My kids were never really pacifier junkies. We used them when they were little, but Daniel gave his up on his own (much to my chagrin, at the time) when he was five months old. Rebecca continued to use hers, but it was always primarily a sleep thing. Not much use during the day or out and about, and since she turned a year old, she would throw it onto the crib mattress herself when she was ready to get up. No idea whether it was just a personality/temperament thing on her part, or something I got lucky and managed to not allow to become a huge habit, but anyways, we’re lucky.
She kept it for naps and bedtime all along, which doesn’t bother me. The only exceptions to the “paci in the crib” rule are generally for illness or travel. Hell, the only vaguely recent picture I could find of her and the paci was when she had an ear infection in Florida. I figured we’d ditch it eventually, but I wasn’t in a huge rush.
Except that, when I got her up from nap this afternoon, I noticed it was busted. Frankly, it’s amazing it lasted this long. It’s the same WubbaNub that I got as a shower gift when I was still pregnant. But recently I know she’s been chewing on it more, and then yanking it out of her own mouth. So not a shock that it was almost ripped in half after nearly two years of use.
I figured I might as well seize the opportunity, rather than hunt around the house for another pacifier. Somewhere, I think we have more of the plain green ones, though no WubbaNubs. Nah, let’s just be done with it. I showed her that it was broken, and told her she couldn’t put it in her mouth anymore. I said it had to go into the trash, but she insisted she wanted to carry it (“kee-yow“) and I let her.
She carried it around after nap for maybe 20-30 minutes, and each time I saw her start to put it in her mouth, I reminded her that it was broken and she couldn’t do that anymore. So she kept it tucked under her arm until she agreed to my suggestion that it go in the “tash.”
She did it herself, big girl that she is. She did ask for it a few more times, and at bedtime when she usually gets it while she sits in the chair for stories. But we reminded her that it was broken, and she remembered. (“Bo-ken. Tash.“) Daniel chimed in with a few additional reminders. (“Becca paci bo-ken!“) I left for a mom’s night out while they were still mid-stories, but M says she went down without a fuss and the monitor is possibly even quieter than usual.
Fingers crossed for a smooth night. Another baby milestone gone. Bye bye, pacis. You were good friends, but your time is now passed.
what a cute story… thanks for posting!
its funny, these things that seem so far away for me…reading this, I know they really aren’t. For better or worse!
Yay!!!!!
Such a sweet story! Hope that you are having sleep-filled, paci-free nights!
Would you mind coming here and convincing Kole to give up Dog dog then come back after our new baby comes to reinforce that dog dogs are babies only. We have the red dog and the brown dog wubbanub that we try very hard to limit to bedtime only.
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That’s amazing. I don’t think the pacifiers in our house are going to go down quite so easily. Bree is my big addict and she demands it as soon as teeth are brushed and stories begin. It is only used for sleeping purposes and I so hate to mess with sleep. Hopefully, our transition will go as smoothly as yours…someday!
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I had my kids throw their own pacifiers in the trash too (while relatives stood around and cheered and clapped) and I think that psychologically makes a big difference in kicking the habit. The kids know it’s really gone. Mine never had sleep problems afterwards and hopefully yours wont either! It’s a big step in growing up.
Our twins never took to a pacifier (no matter how hard we tried) so we never had to get them to stop. Our 18 mos old is a big fan of the pacifier (only for sleeping) but I’m dreading that transition. Congrats on getting it started so easily. I’ll have to remember the trash trick. She loves throwing things away.
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Woo hoo!!! We went through the whole “It’s broken!” thing too…only, I snipped one of ‘em when the other one broke
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This is so unbelievably adorable. I hope the pacifier-less night went smoothly!
Oh, congrats my friend! That is so wonderful and uneventful. We’re still working with Abel on his binky. It’s a non-issue, like R, but it’s about time he gives it up for good. We found one in the car yesterday and HE actually suggested that we throw it in the garbage! But then there are three others in his drawer, so his night-time ritual of getting it before bed was not broken. We keep telling him that baby ben needs them, and I think after we move and get settled, I’ll have him decorate an envelope, put the loot inside, and we’ll ceremonially put them in the mail box. I wish I could do it now, but want to let him have this comfort during a pretty crazy month.
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WOW, LIZ, WAY TO GO! Or, should I say, way to go, Rebecca, since she gave it up all on her own! That is wonderful. Jack still has it for naptime and bedtime, but I’m so eager to be rid of it. Maybe I should break it. I’m also really impressed with their speaking abilities: Becca paci broken? Wow!
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My twins are 11 months and big pacifier fans, glad to hear this went so well!
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