https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 01:31:39 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624438 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:20:44 +0000 ShootingStar 2624438@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did it at 2.5 and it was surprisingly smoothe. First we got him down to using it only at night (no naps no car). Then they started breaking one by one and we had him throw them away. You could also "help" this along. When we got to the last one DH told DS they were all gone and he seemed to accept it. He asked for it a few times but we reminded him it broke and that he threw it away. He pretty much accepted that and was fine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624372 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 14:51:19 +0000 Shantuck 2624372@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If she's an Elmo fan, there is a great Elmo movie on getting rid of the pacifier (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Bye-Bye-Pacifier-Stories/dp/B005G172KE" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Bye-Bye-Pacifier-Stories/dp/B005G172KE</a> - should also be available for instant download somewhere). That helped our son get used to the idea around that age. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624193 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:26:19 +0000 hitchhiker 2624193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did a little ceremony - we thanked the paci for helping LO get to sleep and being a great companion to her when she was a baby and told the paci that we didn't need it anymore now that LO is a big girl. We gave it kisses and said goodbye. (Totally inspired by the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.) </p> <p>I was terrified because she really seemed to rely on it to go to sleep. The first night it took her a while to settle down but after that it was fine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624192 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:25:30 +0000 Mrs D 2624192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Carrot: This is how I worry DD is going to be. She has such anxiety when I have talked about her giving it up...and doesnt seem to be interested in doing it... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624188 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:14:36 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2624188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsSRS: That's actually exactly why I've been lax on fighting it with her. She already has a tendency to put her hands when she's worked up or upset, and I grew up with a family of thumbsuckers, and it's awful trying to kick that habit. I'm hoping as she gets older and her emotions stabilize a bit more, it'll just happen naturally. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624161 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 11:44:23 +0000 MrsSRS 2624161@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Carrot: FWIW a pediatric dentist once told me that this type of child will probably end up sucking fingers if you take the paci and fingers are germier and put more pressure on the palate so not to worry about using the binky for longer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624110 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 10:52:14 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2624110@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're still struggling with this. Mine is a few months past 3 and she seems to have a physical dependence on it for settling down to sleep at night. She never asks for it, never complains about missing it, but she can't seem to calm down for sleep without it, even if she's exhausted. And I'm not sure if any of the tricks like giving them away to other babies or exchanging them for something would work because she doesn't even seem to recognize that she has it, but her body knows it's missing. I've tried a few times and I feel like I'm torturing her and give up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2624052 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 10:08:45 +0000 MsInformation 2624052@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a hard time weaning DD from the binky and it finally happened at 3. We told her that she was giving it to Santa Claus, who would deliver it to a baby who needed it more, and made a big ceremony out of decorating a letter and putting it in an envelope. I think my husband even took her to drop it into the mailbox (sorry for the garbage, USPS!) so there'd be no ambiguity over whether we just stashed it in the house somewhere. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2623550 Mon, 19 Sep 2016 09:50:08 +0000 NorthStar 2623550@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did it at 2.5 and suggested to her that she would give her Nuki to Santa for Xmas presents. We kept talking about it constantly for months prior to Xmas. By the time it came, she would say it on her own, she wrapped up the nuki into a present, put it on the fireplace hearth and had no issues. I was SHOCKED! She was a nuki addict. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2623515 Mon, 19 Sep 2016 09:14:40 +0000 Mamaof2 2623515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlejoy: we did it at 2.5 for DS and it was a process but no tears - per our dentist we put holes in them -started small and got bigger - we told him they were broke and to throw it away and said 'You don't need noni's anymore anyway you are a big kid!"</p> <p>We started with nap time, then moved to car, then bedtime - so easy! Every time his noni had a hole he would come tell us look this ones is broke too, I'll throw it away! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2623496 Mon, 19 Sep 2016 08:41:21 +0000 catlady 2623496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did it right around age 2.5. She was already down to only using it for sleep and car (she gets carsick so we let her use it). For a few weeks, we talked about she was a big girl and how "binkies are for babies" and how the "binky fairy" would come soon and take her binkies and replace them with a big girl toy. By the time we actually did it, she was really excited about her big girl surprise toy and actually asked for the binky fairy to come sooner. Then one day, we just switched out all her pacifiers (she liked to sleep with 4!) for Anna and Elsa dolls. It was almost painless, I think she may have cried for a min or two the first night, and the second night, she definitely woke up looking for her pacifiers but then went back to sleep without much trouble. She's been fine ever since and occasionally asks for a binky (I think just to see what we will do) but we tell her the binky fairy took them all and she accepts that.</p> <p>Ironically, she ended up not really liking her new toys and she stopped bringing them into bed with her pretty soon after. I felt guilty about it but she never really complained. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2623443 Mon, 19 Sep 2016 06:59:46 +0000 erinbaderin 2623443@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've seen the suggestion here of going to Build a Bear and putting the paci into the bear, which I thought was a great idea. I've also seen the suggestion of going to the store, letting them pick out a toy, and "paying" with the paci. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2623426 Mon, 19 Sep 2016 01:04:02 +0000 anonysquire 2623426@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went cold turkey, we told the kids that we sent their binkies to their new cousin because she's a baby and needs them and they are big kids now and get to pick out big kid toys instead. I think we bought our girl a Barbie and our boy a stuffed animal. It was rough for maybe 1 day at most. And now we're good. And this was coming from our BINKY OBSESSED 1.5 and 2.5 year olds. I thought we would all need family therapy but we're good!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaning-from-pacifier-after-25#post-2623416 Sun, 18 Sep 2016 22:50:11 +0000 littlejoy 2623416@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Tell me about weaning your LO from their paci as an older toddler. </p> <p>Our LO has a mouth injury, and we were advised to take paci away for 10 days (obviously, we hope it's permanent). She only uses it for sleep at this point. Nap was easy today, but bedtime has been rough (going on 2 hours) ... she's not a good sleeper anyway, which is why we haven't taken it away before now. </p> <p>So, how long did the difficulty/adjustment last for your LO? Did you use bribes? Storytelling? We've been talking about "big kids" a lot lately ... I was hoping that would do the trick. :sad: </p>