Our Pacifier Weaning Journey

Before we weaned the pacifier from our 21 month old, I did a lot of googling, trying to find tips from other Moms- so I thought I’d share our story in case it can help someone else.

Why

For us, there were multiple reasons why, but the most important one was this. Proper tongue placement (tongue resting on palate- roof of the mouth) is so important for optimal health. Proper tongue positioning helps teeth from shifting (or helps them develop into the right place as a child), it can improve sleep, reduces neck pain, helps alleviate headaches and more. Have a restless baby or toddler? One of the first things we look when you work with me as a client is tongue placement and if your baby is sleeping with an open mouth. Long term mouth breathing can actually increase autoimmune conditions and other negative health responses. So how does this play into pacifier use?

Using a pacifier prevents a child from resting their tongue against the roof of the mouth. Long-term use of a pacifier can train a child’s tongue to remain down and into a unnnatural low forward resting posture instead of thrusting up to the roof and can increase the risks of health concerns popping up. Additionally, it can prevent teeth from erupting into a normal position.

Sucking is a reflex in babies under 1, but beyond that it actually becomes more of a habit than a need. We knew we wanted to get rid of it, but put it off for awhile because my daughter was so used to sleeping with it.

When

From 0-6 months, she used the pacifier anytime. At 6 months we transitioned to car & sleep only. At 8ish months we went to sleep only.

I’ll be honest- we first attempted to wean the paci when she was 8ish months old. I gave up quite quickly. We tried again around 15 months and did a partial weaning where she only got it to fall asleep and then we would take it from her. This worked out fine but then one night we forgot to take it and then we just kind of fell back into using it again. So, we ended up actually weaning when she was 21 months old.

Around 18 months old, kids start to develop an attachment to things- so it can be harder to wean after 18 months and before 2.5 years or so. This is because after about 2.5 years, you can explain to them what is happening and why. We told our daughter what was happening and she even helped throw them in the trash, but 5 minutes later she was looking in her bed for her pacifier.

I think ideally, the pacifier would be gone by 6 months. But each family has to weigh their pros and cons and do their own assessment. The type of pacifier you are using matters as well.

How

Being that she was 21 months, we went for the cold turkey approach. We bought a book on amazon about getting rid of pacifiers (a kids book) that we read to her nightly. We talked a lot about getting rid of the paci & how she would sleep without it. We gave her a comfort lovey (she hasn’t really attached to it yet). We prepared for a long night, potential wake ups, and a big emotional let down at bedtime the first few nights. We had her throw them in the trash and say bye to them.

I want to preempt this by saying that all kids are different and when you develop your plan for weaning the pacifier- you need to take into account your child’s temperament and personality.

Nora cried out literally once for her “pa!!” (paci) and that was literally the only time she has asked for it. We’ve even talked about the pacifier in front of her and she doesn’t care. I think the difficult part has been figuring out how to sleep without sucking on something.

The first night sleep took 1.5 hours and she cried off and on. My husband and I took turns being with her. Naps were hit or miss the first week. It took until day 6 for her to go down for nap and fall asleep within 10 minutes (her normal). Bedtime took 1.5 hours the first few nights, down to about 45 by day 6. Some nights had crying and some she was just restless. She only woke up in the middle of the night once, on the first night. Every other night she has slept all night.

We’re still working to get back to normal with her sleep patterns, but we’re getting there. And ultimately I feel better than she is sleeping without it in her mouth all night.

Good Luck on your Pacifier Weaning Journey!