I am a huge fan of pacifiers. Especially in those early days of parenting when I had no clue what was going on and my beautiful baby boy was crying constantly.
Thanks to a very nice night nurse who cared for me after the birth of my first son, I gave pacifiers a try. Miracle of miracles, pacifiers soon became my best friend. William was instantly soothed once the pacifier was in his mouth. The problem is he is still instantly soothed once the pacifier is in his mouth. He is 2 ½ years old and it is officially time to get rid of the pacifier.
Here is what we have done so far
· Pacifiers belong in the bedroom. This means that the pacifiers are not allowed anywhere else in the house. He may only have a pacifier when he is in his bedroom.
· Pacifiers are only used during bedtime. This means that the pacifiers are put away until it is either nap time or bed time.
I know it does not seem like a whole lot, but going from having a pacifier whenever he wanted one to being allowed pacifiers only during bedtime and only in his room was a huge transition.
My son is not a fan of these rules. In fact he tries to be sneaky with his pacifiers. He will go to his room grab his pacifiers when he thinks mom and dad are not paying attention. One minute he is pacifier free, the next he has one in his mouth and one in each hand!
Yesterday my son was at his sneakiest! I was playing with baby Steven in the living room when I see William’s head peak around the staircase. He had a pacifier in his mouth and did not want me to see it for fear of me taking it away. How do I know this you might ask? Well… William stuck the pacifier in his mouth and then covered his mouth with his hand. He walked all the way down the stairs, through the living room, through the dining room, and to the basement door with his hand covering his mouth the ENTIRE time! I asked him what was in his mouth and instead of answering me, his eyes got really wide and he raced to the basement. Seriously? Seriously. Because nothing says innocence like running away.
Now we are at the point where pacifiers need to disappear all together and I am at a loss as to how to approach this milestone. Should I be a mean mommy and just cold turkey quit the pacifiers? Or should I wean him from the pacifiers even more? Pacifier only at bedtime, no longer during naptime…. Aaaakkk!
I think we are going to get rid of Williams’s pacifier through the cold turkey method. I am going to be perfectly honest with you; I am scared. I do not think this is going to be a smooth transition. In fact, I think this is going to be one big dish of meltdown madness with a side of temper-tantrums. Wish me luck!
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