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I'm someone who hates seeing a toddler who can talk with a paci in their mouth. However, E never took one, and we stopped trying around 6 months. I've never had to deal with trying to wean or with a child who loved it and used it as comfort. I might change my tune if she was addicted to it. I do think there's an appropriate age for a paci & would try to keep it in the crib as a "hey if you go to sleep you can have it." haha but I really have no experience with this.
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My LO is three weeks old, and I have been holding off on giving him a paci. My main reason is that I witnessed friends having to run in and constantly reinsert the paci while their babies slept. I am hesitant to start that pattern but also am keeping an open mind.
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I'm not a fan of pacifiers for older babies, but I may have felt differently if J hadn't stopped using it on his own when he was around 4 months old... as soon as he started being able to take it out of his mouth and chew on it like all his other toys, he stopped using it the "right way". But, he does suck his thumb when he's tired/hungry/upset. Does L suck his thumb? I think that will probably be a more difficult habit to break in the long run than the pacifier, since it's not like you can just take away his thumb!
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I don't mind them, and I don't get what makes them annoying as far as seeing other peoples toddlers with them. That said we do have a rule that they stay in the crib. Dd knows this and when I say "go put your paci in your crib" she does, so far. I started that a little after a year when she started seeking them out for no good reason, and I think the timing was right. I lucked out on that.
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I wasn't a fan but we have needed to use one on occasion. DD likes to comfort suck sometimes, but I have an oversupply so she keeps getting milk. This either causes her to overeat and spit up, or makes her mad because she doesn't actually want more milk so she arches and screams at my breast. If I hold her in the cradle hold and give her a paci, she'll fall right asleep. She sometimes takes it other times, but I try only to give it when she needs it, not as a matter of course. Also, we only use Soothies brand because they won't stay in unless she's actively sucking, so she can't just hang out with it in her mouth (at least not right now, maybe that will change when she gets teeth).
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My LO uses it for sleep only, and I'll probably let her for a while longer because why mess with what works (is my philosophy)?? She spits it out once she's asleep also, so she doesn't suck on it all night long.
I won't let her use it during the day, and never have.
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We gave one to DS early on. 3 weeks? He also night weaned pretty early and used a paci for a couple of weeks. He never liked it after five or six months, so it wasn't a huge issue for us.
I have no issue with seeing other LOs with pacis.
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We're running into this issue now. He uses it for comfort, though, when it's out of sight, it's out of mind. He does need it to go to sleep for naps and at night, but I find that he usually doesn't need it in the car if we're talking to him or have a toy back there with him.
Every time we think about weaning it, he starts to teethe again. We were just thinking about doing it again since he just finished getting his last 1 year old molar, and now he's starting to get his canines which have been a beast. So we're waiting...again...
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We only allow the pacifier in the crib... and I usually don't give it to my son, I just keep one or two in the crib for him to grab if he wants it. I definitely don't want a child that is dependent on it. When he was an infant, we used it more often to soothe him, but made the switch to crib-only around nine months. I plan to omit it completely by the time he is two. I find it super annoying to see toddlers running around with them in their mouths all day, but that's just me.
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Didn't realize my toddler walking around with a paci in his mouth upsets so many people....
Anyways I'm ok with him using one for now. He's 16 months and has it for naps, bedtime, car and just around the house whenever he wants it. I hope I can get him off it by the time he's 2 but I'm not stressing about it right now.
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I don't like seeing older kids (3?) with pacifiers, but perhaps it's because in my head they should start to be more kid-like, and less baby like. To me, pacifiers are for babies. It's not that it upsets me, it's just that it's not an option I would choose. I also don't like seeing blankets covering infant car seats to hide the baby- nothing wrong with it, it's just not my thing. I was one of the people that didn't believe in using them, really... and then I had an inconsolable 3 week old. I think that I could have even gotten through that without a pacifier if I didn't have another 3 week old at the same time. Chalk it up to one of those, "When I'm a mom, I'm never going to..." moments.
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@mrskc: aww, I personally consider under two, as a baby still...I only cringe a little if I see a 3 year-old with a paci
We weaned off of the pacifier at 5 months with both kids. There were times I wish they would have taken one after that though lol. I don't think anything of a child under 2-2.5 with a pacifier. I feel like there are pacifiers out that are more helpful for palette formation today than even 5 years ago so it's not a huge deal.
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My daughter is 13-months and loves her paci. I usually only give it to her in the crib or sometimes in the car. If she had her way, I bet she would love it all day! I'm not worried about it too much at this point. Seeing older toddlers with them doesn't bug me...to each their own!
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DD was addicted to her paci. I now pull it out of her mouth and she knows shes not allowed to leave the bedroom with her paci and it has to stay there. She is allowed a paci in the car and when she sleeps only. (she is 16 months)
My sister was the one who told me to ween her and only let her have it when she sleeps. good luck!
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@mrskc: A is going on 18 months and has one...I still consider our kids young enough. When there is a kid at the store that looks to be in preschool that's too old I think.
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I cried when she wouldn't take one as a newborn because I was desperate for sleep and she loved to use me as a paci. I guess now I'm glad she never did because it's one less thing I have to wean her from. I even tried offering her one the other day and she just chewed on it then giggled. I guess it interferes with her tongue being out
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DS never was a huge fan of the paci. He would take it as a baby, calm himself down and spit it out. Thought I was golden. Then when we bottle weaned around 12 mo, he took to his wubbanub. Now he loves them when he sleeps. He knows that it's only for in the crib. He doesn't need them as he naps fine at daycare without one but he uses it at night. He will wake up and look for it and his lovey and fall back asleep. I am planning on weaning him of that in May or June when he'll be 18 mo.
FWIW: I think babies/toddlers with pacifiers are adorable.
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@mrskc:
With a face as cute as A's, how could anyone be annoyed?!
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I love them because I can see how they soothe my baby. He's only 8.5 months old, so I'm not worried about weaning and language issues yet, though. He mostly only uses his paci at night, and sometimes in the carseat.
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I bought one when I was pregnant for "just in case" we ended up using it when lo would use my boobs for comfort sucking. She sucked on it until she was asleep and then spat it out. She stopped using it completely by 6 months. Paci weaning was one of the things I was scared of but luckily it worked out in my favor in the end.
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@Sammyfab: yup also a pet peeve of mine!
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ooooooomg just typed a whoooole bunch of respnses to everyone and it got deleted. ARG!!!!
Anyway, thanks to everyone for your thoughts! My own feelings on the paci are mainly that I don't like when LO uses it because I feel like I can't understand him as well (and he's 16 months so he's hard enough to understand as it is) and I also don't like that he is dependent on it....especially because until recently he didn't use it at all. I don't care at all about seeing it on other toddlers/babies....just for my LO! Again, if he had been using it regularly from the beginning maybe I'd feel diferently now, but it's really only in the last few weeks.
@bunnylove08: @MUI831: @bunnylovesbear: I am trying to implement this rule, but find it soooo annoying when he asks for it when he is not in the crib/carseat. So I guess he doesn't really understand yet?
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@Sparkler: ha if only our sleep was figured out! It's teetering on the edge and I"m afraid taking the paci away would tip us over the edge...
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We never introduced one to our LO. There are times, especially in the car, where a paci would likely be helpful. However, I'm kinda glad there is one less thing to wean her off. She is able to put herself to sleep fine.
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@hilsy85: Yeah, I guess I'm not really one to talk - Xander's always been easy in the sleep department! It's just food that we have issues with. I hope you guys figure out your pacifier situation!!
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The paci is my enemy at this point, haha. Enemy or best friend, depending on the situation. LO is a binky addict. He can't sleep without one, and when he's fussy and upset during the day it instantly calms him down. I have no idea how we're going to get him weaned from it.
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@locavore_mama: YES!
I'm not a fan of them either, and didn't introduce one to LO as a newborn. I gave him one at 3 months in desperation and he spit it back out at me.
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Before I had a baby I was completely against ever trying to give her one (but really, what did I know). Then around 2 weeks or so when nothing worked at soothing her, we gave it a try and it did the trick. She would go to sleep with it or it would sometimes soothe her if she was having a crying fit. The Dr. told us she was fine with pacifiers until 6 months old and that's exactly when M started to refuse it. I'm glad she decided on her own and that it was an easy transition for her.
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Both times I didn't want my kids to take to a pacifier. With DS2, I realized it was a necessary evil but only wanted it to help soothe him to sleep. It lasted about two weeks before the constant refusal. Luckily he figured out how to soothe with his fingers soon after his pacifier rejection.
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Indifferent, honestly! Unless the kid is like, 5. But I realize some kids really need it and it comforts them. People are so weird about being anti paci!
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With DS, he absolutely needed one. He loved to suck, and well, I didn't breastfeed so I was no help. He's 21.5 months and for the past year-ish we've only used it for sleep and the occasional car ride. I just looked at them and he's been biting holes in them! So I'm terrified he's going to chew them in half and choke, so I took them away just yesterday. He hated me at nap time, banging on his crib and throwing a huge tantrum, but just slept great at night(considering he has pneumonia I should say). We said if I gets too bad with trying to wean, we'll give him one of his sisters.
I don't mind that kids have them, obviously. I just know that having them for too long can mess up teeth/palate, since I needed braces/expanders when I was younger due toy paci(I had it while I was on kindergarten still!!)
ETA: my husband just told me that when he got DS out of bed this morning he had found a paci and had one all night...I knew weaning wouldn't be that easy haha
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Both of my LOs took to pacis really easy and, honestly, they've been a lifesaver. DS only gets his for naps and bedtime (16 months) and he will ask for it throughout the day but usually I can easily redirect to avoid a tantrum. We'll probably try to wean completely in the next few months, probably around a year and a half. He has a blankie also so I know at least he'll still have that for comfort.
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I am a believer that they are for sleep only...I feel like they inhibit communication (whether baby can talk or not). lo still has his, but we are going to phase it out after the bottle to cup transition is complete...one big change at a time for us....
With a face as cute as A's, how could anyone be annoyed?!
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