Corey - posted on 11/05/2008 ( 10 moms have responded )
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So, I have a son - Otis - born June 1, 2007. At his 15-month doctor's appointment, our pediatrician suggested we begin the process of removing his pacifier - first from daytime access and then from nighttime access. Stressing about it, I pushed it off for a month, promising I'd deal with it before his 18-month appointment.
I actually considered taking some vacation time from work to start an extended weekend weaning process, because I assumed the worst. I figured he would desperately cry for the paci, would never fall asleep without it, and/or would wake up frequently throughout the night searching for it, crying out when he couldn't find it. I'd heard horror stories - and extreme tactics, like calling on the "Paci-fairy" to redistribute all of the pacis to new babies while leaving my toddler a gift for his courage...
One random evening, just out of curiosity, my husband and I decided to try to put him to bed without the paci. We followed our normal nighttime routine, except when I laid him down, I didn't give him a paci. I turned off the lights, walked out, and waited. And waited. And waited - nothing. That was it. He went to sleep, and he slept solidly through the night. After 3 days of the same, we tossed the pacifiers. It was that simple.
While I'm not suggesting it will be that easy for all parents/toddlers, I did want to post this to let those facing this issue know that you shouldn't assume the worst. Kids are so resilient that they just move on to something else, some other source of security. I guess if my approach fails, you can call the paci-fairy...
Corey
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