Getting rid of the pacifier?

Question

My LO has been using a pacifier since day 1 (the doctors gave him one). We’re planning on getting rid of it by the time he’s 6 months old. I was thinking of starting the process soon if I can. Do y’all have any advice or experience?

Answer

My advice would be not to take it away that early. But your the parent and you need to make whatever decisions are best for you and your baby. This is my second child though and my first we took it at 11 months. My plan was originally to let him go a whole year but I forgot it the one day for daycare and so he had no choice but to go without it and I decided it was best to just stop it right then and there. He did have a hard time going to sleep at night because that was his security but we just sleep trained him for 3 days and he was fine. But for babies, especially one who has been using a pacifier from day one, use that for comfort and security. My daughter uses her all the time. Sometimes that’s all that calms her. Unless she lost interest, I won’t take it away until close to a year. They go through so many leaps in the first year and sometimes pacifiers (if your baby will take them) are life savers. The last thing you want is to take away their security when their little bodies are going through rough times (those leaps are a lot sometimes of babies). That’s just my opinion though. It won’t hurt her if you take it away so again if you feel that’s best then by all means go right ahead. It usually isn’t an issue that early on. I know it can be a cause for concern as children get too old and if they still use them because it can mess with their teeth. But do you know how many 2 year olds I still see with them? But maybe if anything start limiting it at 6 months to only use during naps and bedtime?

Answer

If he depends on it to smooth I wouldn’t take it away yet. My son doesn’t depend on his and only used it to chew on like a teether. The only thing is he discovered his thumb when he’s in bed and that will be hard to stop. My daughter was a thumb sucker until she was almost 4

Answer

I plan to do cold turkey around 1 year.

Getting rid of the pacifier?

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