she looked at me Binky Boo Boo? I let her hold onto the broken binkies for a couple days until she was ready to throw them away. It is kinda a harsh transition... but she was ready.. she never shed a tear.
I think it I just tried to take them away she would have known I had them hidden somewhere and asked for them but this way they can hold it... its not usable but they can see the evidence! LOL Good luck sweetie!~!!!
 
I have never had to deal with weaning from a pacifier, although I think that is easier then what I have to wean my kids from...their fingers! My olderst DD was a thumb sucker - stopped around 4 yrs old, the middle daughter sucks first two fingers (actually she is down to 1 finger now - hahaha), she is 4 right now and still does it, and my youngest is a thumb sucker - 2 1/2. I've never tried real hard to get them to stop, it just seems like they do on their own, but I can't really cut their fingers off, KWIM?! The dentist has at least said that he sees no signs of damage in the mouths at this point, so I guess that's a good thing!

Good luck with the weaning!
 
DS used one until right after he turned 2...he loved his but when I decided it was enough I just took it away cold turkey...I'm a mean mama like that lol...we had one night and one rough nap time when he cried for it for about an hour or so..but after that it was like he never had it..he never asked for it again.

DD is 18 mos and will get hers until she's 2 and then I plan on doing the same thing for her...but I'm one of those people that it doesn't bother me to let them CIO.
 
neither of my kiddos used a paci but DD sucked her thumb and she gave that up on her own. i'll tell you what my parents did with me though....

driving down the road one day, i asked for my binkie. in the process of handing it to me, my mom acted like it flew out the window. she said "oh no, your binkie went bye bye." mom said i looked sad, then perplexed and then finally i just shrugged my shoulders and never asked for it again.

here's hoping you have an easier route than you've had.
 
A friend tied theirs to some helium balloons and they had a goodbye party for the paci's and waved goodbye to them as they floated away.

I was just mean and made my kids watch me put them in the trash so they knew they were gone. And I HAD to throw them away because I knew I'd cave if they were still around. Your kids aren't going to cry forever. It's a few rough days but then it's over. 3 of my four used them and I weaned two of them right around 2 and other one at 2.5.
 
:compcoffee that is too funny Leslie. I could see my parents doing something like that. Crying babies don't bother them one bit they can't understand why I don't just chuck it in the garbage and then put my headphones on for a couple hours.


1girl1boy said:
neither of my kiddos used a paci but DD sucked her thumb and she gave that up on her own. i'll tell you what my parents did with me though....

driving down the road one day, i asked for my binkie. in the process of handing it to me, my mom acted like it flew out the window. she said "oh no, your binkie went bye bye." mom said i looked sad, then perplexed and then finally i just shrugged my shoulders and never asked for it again.

here's hoping you have an easier route than you've had.
Click to expand...
 
Helium balloons - that's kind of cool.

I thought about throwing them in the garbage with him watching but then I could see myself digging through the garbage and sterilizing them at 3am. :dizzy
 
haha with my brother I remember my pop dipping them in pickle juice so they tasted gross and he wouldn't want them. I honestly can't remember what i did with my other two I always take them away at 12 months. But Tyson is turning 1 tomorrow and he loooooves his, I am so not taking it away, he can be a baby for longer LOL
 
Rhys never had a dummy he sucked his thumb and still does now 9 years later but only ever does it when he is dropping off to sleep so not a problem as my niece does it constantly and she is now 15
With fin at about 10 months he latched on to a teddy so i tried taking it away while he was distracted by the teddy and it worked and still takes a teddy to bed with him to this day
 
we had to break 2 kids of pacifiers. both times we just endured a few rough nights. i used a really simple (in concept) technique that our family doctor suggested. it worked like a charm for one kid... the other kid had me on my hands and knees in the van at 4:00 am searching for anything that even remotely resembled a pacifier!! :gigle but, it's worth a try....here is the gist...

explain to them that it's time to sleep w/ no pacifier.
lay them down... expect crying.
after 1 minute, go to the door of their room... DO NOT TOUCH THEM AT ALL.... and verbally reassure them that it's okay. walk away.
double the time... so next, 2 minutes later, do the same. Then 4 minutes. Then 8. Then 16... etc.
Eventually, they really do fall asleep (with my daughter, however, it was a matter of how long before she woke up because she was trying to suck but nothing was in her mouth).

For our son, the first night he was asleep after about 2 1/2 hrs. night #2, about an hour and a half. #3, about 30 minutes. That was it.
Our daughter, same technique (although I totally bailed on the DON'T TOUCH part after about 4 hours of screaming). The first night, she cried on and off ALL NIGHT. But the second night it was only about 2 hours. Then it was no big deal on night 3.

It's semi-painful on the ear drums, but works. ???

Good luck!
 
I honestly can't remember what I did with my girls...but my boys were very easy. Both of them were told for a couple of weeks that it's nearly time for no dummies, then with DS1 it was Christmas time so he was told he had to throw his dummies in the bin to get presents from Santa...he did that happily. DS2 was coming up for his 2nd bday so I just kept telling him and every few days we would throw out a 'yucky' one (they were all pretty old by then!). 2 days before his bday I told him his last dummy was dirty and he was a big boy now. He threw it in the bin and never cried once. I truly believe at that age, a little warning and reasoning will work (for some things!)
 
:( I'm sorry, Tiki! My 2.5 year old doesn't use a binky, but he is still REALLY attached to his bottle and refuses to drink his milk out of anything except the bottle. He still gets one at night, and will NOT go to sleep unless he has it. I'm such a pushover though, and I kind of figure that if he still needs that reassurance, that that's okay and he'll wean on his own at some point. I mean, the chances are slim that they'll be taking the bottle/binky to college, right? It's so hard, and it's not that I'm against CIO in theory, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Dillon is perfectly happy knowing that he can't have a bottle unless it's time to go to sleep (nap or bedtime), and he doesn't even care if the baby has a bottle. It seems like your little guy is in the same boat (only wanting it at bedtime), so maybe he'll just dump it on his own sometime? What if you take it away once he's already asleep, will he wake up crying for it? :( It's so hard on us mommies!
 
I didn't read through all of these so sorry if this is a repeat, but with our kids we've cut off the very end of the paci. They were confused and came up with "It's broken!" on their own and threw them away themselves. No tantrums. No problems. Worked fabulously :)
 
Only my daughter has been a binky baby. We did cold turkey at 13 months old because she was waking up at all hours of the night wanting us to find it for her. We let her cry it out one night...naptime was a bit better, then that night she slept through the night for the first time EVER! So for us it worked perfectly!
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Heather, I'm with you. He only uses it in the crib and he has been such a good sleeper since he was a baby, I feel so bad taking it away and making him cry. He doesn't wake up at night and ask for it except on the odd occasion. It just seems like such a simple thing for a little comfort in the crib. It's the dentist that wants it gone - I guess his front teeth are starting to buck out a bit. You know, I needed braces and my kids probably will too so I'm thinking is it really that big a deal? :pffft

Ok - I'm just making excuses aren't I? I hate messing with their sleep, even if for a couple days. I'm a wuss.

My oldest was a terrible sleeper from the get go and I threw that darn pacifier away at around 6 months of age because he'd cry every time the darn thing fell out of his mouth.
 
pretty sure teeth are more hereditary than due to dummies. If you had braces then he will probably will with or without it.
 
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