remind me why I'm supposed to get rid of the pacifier

They are both addicted to their pacifier. I try to limit it to nap and bedtime, but it's just so easy to pull it out when they're having a public meltdown (at home, I don't care, they can scream all they want).

I know I'm supposed to get rid of it ASAP, but I can't remember why. Something about ear infections?

I'm really dreading it, they LOVE Fred and Red (I named them). They each only have one, so I'm scared to cut the nipple like my ped suggested.

For those of you who took them away around 13-14 months, any suggestions before I take the plunge?

 

I will remind you why! Right now I am listening to a 22 month old walking around my house, crying and screaming "nuk nuk". This has been going on since he finished breakfast, almost an hour ago. He's just miserable. All of a sudden he's started wanting to use his nuk all the time, and now it's going to be so much more difficult than getting rid of it before he could talk. I went through the same thing with my girls. Once they can ask for it, they want it all the time and it gets really difficult to take it away and they don't need it any more.

The longer you wait to take it away the more difficult it is.

 

My twins were just about two when we took it away and Liam was 2 1/2. The doctor told us to have it gone at 12-15 mos. Nolan had a tough couple of nights, as did Liam. I don't remember Meghan having as tough of a time with it. (I took it away from N&M the week that Liam came home from the hospital, talk about triple trauma ).

 

I found this:
Pacifier use may increase the risk of middle ear infections. However, rates of middle ear infections are generally lowest from birth to age 6 months — when the risk of SIDS is the highest and your baby may be most interested in a pacifier.

Prolonged pacifier use may lead to dental problems. Normal pacifier use during the first few years of life doesn't cause long-term dental problems. If your child continues to use a pacifier persistently, however, his or her top front teeth may slant out or the upper and lower jaws may be misaligned.

I'm lucky because my boys never really depended on them except when they were newborns. Once Jake found his thumb he never showed interest in the pacifier. I still have the Raz-Berry teething ones laying around and if they see it they will put it in their mouths but I can take it away with no problems.

 

My nanny used to be a dental hygienist and tells me that her old boss (the dentist) said that pacifiers can change the shape of the infant's soft palate, and lead to lots of dental work later in life. I've read that there are studies going on to see if these deformations truly are permanent, but there is not a lot of concrete evidence for this yet.

My guys were never really interested in their pacis, but Jack is a die-hard thumb sucker. Hopefully he'll lose interest soon or we're going to have a fight on our hands trying to wean him of that habit!

My SIL actively encourages her 2.5 YO DD to use a paci because she puts *everything* in her mouth, and the paci keeps her mouth occupied. I just think it's a little unfortunate because she's a really cute girl but in every picture she's got a paci obscuring part of her face. ardon:

 

I recently took mine to a pediatric dentist and he said to get rid of them between 2.5 and 3, unless I personally wanted to get rid of them sooner. He said the constant sucking draws the teeth inwards, but that the head and jaw grow so fast that any misalignment can easily be corrected by growth after you stop at 2.5 or soon thereafter.

I limit mine to the crib and car seat and when they get up we all go to the dishwasher and put them in the basket so they can get clean. If they ask for them during the day I remind them they're in the dishwasher getting clean so they'll be ready for nap/bed time. I have to keep them totally out of sight because they'll have a fit if they see one on the counter.

I've read numerous books that say to encourage pacifiers/thumb sucking/lovies and/or any other type of self-soothing mechanism as this is a very tough age for kids and anything they have to help soothe themselves is a positive. Mine have a stuffed animal lovie so they have that to comfort them during the day when we don't do pacifiers.

 

None of my boys took a pacifier but my dd still has one. I honestly have NO intention of taking it away until closer to 3, when she can either give them to a new baby or understand the paci fairy.

As for the ear infections, I'd never heard that and she's never had an ear infection (knocking on wood) :lol:
I totally understand the dental thing and I do think that may be an issue with her down the road but her dentist said it wasn't horrible.

I do limit the pacifier to ONLY the crib and long car rides. She is also extremely shy around strangers, so when we do go out to somewhere really crowded, I will bring it just in case. She actually puts the paci in her crib in the morning and after nap. I think if that's how you want it then you just have to be consistent with it now. GL on whatever decision you make.

 

Our pedi said there was not a single reason to get rid of it.
The only problem posed is when they try to talk over it.
Mine use theirs for bed, naps, and when they are upset, other then that they dont even notice them.
They are a source of comfort and that's a-okay with me.
My oldest daughter had hers until around 2.5 and then she just lost interest.
I have so many other battles and this is not one I will be worrying about.

 

Fred and Red LOL! I thought I was lucky for never giving into the paci thing...not realizing there was something else looming that was almost as bad! I realized one day a month ago that my DD's were using their baby burp cloths; we called them "suckies" for the same reason. I’m still in fear of using that word thinking it will create chaos…
One DD was sick last month and I decided to put them away to avoid spreading germs to the next one. A few hours later all he** broke loose! I also realized they knew where I kept them and they managed to open their drawers! Apparently they already had this skill but never had a good reason to use it!
I feel your pain! Just stick with it and a month from now you'll be glad that phase is over!

 

My girls are 14 months and unless there is some medical reason for me to take the binkies away I will not. They only use them for naps, bedtime, and napping in the car. Other than that, they carry their blankies around when they need comfort. They really don't understand when I say I'm going to take it away for good, so I think we will have to wait a bit on this one. Did you pedi give you any reason as to why you have to take them away?

 

i've also heard that continuous paci use can interfere with toddlers learning to speak.

i think the option that a lot of folks on the board use to limit paci use to nap/bedtime or other specific situations is a really good one! it allows the comfort of the paci but avoids a lot of the other issues - which i think are exacerbated from the continuous, all day sucking on a paci. GL with your decision!

 

Mainly because it’s harder to take it away from them the older they get, and it CAN (doesn’t mean it will) cause dental problems like any prolonged sucking. It caused an overbite in my sister. I also know 1 lady who thought her son had a speech disability because he never spoke (it was always in his mouth).



And I understand concern and fear re: soothing… when ours stopped using them voluntarily at 10- months (due to an illness that caused mouth sores and pain when they sucked on things- and they WOULD NOT take them again after that) I went through a phase of wishing they still used them… it WAS easier when I could just pop a pacifier in their mouths to calm them! It took a month or two but we eventually found methods of soothing that worked as well for them… it just took the family a little while to adjust (them to be able to be soothed in other ways, us for finding ways to soothe them). If you decide to take them away I’m sure you will find other things that soothe them… it may just take a little while to discover what they are.

 

Hey hey! We still use ours at naptime and nighttime. I'm actually starting to talk up giving them to a new baby right now. I have to find them all and get rid of the extras before I try to take them away or they'll just find one in the toy chest or under the bed. :lol:

 

Thanks ladies. I think the only reason my ped has suggested getting rid of it now is because it will be harder as they get older. And I get that I might be creating a bigger problem later, but in the here-and-now, I can't imagine getting rid of them without a huge fight.

They don't even sleep with it all nap/night, as soon as they fall asleep deep enough it pops out. 9/10 nights they sleep thru, without waking and wanting it, so I don't see a big rush to get rid of it. I think I will try harder to keep it in the crib.

Oh, and their names are Fred and Red because they're wubanubs - Fred is the frog and Red is the red doggie.

 

NEVER!!! Sent them to college with it!

Ionly had 1 out of 4 kids that took the pacifier and we took it away at 24 months. he only got it when in bed for naps and nighttime. Never walked around with it. (we did not allow that-he would have if we let him) It was a nightmare taking it away. He went from a sound sleeper to a light sleeper who couldn't get to sleep. I don't know how many times I wanted to revert and give it back but I didn't.

If I had to do it over again I would either take it away very early (8-12 months) or wait until they were much older.

ok, love those names!

 

My 27 month olds still use their pacis during nap and bedtime and even when they are really upset during the day. I am not that concerned about it. My oldest DS nursed until he was 2.5, that was comforting for him. they love their pacifiers, they bring them comfort. Don't rush it unless you want to.

 

we haven't given them up yet... ours are 23 mo.

My #1 reason for paci use is to prevent thumb sucking... I'm not sure when that threat is over...

Ours really settle down nicely w/pacis, and I limit them to the cribs now. They used to get them in their carseats and during church... but now its just cribs. In the mornings I make them put their lovies and pacis back in their cribs before we leave the room. usually they do this with no hassles... sometimes they sneak them out of the room and i make them come back in a few minutes later. if they still don't put them back, I'll take them and put them away. usually within a few minutes they don't even remember they were fussing for the pacis.

good luck! I, too, have heard that we need to get rid of them by 3 yr old or so... not sure when we'll do it. I'm trying to figure out if they will be useful on our summer vacation when we fly etc. I might try to get rid of before the trip and bring them "just in case"...

 

I limited my DD's paci to naps and bedtime at 15 months, but didn't take it totally away until she was almost 3. If I had it to do again, I'd take it totally away by 15 months because it was WAY, WAY easier to take the bottles away at 12 months than the paci away at 3. The attachment was not there at a year old.

And yes, the paci is good for stopping meltdowns. That was the very hardest part of limiting it to naps and bedtime at 15 months. I didn't have it as a meltdown tool when we were out. But we got through it and we survived fine.