Weaning from Pacifier

You've gotten all good advice and the only thing I would add is that sometimes, depending on the child and how things are handled, etc, the older child will revert to being a 'baby' when the baby comes and that could be very hard for her since she'd only be 20-21 months old. It could be hard for her to see the baby with one and not understand.

I had both of my boys off the pacifier by the age of 2. I started talking to them about giving it up about a month before it was going to be "cashed in" and did a weekly count down when we were on our way to Toys R Us. We went through the store looking at all the different treasures they wanted. We finally decided on the extra special item. I told them they would have to pay for their part with the pacifier and I would pay the rest. It worked beautifully because it was their choice to give it up and when they asked about it, I simply reminded them of their purchase and they were fine. Best of luck to you.

Hello S.,
My daughter was 2 1/2 when we started the proceess but then I gave birth so due to all the changes she was going through and all at the same time (potty training and sleeping in a big girl bed) we let her have her bink for comfort. I am now starting to ween her (she will be 3 in August) considering she has started pre-school and is no longer allowed to have it during the day or during nap time. Someone gave me the suggestion of having the bink "fairy" come and take the binks to all the new babies that were being born. The suggestion was to cut up the majority of the binks down to about 3 or 4. Decorate a basket or box with your daughter to place the binks in every night. Each night place the binks in the basket and before she wakes replace it with a small gift. Explain to her that all the binks were being taken by the Bink Fairy of which were being taken to all the new babies being born. It may or may not work . . . I will let you know how it works in our family :) Every child is different so it may take her a little longer and unfortunately there will be those days that she kicks and screams for it. We as mothers just have to be strong and let them scream it out for a while until we can distract them with something like a fun game or whatever.
Good luck to you.

We went cold turkey when my daughter was about 14 months after she was in the bath and threw a fit when I wouldn't let her have it!! We started on a Friday night (so I didn't have to deal with work the next day) and she cried for about 3 hours. I would go in every so often and comfort her and lie her back down and everntually she cried herself to sleep. The second night she cried for about 45 minutes but by the third night she was fine. The first night was heartbreaking but in the long run I was glad to have it over and done with so quickly. I do like the idea of having the child be involved with giving their paci away but I felt that my 14 month old was too young to understand that. Good luck.

all excellent ideas.....all of which work. The most important thing to keep in mind would be: no matter what works for others, your child will handle this in her own unique way. & that way may be stress-free OR she may cry for several days.

Either way, stick to your guns & don't give it back to her!Encourage her to use a blankie or doll/stuffed animal to help her learn how to "self-soothe". This is an important life skill....& you'll appreciate it, too - especially in the middle of the night!

On another note: if she's still in a crib, you might consider transitioning to a "big girl bed" before your next baby. She's at that age where the thought of climbing out ...will be happening soon!

hello, i know this is a little late, but i dont get to check these every day, i get behind sometimes. anyway, i have an almost 2 year old, he is going to be 21 months on the 22 of this month. he still takes his binky (thats what we call a pacifier) that was and is his "security blanket" he never got attached to a blanket or stuffed animal like he did the binkies. my suggestion for your daughter would try when telling her that you need them for the new baby so the new baby wont be sad. or my mom said that when my sister was little, they had went to Grants Farm and my sister gave the goats her binky and wound up giving them her bottle too because it looked just like the goats bottle. so it was a 2 in 1 day of loosing the binky and the bottle. its worth a shot. ive tried "throwing ours to the birds" it really is a hit or miss. good luck, oh and my son does the same thing in the middle of the night. i always put like two or three in there in case he loses the one he goes to sleep with. again, Good Luck!!

I have a similar situation at my house however my daughter is 21 months old but also only gets her binky at bed/naptime. I am also expecting a child in roughly three months. I have decided instead to not focus on getting rid of the binky until later (by the time she's 3). Because she hardly ever gets it (never out in public or just playing or walking around the house), I am okay with her having it. Plus, I think it'd be hard for us to work to get rid of it only to turn around a few months down the road and give one to the baby. True, she is older, but I am not yet sure she understands the concept of her being a 'big girl' versus he baby wanting/needing one. However, that is just my opinion!

I know that cutting the tip would not work because she had one that had a hole in it and she kept on sucking! Quitting cold turkey is not an option for me as she's pretty attached to it at bedtime (she, too, will wake up if she loses it and needs us to find it for her). It's my believe that she's only this young once so I don't mind indulging her because like I said before, it's not all the time.

Once the baby is here and we're settled into our new routine (and she's older), I plan on taking her to build a bear (hyping it up big time) and taking her binky's and telling her she can pick out an animal that we will call 'binky' and she has to pay for it with her binkys. I'll just throw them away and then at nap/bedtime if she asks for a binky, I'll give her the animal. I'm sure the first few days/week will be hard, but I think by then she'll be older so she will better understand when I tell her she doesn't need one.

Remember, no one asks on your college application when you gave up your binky! Nor do they ask on your driver's license test, at your first job or at the bank when you apply for a loan!

However, if you ARE committed to getting rid of it by 18 months (sorry didn't mean to sound so AGAINST getting rid of it...haha) I'd just say choose a route and stick with it. Cold turkey, cutting the tip. 'losing it', etc. whatever works for you - but I'd say consistency is the key. Once they are gone, don't bring them back because it will only bring heartache for you both!

You have heard about a lot of good ideas already. My 3 year old was exactly the same as your daughter. I snipped a teeny tiny piece off the tip ond day without warning. She had a huge fit - trouble falling asleep at bedtime and naps for about 2 days then never touched it again.

My 18 month old was also in the same situation. I snipped hers also and she didn't seem to mind. She popped it right back in her mouth. Every week or so I'd snip a little bit more until she could no longer keep it in her mouth. Until then she just kept sucking on it. Then she didn't really miss it. Good luck!