Pacifier use

[tankee]

M3:

Thanks Green Q for your suggestion.


My gal is exactly like your son. I showed my hubby your post and he says we shall try it!

Actually I am also quite afraid to wean her off cos when she is unwell, she can really fuss. Plus we are travelling to NZ in Dec and if we wean her off, we have one less way to comfort her.

Hmmmm...

the pacificer would be very useful for the plane ride

[GreenQ]

Thanks, sashimi...


Hi M3 and Hairuliza,
This method works for my niece who was 2.5 yo too. Hope it works for your kid as well...

[xinnamag]

My DS only uses the pacifier when he's sleeping. He's 27mths now and I think it's time to wean him off. 3 wks ago I pretend to throw his pacifier into the dustbin and surprising he took it over and really threw it away. I thought it's a good chance to wean him off.


From that day onwards, whenever he asked for his pacifier, I will remind him that he had threw it away. He seemed to accept the fact too. However, his sleeping pattern changed. He did not want to nap even though he was very tired. I had to coax him by singing songs for a long time and most of the time, I failed to do so. Even if he managed to nap, it would be less than an hour and he would wake up and start crying.

Nite time was even worse, he can tahan till 12+am and would cry cos can't get to sleep. And he will wake up very early too. I thought this will be only for a few days till he got adjusted. But it has been 3 wks and is still the same. DH gave him back his pacifier today cos he does not want to affect his physical development due to lack of sleep. And he fell asleep fast.

I really do not wish to give him back cos I know it will be even more difficult to wean him off the next time.

Anyone having similar experience to offer some advise?

[cherrygal]

I think I am opposite from most parents here. We advocate the pacifier liberally. As my mom says, no one here graduates with a pacifier in the mouth. And it’s easier to wean kids off pacifiers than their own thumbs (I have seen badly deformed thumbs). So, let your kids decide when they want to throw it away. Believe me, they won’t bring it to school.


My ds decided he didn’t want the pacifier when he was about 2+. No issues as he spat it out when we tried to push it to him. His teeth are aligned quite alright.

My toddler dd has been using it to sleep since she was born. Her teeth are aligned quite nicely since she doesn’t suck on it the whole day. If she sleeps better with it, we’ll let her have it.

We make sure we buy good pacifiers that are designed for dental development and change them according to the age of the kid. Best brand IMHO is Avent.

Anyway, I know of kids who never took the pacifier but still have crooked teeth. And braces are so common nowadays even those with mildly imperfect teeth go for it.

In fact, many factors affect teeth - genetics, dietary habits, cleaning etc. Not just the use of pacifiers. BTW, pacifiers promote saliva generation - our natural defence against tooth decay.

[shinri]

Not sure whether it’s time to wean my coming-to-1yr DD off her pacifier…

It’s quite helpful sometimes, especially when she gets upset or frighten, help to calm her down quickly & easily.

But then I’m quite tired after every night, as DD would sometimes wake up in middle of night a few times & cry out for her pacifier, after which I have to wake up, find the pacifier & pop it back into her mouth.
This process repeats a few times in the night.
I really hope for DD to sleep smoothly through the night, instead of ‘asking’ for pacifier each time she wakes… sigh…

Anyone have any suggestions??

[cherrygal]

My gal does that too so I get ready a clean pacifier next to me and when she cries, I don’t even look for the old pacifier. Just pop in the new one.

[shinri]

Wahh... if like that then I have to buy many pacifiers.. :shock:

'cause DD cries a few times in the night.. repeated process

[2boysmummy]

I removed my son’s pacifier at 2 when I needed to train him to sleep throughout the night. I think it is best to remove the pacifier earlier if not the baby will depend on it. That’s what happen to mine. He is not able to sleep throughout the night.

[River]

My dd is weaned off the pacifier at 11 months. We had to persevere for a few times and bear with the prolonged cries. Our efforts paid off.

[Pen88n]

xinnamag:

My DS only uses the pacifier when he's sleeping. He's 27mths now and I think it's time to wean him off. 3 wks ago I pretend to throw his pacifier into the dustbin and surprising he took it over and really threw it away. I thought it's a good chance to wean him off.


From that day onwards, whenever he asked for his pacifier, I will remind him that he had threw it away. He seemed to accept the fact too. However, his sleeping pattern changed. He did not want to nap even though he was very tired. I had to coax him by singing songs for a long time and most of the time, I failed to do so. Even if he managed to nap, it would be less than an hour and he would wake up and start crying.

Nite time was even worse, he can tahan till 12+am and would cry cos can't get to sleep. And he will wake up very early too. I thought this will be only for a few days till he got adjusted. But it has been 3 wks and is still the same. DH gave him back his pacifier today cos he does not want to affect his physical development due to lack of sleep. And he fell asleep fast.

I really do not wish to give him back cos I know it will be even more difficult to wean him off the next time.

Anyone having similar experience to offer some advise?

We weaned DS off pacifier at abt 18mths. Told him lizard took it away. He saw the lizard and accepted it. Cannot give him back else more difficut to wean off 2nd time. He actually could sleep thru' the nite till morning without a 2nd feed in middle of night by then, but with the lost of pacifier, we had to give him a bottle of milk at about midnight (he slept at 9pm) then he could sleep peacefully thereafter. Took about a week to get used to it. Another thing we gave him is a little bolster, so even without his pacifier, he still has his bolster to accompany him to sleep.