Bye Bye Paci

I say give it back also. This is obviously just not the right time for your son to have this "security blanket" taken away. Especially with a new addition in the family (even 15 months into my second daughter's addition to our family, my 4-year-old daughter still feels some insecurity at not being the center of the family universe anymore!) I agree that insecurities in the early years can carry over later in life and if a paci makes your son feel better right now, so be it. He'll grow out of it in his own time. Don't feel pressure to force him to give something up just because other people tell you he's too old for it. Only you know what's best for your children. Good luck!

Hey J.,
a doc told me to cut a little off the end of one pacci, then a little more, etc...this worked very well with my little boy(who is now 5).i did this when he was about 13 to 14 mths old. And i agree, bedtime is the hardest. But do not go back on your word. As they grow older they will learn your soft spots and play you at your own game. Keep it up and he will learn that nothing he does will change your mind. My little girl is 11mths old and i dont leave them lying around durring the day and only give it to her if she wakes up in the middle of the night. If your son doesn't see hers it may not remind him of his. Keep trying and don't give in!! Good luck.
K. b.

I would agree with PP about giving it back b/c my oldest also had his until he was 3 and a half and the doctor didnt mind despite my family being on my case he said that there was no harm in it.BUT, you have suffered 3 weeks now and are nearly over the hump...so I wouldnt suggest giving it back and then starting all back over in 6 months or so when he actually will start looking to old for a paci.Maybe you can get him one of those hard plastic ones..the toy ones that you sometimes fine in convience stores or spencers in the mall and let him wear it around his neck to help get over the loss of his real one. But undoing all the sleepless nights and crying will only make it harder on you next time.

OH!!! I feel for you. My son, who is now 7, was taken off of the paci at 3 years 2 months. It was AWFUL but only for a couple of days. My only words of wisdom is that children who suck their thumb do it well into Kindergarten- what's the difference???? (I teach K and see it everyday) THEY GROW UP VERY QUICKLY and I would love one more day of seeing my boy satisfied with just a paci. Keep it only for sleeping and see what happens....
Please let me know what happens!!

Let him have it..and ''gradually' find ways to show him that he is a BIG BOY, and dont' need it...that he has to show lil sister that he's the big brother.
The way they make paci's today....they are more for protecting the teeth...Most people USE to worry about it ruining their teeth and such...Im not sure how much truth there is in it...My doctor allowed me to give mine to them till they were ready to part with it and accept it...this takes..some time...right now..he's ''needing it '' it seems..cause of the youger sibling.
I had my oldest to take her paci, untill she was 3 and a half....she wore braces..but it was for only a year..cause of 2 teeth out of place..otherwise..she had the strongest and straightest teeth you had ever seen...
my second child took her paci till she was 2 and a half, and when I was preganant with my third...we started telling her that she was going to be a big sister, and all..and I ''somehow'' left one paci at tha babysitters..(had two)...and i would give the one I had ONLY if it was too tramatic for her...eventually she realized..that she ''was ok'' without it...and when they are old enough to do that...I think thats best....my second child also pottied trained her self by the time she was 2, before her lil sister arrived..saying to me..."That she had to be the big sister now..and she wasn't a ''baby'' anymore..my doctors...say..let them have it..
Now..she HAD to wear braces for really bad teeth..but all that is heredetary...
my third child was breast fed..and NEVER wanted a paci....never took one...BUT...
when i weaned her off the breast at 10 months...she got attacted to a bottle that she had never been introduced to...and stayed on a bottle till she was 2...
(whcih to me..would be alot like a paci?)
she has perfect teeth..and will never need braces.
so..what Im trying to say here..
its for the confort of the child..and when we suddenly take something from a child.....even though we think we know best..the child might have some insecurity, and needs to know that they will be secure ...
they wil tire of it..when we tell them..that we need to try to go without it..so we can be a big boy/girl...
Does all this make sence..or help?
I really hope this eases your mind...I just think in the long run..when we take something like that away...then the child feels insecure all his/her life...my second child..had hers taken quicker..even tho she accepted it...toay..she sometimes..feels insecure..and I always wondered if that was why...when I would hide it..and try to take it from her.
My oldest..had hers til she was almost4...and, it didn't affect her in a negative way at all.
Have a great day...feel free to respond back to me..if needed..Im no doctor..but Im mother of 3..
Love in Christ...S.

Hi J.,

I know that there is a lot of back an forth talk about pacifiers hurting kids teeth, etc. Our daughter had a strong need to suck on something. She nursed all of the time, ended up weighing 32 pounds at her one year check-up! The Dr told me then that I should stick a paci into her mouth. We did and she only weighed 34 pounds at her 2 yr check up. She didn't need to eat, she needed to suck.
She lost the paci one night and switched to her thumb, which she sucked until starting kindergarten. She came home on about day 3 and announced to me that only babies suck their thumb and that she was done with it. And she was.
Fact of the matter is, the paci won't hurt him near as badly as the need to suck on something will. This in not just an oral thing, this is an emotional thing, too.
I say, let him "find" where the paci-fairy "dropped" his paci and give it back. This may just not be a good time to take it from him, especially with a new baby in the house, taking daddy and mommy's time away from him.

All things pass. So will his love for the paci.

I hope this helps,

You all are in my prayers.
W.