I've been seeing this far too often and for far too long. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Yep, it's that thing in his mouth! The pacifier has been a staple in our house since Colten came into this world. He loved the paci (binky, buddy, etc) from the beginning and I figured it was a good thing. I had a thumb sucker in Austin and thought it would be easier to take the pacifier away than a thumb. I'm sure it is...but we haven't exactly tried to find out yet. The professional advice is to take the pacifier away by 6 months. Who in their right mind would take away the magical device that quiets crying and gives peace throughout a house? So, we didn't even think twice about this advice and pushed past 6 months and a year of pacifier use. We are coming up on 18 months now.
The pacifier is a permanent fixture now. If Colten sees one and already has one in his mouth, he has to switch them. They have to be in his mouth just right and he'll turn them until he's satisfied. Nevermind that they don't really have a shape that makes them "upside down" or anything. Last week, Colten wasn't feeling well. He was cranky and clingy and constantly wanted his paci. Now that he's better, I think it's time. Time to limit the use of this magical baby item. Why, you may ask? Well, last night, Brian reminded me that Colten was starting to get near the age where we said we would never have a kid still sucking on a pacifier. We've seen those 2 and 3 year olds who still had that thing hanging out of their mouths and just didn't like it. No offense to anyone out there that's been in that situation...but it just looks, I don't know...weird. However, I truly understand how a kid gets to that point. It's just not going to be MY kid! Hopefully. Today started Day 1 of Limiting the Paci. My goal was to keep it out of sight for as long as I could, starting at breakfast. If he wouldn't have had it in his mouth when he woke up, I would have started then. I just couldn't get it out of his mouth this morning, so I figured it would be an easier transition if I took it while he wasn't thinking about it. So far, he's down for his nap and hasn't had it at all. I'll keep it hidden until bedtime and see how he does before giving it back to him to go to sleep. I think the test will be right around dinnertime when he's cranky and all I want is to have some peace in order to cook. That's usually a breaking point for me and I'm going to try really hard to NOT give in. The goal is to be paci-free before Aiden gets here. We also don't want him to steal Aiden's pacifiers (yes, we'll still use them...it's still a better alternative than the thumb and it's said to be proven to reduce SIDS). I guess only time will tell how well this works and if we started too late.
Yep, it's that thing in his mouth! The pacifier has been a staple in our house since Colten came into this world. He loved the paci (binky, buddy, etc) from the beginning and I figured it was a good thing. I had a thumb sucker in Austin and thought it would be easier to take the pacifier away than a thumb. I'm sure it is...but we haven't exactly tried to find out yet. The professional advice is to take the pacifier away by 6 months. Who in their right mind would take away the magical device that quiets crying and gives peace throughout a house? So, we didn't even think twice about this advice and pushed past 6 months and a year of pacifier use. We are coming up on 18 months now. The pacifier is a permanent fixture now. If Colten sees one and already has one in his mouth, he has to switch them. They have to be in his mouth just right and he'll turn them until he's satisfied. Nevermind that they don't really have a shape that makes them "upside down" or anything. Last week, Colten wasn't feeling well. He was cranky and clingy and constantly wanted his paci. Now that he's better, I think it's time. Time to limit the use of this magical baby item. Why, you may ask? Well, last night, Brian reminded me that Colten was starting to get near the age where we said we would never have a kid still sucking on a pacifier. We've seen those 2 and 3 year olds who still had that thing hanging out of their mouths and just didn't like it. No offense to anyone out there that's been in that situation...but it just looks, I don't know...weird. However, I truly understand how a kid gets to that point. It's just not going to be MY kid! Hopefully. Today started Day 1 of Limiting the Paci. My goal was to keep it out of sight for as long as I could, starting at breakfast. If he wouldn't have had it in his mouth when he woke up, I would have started then. I just couldn't get it out of his mouth this morning, so I figured it would be an easier transition if I took it while he wasn't thinking about it. So far, he's down for his nap and hasn't had it at all. I'll keep it hidden until bedtime and see how he does before giving it back to him to go to sleep. I think the test will be right around dinnertime when he's cranky and all I want is to have some peace in order to cook. That's usually a breaking point for me and I'm going to try really hard to NOT give in. The goal is to be paci-free before Aiden gets here. We also don't want him to steal Aiden's pacifiers (yes, we'll still use them...it's still a better alternative than the thumb and it's said to be proven to reduce SIDS). I guess only time will tell how well this works and if we started too late.
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