Quitting pacifier - need advice!

[Anonymous]

I need advice. My daughter is almost 2 years - 22 months to be exact. She recently saw the dentist and they recommended quitting the pacifier soon, as it's starting to impact her top front teeth. The dentist recommended orthodontic pacifiers in the meantime. DD rejected those. She loves her Wubbanubs.

I feel dumb for not taking the pacifiers away earlier, as in the past couple months she has become more attached to it - asks for the paci and becomes upset if she can't have/find it. Previously they were just for bedtime, naps, and long car rides, but now she seeks them out during playtime too.

Now I'm dreading taking them away because it will surely trigger meltdowns. What is the best way to do this? I have heard advice to cut off the pacifier nipple instead of just hiding them. And another friend told me she waited until her DD was 3 years and told her the "pacifier fairy" came to take her pacis and leave a gift. I don't think we should wait an entire year to do this, though, and I doubt she would understand that concept before 3.

I'm pregnant and due in September so I don't know if that should be a factor in all this - if she will need the pacifier to help with the transition. Thanks for your advice on the whole situation!

[Anonymous]

Grow a backbone, OP. Not much time before September, so start NOW. Every. Single. Day.

Pacifier is for the bed. Period. Get used the the meltdowns. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

I suspect she’s over-stressed. You need to look at her environment and daily routines to see what’s causing her all this stress. Lack of consistent and secure parenting can be the culprit. Is her father any help?

[Anonymous]

We cut them. Ours was obsessed with hers and it wasn't worth the meltdowns for us to just take them away, given we were already stressed to the max at the time. So do what works for your family (PP above is rude). It took about a month for her to give them up once we started cutting them. The last week we told her she could turn all the binkies in for a prize (she went to target and picked out a present). You could pair this with being a big sister- Big Sisters dont need pacifiers anymore... once you turn them in you get a super fun big sister present!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grow a backbone, OP. Not much time before September, so start NOW. Every. Single. Day.

Pacifier is for the bed. Period. Get used the the meltdowns. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

I suspect she’s over-stressed. You need to look at her environment and daily routines to see what’s causing her all this stress. Lack of consistent and secure parenting can be the culprit. Is her father any help?

Hi, so are you suggesting continuing the paci for naps/overnight instead of cold turkey? This is what I'm trying to figure out in terms of approach.

She is a super happy, joyful kid and does not show other signs of stress. DH is an amazing, energetic dad to her. She's home with me aside from 2 days per week of daycare (which she loves).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We cut them. Ours was obsessed with hers and it wasn't worth the meltdowns for us to just take them away, given we were already stressed to the max at the time. So do what works for your family (PP above is rude). It took about a month for her to give them up once we started cutting them. The last week we told her she could turn all the binkies in for a prize (she went to target and picked out a present). You could pair this with being a big sister- Big Sisters dont need pacifiers anymore... once you turn them in you get a super fun big sister present!

OP here, this is so cute and made me smile. Also super helpful. Can I ask how old she was when you cut them? Did you cut the whole thing off or do it gradually?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We cut them. Ours was obsessed with hers and it wasn't worth the meltdowns for us to just take them away, given we were already stressed to the max at the time. So do what works for your family (PP above is rude). It took about a month for her to give them up once we started cutting them. The last week we told her she could turn all the binkies in for a prize (she went to target and picked out a present). You could pair this with being a big sister- Big Sisters dont need pacifiers anymore... once you turn them in you get a super fun big sister present!

OP here, this is so cute and made me smile. Also super helpful. Can I ask how old she was when you cut them? Did you cut the whole thing off or do it gradually?

It was a few months after her 2nd bday. We did it gradually, as we tried to take about half off the first time and she threw it lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grow a backbone, OP. Not much time before September, so start NOW. Every. Single. Day.

Pacifier is for the bed. Period. Get used the the meltdowns. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

I suspect she’s over-stressed. You need to look at her environment and daily routines to see what’s causing her all this stress. Lack of consistent and secure parenting can be the culprit. Is her father any help?

Hi, so are you suggesting continuing the paci for naps/overnight instead of cold turkey? This is what I'm trying to figure out in terms of approach.

She is a super happy, joyful kid and does not show other signs of stress. DH is an amazing, energetic dad to her. She's home with me aside from 2 days per week of daycare (which she loves).

I don’t know your daughter, but generally speaking I would limit the pacifier to the bed.

Sucking is a way to unwind and calm down. If she needs it, you have to either reduce that need or give her other options to calm down.

[Anonymous]

Kid 1- quit when he was 22 months and baby sister arrived. Told him he was big now and baby sister needed them. He had no trouble with bedtime but naps were hit or miss for a week.

Kid 2- she had them until around 2. She kept losing them and I told her I wasn’t going to buy any more once the last one got lost or broken (she would chew them or leave them on the floor and the dog would get them). The dog got the last one right before nap and we just had to go for it. Only one hard day.

Kid 3- took away cold turkey at 9 months because he had a lip tie procedure. He was the easiest, no issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid 1- quit when he was 22 months and baby sister arrived. Told him he was big now and baby sister needed them. He had no trouble with bedtime but naps were hit or miss for a week.

Kid 2- she had them until around 2. She kept losing them and I told her I wasn’t going to buy any more once the last one got lost or broken (she would chew them or leave them on the floor and the dog would get them). The dog got the last one right before nap and we just had to go for it. Only one hard day.

Kid 3- took away cold turkey at 9 months because he had a lip tie procedure. He was the easiest, no issues.

OP here, thanks for sharing your kids' specific situations. This is helpful. I suspect we will have a hard time with naps too, but probably do better overnight. DD is a solid sleeper and I hope she can keep that up without the paci!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grow a backbone, OP. Not much time before September, so start NOW. Every. Single. Day.

Pacifier is for the bed. Period. Get used the the meltdowns. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

I suspect she’s over-stressed. You need to look at her environment and daily routines to see what’s causing her all this stress. Lack of consistent and secure parenting can be the culprit. Is her father any help?

Your post isn't any help.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was 26 months and I saw how the pacifier was impacting her teeth. Stopped it cold turkey and told her no more. It was a rough week, but after that week she never looked back. Just rip off the bandaid and think about how much it will save in orthodontics later on (my sister had to have braces on her baby teeth because of the pacifier).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was 26 months and I saw how the pacifier was impacting her teeth. Stopped it cold turkey and told her no more. It was a rough week, but after that week she never looked back. Just rip off the bandaid and think about how much it will save in orthodontics later on (my sister had to have braces on her baby teeth because of the pacifier).

OP here, thanks for sharing your story. I know I need to bite the bullet and pick a day to start. Your poor sister, that’s certainly a cautionary tale.

[Anonymous]

I would just keep using it til 3 and just nod and smile at the dentist.

[Anonymous]

Mine did wunanub until he was 6. He’s 8.5 now and still no braces. We didn’t take it away until K. Don’t worry about it. They all get braces anyway.

[Anonymous]

OP here, these opinions are all over the place!