Bye, Bye Pacifier
I remember the indecision and uncertainty I faced when deciding whether or not to introduce a pacifier into my first son's life. The Montessori philosophy recommends against the use of pacifiers (as do a whole host of books about helping your babies sleep well), but I really felt like my son needed the extra support to help soothe himself.
Around 14 months, he started daycare and his teacher helped us wean him off of it. We started by limiting its use just to nap time and bedtime. And then we just stopped using it all together.
We started the same thing with Tate when he hit the 14 month-mark. I worried that he would be really cranky around dinner time without a pacifier, but we stuck to the routine of just using it for naps and bedtime. It works fine! When he walks out of his room in the morning (he still uses a Montessori floor bed instead of a crib), he hands us his three pacifiers. It's the sweetest thing.
I imagine he'll only use it for naps and bedtime for another month or so (knock on wood!) and then it will hopefully be out of our lives forever.
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3 comments:
I'm so glad to hear this! I was really worried about introducing a paci to my son - we ended up doing it at about 2 weeks. My pediatrician said it was fine, and I was noticing his sucking reflex was really strong, even if he wasn't hungry.
So, it's good to hear that when the time comes, it is possible to wean them off of it without too much trouble!
Our 11 1/2 month old only uses it for naps and bedtime as is but I'm curious how you will transition out of that - we're pondering doing that eventually but not sure when/how
I'm not sure yet!
Someone suggested poking a hole in his pacifier so it's not as satisfying anymore. I have no idea if we'll try that or what we'll do.
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