Ditching the Paci
Disclaimer: It’s no secret that toddlers are not one-size-fits-all. What worked for my toddler may not work for yours- and that’s totally okay! Do what you can with what tools you have available. You’re doing great, mama!
My two-year-old has been happily without a pacifier for almost two months now. Like most parents, I was dreading the day we would have to take her pacifier away. It seemed like she wanted it more throughout the night and I was so worried that weaning from it would lead to tears and many sleepless nights. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case for us.
Here’s what we did:
1. We stopped letting our toddler have the pacifier outside of the crib around 16 months old. I wanted to reinforce the idea that pacifiers were only used in the crib for naps and bedtime. We kept the pacifiers in a container in her room and let her take the container to scatter the pacifiers around in her crib at nap/bedtime. Then, when it was time to wake up, I would hand her the container to collect the pacifiers. Including her in this helped tremendously, as she felt she had some control over the change.
2. Around 2 years old, we started weaning the pacifier at nap time. This meant more support at naps, like pats, holding my hand, another stuffed animal in the crib or cuddles. This was temporary and she began to feel better about going down for her nap without support.
3. A few weeks after weaning during nap time, we began removing pacifiers from the crib. She started with 5, then had 4, and so on until she had 1 in her crib. She relied on it less throughout the night and didn’t wake if it fell to the floor or she couldn’t find it.
4. After a week of one pacifier, we felt ready to completely wean. I borrowed Pacifiers Are Not Forever from our local library and we read it multiple times a day for several days (at her request!).
5. I gently explained that it was time to give the pacifier to another baby, without shaming her that she was a “big girl” now. There were some tears on the first night and she needed more support at bedtime for a bit, but she adjusted really well. (We don’t leave her to “cry it out”.)
6. We always reassured her that it was okay to be sad about saying goodbye to her pacifier and to miss it. We leaned into the feelings instead of shutting them down, which helped her understand.
7. Adding a stuffed animal or two to her crib helped a lot. It was almost a “trade” in a sense, and she also has a lovey that she has loved since infancy.
I read all of the blog posts and put together a method that worked really well for my toddler. I also love Hey Sleepy Baby on Instagram- she has an entire highlight on tips for weaning the pacifier.
Other recommendations that I found were: cutting the nipple of the pacifier (I personally didn’t find this safe and thought it could be a choking hazard), a “binky fairy” (put the pacifier in one area, remove it and leave behind a gift) and putting the pacifier in a Build-a-Bear. FridaBaby also has weaning pacifiers available, which I have read can help determined tots.
I hope sharing our experience helps you and your little one when it’s time to wean the pacifier!
P.S. You might cry a bit during the weaning process, or maybe that’s just me :) It felt like one of the final “baby” things my toddler had left so be prepared!
