So yesterday marked the one-week anniversary of my daughter and I throwing away her pacifiers. This was the second time we had done this. The first time was right after she turned one year old and I just removed the basket where I kept them in her room. She instantly noticed at naptime and the crying began. For three days naps were obsolete and would wake up numerous times at night crying. On the third night, after trying for two hours to let her cry it out and consoling her every 10-15 minutes, I caved and gave it back to her. The next morning she had a new tooth. I'm pretty sure that had a lot to do with it. Nevertheless, I figured she wasn't ready and neither was I.
Today she turns 16 months old and has not cried once since we threw them away last Monday. I'm so proud of her. This time I wanted to do things differently and while the only way to really wean them is to take them away cold turkey, I let her be a part of it.
For months I have had her say "Bye Bye" to her paci's first thing when she woke up in the morning and after her naps. Soon I didn't even have to tell her and she just would walk over, say "Bye Bye BC" (that's what she called them) and put them in her basket. So the morning that I had planned on getting rid of them, I called her into the room next to the trash can and gave her all three and explained that it was time to say "Bye Bye BC's" because she was a big girl now and she didn't need them. I could look in her eyes and see she knew what I was saying. She was extremely hesitant and after a lot of coaxing and explaining, she put them in the trash can and then I gave her a hug and a high-five and she leaned in and said "KISS" Hahaha
And that was the end of that! The only thing that happened was for the next couple days she talked in her crib for at least an hour before falling asleep. But, hey, that's better than crying! She has maybe asked for it four times at random, but I change the subject and move on.
Getting rid of the pacifier was something that I had been dreading since the day I gave it back to her. But I did it and it was fantastic, but it's not like that for everyone obviously. I think if you're wanting to wean your child, try what I did and begin the process early by teaching them to just have it during sleep times and keep it like that for a few weeks or months until you set a date in your mind that you're going to get rid of them and then stick to it. Maybe it helped that I let my daughter be the one to throw them away and personally say bye herself. I really think so.
You wanna know the easiest way to wean a child from the pacifier? Never give them one to begin with!! Hahahaha
Since last monday, I have put a halt on weaning from breastfeeding. I didn't want to tackle both and the pacifier was more important to me. We were down to just the one feeding before bedtime but I've let her nurse before nap and bed now just to give her that fixation that seemed to calm her when she had her pacifier. I'll get back on weaning this week. One step at a time, mamas!!
xoxo,
Rested in Los Angeles
