Bottles and Pacifiers - Fort Wayne,IN

14 months is old enough to be off the bottle. Assuming he an drink from a cup, then give him a cup of milk before bed instead. I wouldn't be too concerned about the pacifier as long as he is only getting it at night.

Yes, give him a cup instead of a bottle, no, the pacifier isn't a problem for a few more years as long as it's only for sleeping. Good Luck! :)

A friend gave me this advice and it worked like a charm with my daughter. Sorry, but it is only for the pacifier. Cut the tip off. Every 3-5 days, cut a little more off. Eventually, he won't get the satisfaction he used to from it and he'll stop depending on it. This allows him to give it up on his own and you still get to sleep at night. :)

I also see no problem with the pacifier at night time. as long as he is not running around the house with the pacifier, let him soothe himself. my son just turned 3 and we made a big deal about how he is a big boy now and doesn't need his binkie. i cut a hole in all of them then he threw them in the garbage. he asked for it at bedtime but i reminded him that they are all gone. he is doing just fine.

I breastfed, so I can't help you with weaning Jaylen from the bottle. But, in my opinion, he is still little, and I would let him keep the pacifier at night if it soothes him. Both my girls kept their pacifiers at night only until age 2.5 or so with no damage to their teeth (they see a pediatric dentist regularly who was not concerned). We are in the process of weaning my almost 2.5-year-old daughter from the pacifier right now. I've found that the best way to do this is to first poke a hole in the tip so that it loses suction. Then, gradually make the hole bigger and bigger and eventually start trimming down the nipple (this takes weeks or months--do it slowly so he has time to adjust to each step). My first daughter kept hers in her hand when all that was left of the pacifier was the handle. Then, she decided on her own to let it go. In my experience, the binky fairy idea just didn't work on kids so young. If you are rocking him to sleep and letting him sleep in your bed without his soothers, then you're just trading one habit for another. Good luck!

My first son would have taken the bottle forever so when the second one came around...call me mean....I took it away right at 12 months. Cold turkey. No problems whatsoever. Good luck!

I agree you don't want to start him needing to sleep with you for soothing and comfort. I would take away the bottle first and offer a sippy cup of milk and a small snack if needed to keep his tummy full. As for the pacifier, wait. Allow him to have it for a while still. He is still a baby and may need that for comfort to get back to sleep. Taking both away at the same time is too much for him to handle. If he only gets the pacifier at bedtime then I would not worry about it being a problem. My daughter had her pacifier until she was over two. She had it at nap and bedtime. When I finally took it away it was a rough two days but that was it. She was much older and able to cope with losing it. Don't allow your mom or anyone else to guilt you into changing what you feel is best for your baby. Good Luck.

this age seems to be a crossroads for many moms & babies.......he is still very young. I think it is ok for him to have both the night time bottle, and a pacifier for night time soothing! I have five children. They are all different. My first kept his pacifier until age 3!! only for bed time and it didn't leave his room. My second never wanted or would take a pacifier. My third was done with it by age 1, and my twins are using a pacifier only at night and nap time. It isn't going to hurt him or his mouth! If he can soothe himself to sleep with the help of a pacifier I think you are doing great.
I also am starting to wean my 12 month old girls from the bottle. Although you are farther ahead than I am. There is nothing wrong with a bottle for a part of his bed time routine. If you want to be done with it, I agree with the sippy cup replacement. This is a good time to start all the thinking and planning to remove these "baby" items, but I think you have a few more months to let him be a baby!
Good Luck

The bottle is the first thing I would tackle. At this age, he probably has quite a few teeth and the milk sitting on them all night long can promote early tooth decay. Try to give him a cup of milk before bed. We give our little milk addict a sippy after bath, during story time. Then we brush teeth and off to bed. If it were me, I don't think I would take away both things at the same time. If he just gets a paci at night, it's not nearly as bad as if he had it all day long. It may be rough for the first few nights with out the bottle, but it will get better.

S.,

You need to get him off of them both right away the longer you wait the harder it is to do. You need to stand your ground and not give in. Putting him in your bed to pacifi him won't work either because what you are doing is going from one bad habit to the next. You need to give him cups before bed not in bed. Put him in his bed awake and tell him it is bed time. Kiss him good night tell him you love him and walk out shout the door he will be fine. If he cries that is ok he probably will for about 3 days then learn that it is time to go to bed. Don't give in because if you do that will show him that he can work you and get what he wants.

I agree with the other mom that a pacifier, especially at night is fine at this age. It would be a good idea to break the habit of the bottle. Before you know it, he will have a full set of teeth and will need to go to bed with clean teeth.

The pacifier is great for self soothing.

In my opinion, trying to take both away at once seems like a lot for him to deal with. Since you were able to rock him to sleep, maybe start with the bottle and then try the pacifier later. If he's waking up, I can see where he still needs something to sooth him. And, you are right; putting him in bed with you will be a more difficult habit to break. Plus, give him some time...it may take a little while for him to adjust.

Don't listen to your mother it has been a long time since she had her own babies. If he is sleeping with a already proven method why change it. He is still very young and as long as you aren't letting him sleep all night with a bottle of milk in his mouth his teeth will be fine. And the fact that he soothes himself in the middle of the night with a pacifier is great. It will not hurt his teeth his mouth has a lot of changing to do yet so don't worry about changing what you are doing. Go back to the old routine and get a good night sleep.

Hi! I have one important point which I'm sure someone else has already made but if not here it goes! Do not try and take both away at the same time! You will put him in distress and stress yourself out in turn! Believe me I tried it! My suggestion would be to do the bottle first. Give him water in his bottle if you are not already. He will eventually turn it down but it's going to take a great deal of strength from you because he will definitely want milk if that's what he's used to! If he's drinking water before going to sleep it's not so much of an issue as with the milk which I have been told has sugars in it that will cause decay in a baby's teeth. Even if he doesn't have any yet the milk sitting on his gums while he sleeps can cause problems with his teeth in the future.

As for the pacifier, he's still young! You could make a special day for getting rid of it! Maybe wait until his 2nd birthday and tell him a little story about the pacifier fairy and how she needs his pacifiers for all the new babies in the world! Lol! It sounds silly but it really helps them let go in a fun way! I think it made my son feel like he was making the decision for himself. Instead of me telling him it had to go he let it go into the sky tied to a helium balloon at his birthday party. He asked about it for a couple days after but after that he was fine!

Well I hope this helped in some way! Good luck and God bless!

S. - I agree with most of the posters ... I would take the bottle away (my youngest daughter is almost 14-months; and I took her off the bottle at 12-months cold turkey - like another mom did ... she was fine as well). As for the pacifier ... if that helps him sleep through the night; keep it (it sounds like you need to get a good night's sleep b/c you sound like a busy woman)! I know that my mom let my brother and I have our pacifiers at night only; and then eventually weaned us off it. Hope this helps! GOOD LUCK!

That's really bad to put your baby to bed with his bottle. I did the same with my first baby, and ended up having to have her two top front teeth pulled when she was only two years old because the milk in the bottle rotted her teeth. The doctor said some kids are more proned to that than others, but it's never good to let a baby lay in bed with a bottle because the milk and sugars just sit on their teeth. It's so hard to get rid of the bottle. My only suggestion is to throw all the bottles away and quit cold turkey. Your baby may cry at night for a few nights, but after that, he'll forget all about it. I did that with my first child. It was very very hard for the first couple of nights, but after that, she never wanted it again. I took both of my next children off of their bottles a week before they turned a year old, and they never cried for it once. If you plan on having another baby, you should definitely try that. I did inquire about the pacifier and was told the pacifier is not as bad as having the bottle. Sorry I didn't have better advise. Good luck!

Relax! Don't rush him. When he is ready he will give up the bottle and the pacifier. How many kindergarteners have you seen trudging to school with their bottle and paci tucked secureely in their back pack?

On a side note, if your boy is wanting to suck on his pacifier, it is an easier habit to break than thumb sucking. If he finds his thumb (and it makes a great substitute paci), you'll have more trouble than you want. You can't cut off a thumb and it can be a hard habit to break!

I'm a mom of 2 adult sons - one was born sucking his thumb, literally, and the other spent the first 6 mo of his life trying to learn how to. It was a hard habit to break!

I'm proud of you for continuing your education even though your a single mom. Keep your eyes focused on your goal. However, don't forget the treasure you have in your son. Be sure that you make time for him every day just to cuddle and play with him. One day you will turn around and wonder where the time went. He is only little once.

Good luck! Listen to your gut. Trust your inate instincts. You are his mom! I'm sure that you are young and I'm glad that you are getting help from your mom. Keep peace with your mom,but do what you feel is right. In your heart, you know what your son needs.

I'm praying for you, your mom, and your son, Jaylen today.

carol b

Hi S....
The bottle thing is easy... just give him a sippy cup. It might take a few nights, but if he wants it, he will drink it. We never gave our kids milk before bed, but we did (and still do) give them sippy cups with water that they take to bed. Now the paci is a little more difficult. My youngest son was a total addict to his paci. We did not wean him off until he was 2, but I think that was a little late... I was just dreading the battle so I kept letting him have it. This is what worked for us. For the first few weeks or month we told him that he was a big boy and that his paci couldn't leave the house (realize he was a bit older and probably a little easier to "reason" with). He could have his paci as much as he wanted, but when we went places it had to stay home. We then graduated to it couldn't leave his room. My son used it alot for comfort, when he was hurt, upset, frustrated, he would always want it. For a while when he was upset he would go to his room sit in his chair with his paci and blanket and when he felt better he left his paci and came out. The next step was that it could not leave his bed. He could have it whenever he slept, but when we got out of bed, paci had to stay. Then it was only at night time, no naps, and finally it just "disappeared" and we had to cope for a few days. I think he actually misplaced it and we truly couldn't find it- whew! It will need to be a process. Most children can't stop "cold turkey". Hope this helps! Good luck!

14 months doesn't seem to long at all for him to have BOTH! Especially given that all this falls on your shoulders as a single mom. My daughter & daughter-inlaw both nursed there children until they were nearly 2 and one was in fact a bit over two. Every child is different and pulling something away in this case two things away to early can affect the sensation of ones on security. I vote he stays on both! lol :) but only YOUR vote and Jaylens vote count!! We can share our experience but only you are living life in your shoes. And it's tough being a single Mom going to school and working..Hats off to you for even asking...

I would recommend NOT taking both away at the same time. Maybe give him less and less milk in the bottle over a few days and he'll get used to not having the bottle for so long. As for the pacifier, I say leave that with him until he is really satisfied without the bottle. He needs at least one thing to help soothe himself. My son is 2 and still has a pacifier at nap and bedtime. Our doctor says it's fine as long as he isn't using it during the rest of the day. Good luck!!

What a delima. First off I would be sure to thank mom for the parental advise without shoving her away :) Second, I was still nursing my baby at 14 months old, there isn't anything wrong with it. If your little one is only taking a bottle at bed time you are doing way better than some mom's (I will admit I get irritated when I see 3 yo at church running around with a bottle of juice hanging out of thier mouth). As for a pacifier, I wouldn't worry about that until he is way past 3. If he is waking up during the night and smothing himself back to sleep and putting himself to sleep (so to speak) at night Hats off to you. By taking away his bottle he wasn't able to comfort himself to sleep and a new habbit of rocking him everynight to sleep is created. And the habbit you don't like of sleeping in bed with you (which I am going through now & it is NOT easy to break).
If YOU want to stop the night time bottle, I would give him a heathly snack (my kids always like cheerios in milk) right before bed and give him a cup of milk. As for the pacifier, my grandfather got my daughter to give that up, so I can't help. But in the end remember it is your & your hubby's decision b.c he is your child. Don't be forced to force your baby to grow up too soon. Best of Luck!

You will have a night of fussiness, maybe two. The sooner you do it the easier it will be.
When I took my son's pacifier it was a night of less sleep for me and by the next night he was able to sooth himself to sleep. The bottle he just went off of because he had fully transitioned to a cup and was happily using it for all liquids.
good luck!

I agree that the bottle needs to go, the paci not so much. 14 months is not an age that's too old for that sort of soothing. Unless your doctor or dentist is strongly pushing you to drop the paci I say give it more time. I'm surprised he did so well dropping both at once honestly. Let him keep the paci awhile - as long as he's not sucking on it all day - if it's confined to bedtime it's fine!

It seems your son drinks from other sources during the day and uses the bottle, pacifer only at night. If there is water in the bottle I really don't see the problem. I am not a strong supporter of pacifers, never have been, but it is better than finger sucking. Mom's heart is in the right place but if he isn't using them all of the time and this is a comfort zone for him like some children have a favorite stuffed toy, blanket or pillow then I don't really understand her concern. If he is still doing/using this comfort method when he hits high school I might worry. We actually wondered if my brother was going to take his "pilly" with him to West Point!!!!

Hi S.,

I feel for you in your situation. First of all, I wanted to carefully comment on your mom without being negative. S., you should make decisions about your child only. I am sure your mom means well, but taking a pacifier and bottle away from a 14 month old if their not ready is sad. My little boy is 20 months old and I think it's perfectly ok that he still needs his pacifier at night. Taking away something that soothes him is mean, in my opinion. This little guy needs soothing and he will grow up soon enough. Hold your little guy at night and if he still needs that pacifier nd bottle, it's ok. He's still very young! I tend not to listen to what "everyone thinks is right" and I follow my own instincts. I hope this helps and I wish you luck!

I would definitely try to get the bottle away from him because there is no real reason for him to have it. As for the pacifier my ped and dentist have told me with my children that I should have it away from them by the age of 3. I have always tried to have it mostly away from them by the time they were 2 only allowing it at nap time and bed time. I just think at a year they still really need something to help soothe them to sleep at night. If he is able to find the pacifier at night and get himself back to sleep then let him have it.

You could also try to give him a blanket or stuffed animal that he could use to soothe himself, I have found at this young of an age non of my children have really taken to anything. My two oldest were almost two before they really took to an animal or blanket.

I guess in the end he is your child and you should do what you feel is best for him. If you are not sure about your decision you can always ask your ped and see what they suggest. My ped has always been there to answer any question I had.

Hope this helps you a little
A.