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No More Pacifier For Camille!

If your favorite blog posts of mine are about lipstick shades, this one may be a skipper. :)

Camille is officially done with her pacifier! Can I get a halleluyerrrr?!

Here's how it went down.

At her 2 year old doctor appointment in May, her pediatrician told me it was time to take it away. She said that in addition to some potential orthodontic issues, it could also make her more susceptible to ear infections. At this point, the pacifier was only for bedtimes -- nap, and sleeping at night. It "lived" in the crib -- when she was done sleeping, it stayed in her bed. I didn't just want to snatch it from her that very night of the doctor appointment, but we definitely began the talk about parting ways with "ni-night."

Me: "Hey Camille, what does Dr. C (pediatrician) say?"
C: "No mo' ni-nights."
Me: "That's right!"

We also began talks about how big girls didn't need them and that Baby Charlotte needed a ni-night. And I introduced her to the concept of the Night Night Fairy. We talked at length about how the Night Night Fairy would come during the time she was sleeping, take her pacifier (that she left outside of her door), and give it to a little baby in the hospital who needed it. In return, she would leave Camille a toy!

On July 15th, Camille was having lunch in her highchair and I was sitting on a barstool in front of her when she began talking without being prompted about the Night Night Fairy. I really built her up about it since I could tell she was adopting the whole concept of it, and I asked her if she was ready for the big visit that day during nap. She said yes, and we went for it!


So, lots of positive affirmations later, and we kept everything else about naptime the same -- a fairy tale, her blanket, sound machine on, and her cold teething rings from the freezer (that's another story), ni-night outside of the doorway, and she laid down and went to sleep with NO pacifier. 

While she was asleep, I replaced the pacifier with a new toy and put streamers on her door.



Not only were the streamers fun, but they were also a visual reminder over the next few days that the fairy came and that we now did bedtimes with no pacifiers. It was like every time we went back to her room for naptime or bedtime, she had a little reminder of this fact. 

For her toy, I'd ordered her this Doctor Set for $7.99 which was something she was really excited about. Ever since she started going to my pregnancy appointments with me, she has been really interested in playing doctor, listening to heartbeats, et cetera. So this kit (which, candidly, isn't the most stellar quality but it was so inexpensive and she LOVES it) really holds her attention with all of the parts and it was something she was thrilled to get. 


Her nap that day was only 30 minutes. I think she probably woke up and realized she didn't have her paci to help her go back to sleep. I still let her stay in the room for 30 more minutes before getting her, which wasn't the easiest on me, but it was a one-time deal and her naps have easily returned to their normal 60-90 minute lengths. 

She was REALLY excited when I opened the door and she saw the streamers and we got to go out to find the toy that was left. (Insert tons of talk about being a big girl, being so proud of her, and how exciting it would be to tell Dada when he was home from work.)


The main challenge for me has been that Charlotte takes the same type of paci that Camille did, so I really have to be diligent about keeping them out of her reach. About four times already I've looked over and Camille has had one of Charlotte's in her mouth and she has this look on her face like she knows she's getting away with something and that her time to enjoy it is limited. Ha! 

Other than those times, she has not had ONE time that she has fought sleep over not having her pacifier. (praise hands!!!)

So ... am I the perfect mother who holds all the magical secrets to getting her to drop the paci? Hardly. I think a lot of it is luck -- and patience to let it be her decision. Some parents take more of the cold-turkey approach with a lot of success. I wanted this to be Camille's decision, though, even if it meant that it took a little more time to happen. 

When did your little one drop his/her paci (if they took one at all), and how did you do it?

23 comments:

  1. wow you did such a great job!!! i have tried to get both of mine to take pacis as babies and they just would not have it. then i'm always glad that it's one less thing for me to deal with when i hear a parent's take of taking them away... because it often sounds so harsh!!! but you made it fun and i think that is amazing! sweet mama. :)

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  2. You're awesome! Our dog ate one of Alise's pacifiers and that's how our world ended.

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  3. We accidentally dropped out very last one at Walmart one day when shopping and I just explained that another little baby got it and we didn't need one anymore it worked out so easily but like you said we waited until he was old enough to understand the paci went away for good. He did quit his nap shortly after that though

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  4. My daughter was and never has been interested in pacifiers and it's crazy that I thought something was wrong with her at first because I'd always read about parents struggling to stop the pack habit. But this is still good to know for future kids!

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  5. My daughter was and never has been interested in pacifiers and it's crazy that I thought something was wrong with her at first because I'd always read about parents struggling to stop the pack habit. But this is still good to know for future kids!

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  6. Great job, mama! Can you/the BaBa Fairy come to my house next?!

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  7. This idea is the BEST!!!! So creative and what a great way for Camille to take ownership of becoming a "big girl!"

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  8. Great way to get rid of the paci! We got rid of ours when Sadie was 3 - the Bobo Fairy came and took them away and then she got a present. I wrote about it here.

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  9. Awesome! Lawter is such a paci addict and I can't wait to take hers away. hah She gets so whiney over it. It's supposed to be just for sleep time but she steals baby brother's at every opportunity. Lately Tell hasn't seemed that into a paci and if it's determined he's not going to be into it- her days with one are definitely numbered!!

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  10. I told my dd that Elmo needed one, so we mailed it to him and she never looked back.

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  11. Love the toy and streamer ideas, thanks!! We have a finger sucker - so it will be a bit more complicated when we go throughout his (since we can't take it away) but I'll definitely be using your strategies :) Nice going!

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  12. Oh what a great idea! Mine is ALL about his wubbanubs. I worry about when it's time to drop them!

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  13. I dread the day we have to drop the wubbanub ... and I know it's coming. Soon.

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  14. Whoohoo!! Neither have mine have liked pacis, which sucked during the infant stage, but was nice when it came to taking it away.

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  15. Wooohoooo!!! We don't have a paci issue, but rather a blanket that he sucks on. We rotate like 10 lol! Not sure how we are going to give this one up. He might be going to college with it. lol

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  16. Yay!!!!! Congrats mama!!! I'm not looking forward to the day Lilly has to depart from hers (which is currently strapped to her 24/7 and saves us everywhere...). I guess first things first will come weaning from her beloved nay-nays (nursing). It all goes so fast!!! Bookmarking this post for sure, and I love the streamers so she remembers / stays excited and encouraged!

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  17. One of my earliest memories is the Mimi (what I called a pacifier) Fairy coming when I was little. I remember my mom told me to throw my mimi out the window and when I went outside after my nap a Lion King suitcase was in its place.

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  18. Girl, you are soooo lucky!!!! With our (now five years old) son, we took his away just after his 2nd bday, too. It just so happened to almost be Easter when we decided it was time for it to go, so for the couple of weeks leading up to Easter, we talked it up and told him that he was going to leave his paci in his Easter basket and that the Easter Bunny was going to get it and take it to another little baby who really needed it, and in return, he was going to bring some something special for Jacob. Well, that night everything went swimmingly. Jacob put the paci in the basket and slept like a champ. The next day he was excited to have a new baby to love on at night instead of having the paci. We thought everything was going to be wonderful. NOPE. That very next night he screamed bloody murder for an hour and we eventually had to pat him to sleep (which we NEVER did). He proceeded to do this for MONTHS after that and to this day (2.5 years later) we STILL have to pat him before bed. Oh man, it was hideous! And now we have a daughter who is almost 2.5 and we're terrified to take hers away. Lol.

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  19. This is such a great idea! Yay Camille! Also, I loved seeing some of the other mom's pack horror stories! Too funny!

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  20. SOOOOOOOO dreading this! C is 17 months old, and I know it's coming. He literally has about 10 Wubbanubs and is obsessed with all of them - during the day when he's awake and when he sleeps. We put all of them in his crib at night so if he wakes, he reaches out, grabs one, and back off to sleep he goes.

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