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Both of my kids used pacifiers, but after weaning my first child off hers around 2.5 years old, I knew I didn’t want to wait that long with my second.
For some background, my kids were always good at taking a bottle since I introduced it early on. I also introduced pacifiers to help them self-soothe. With no help besides my husband, it felt important to have something that could calm them when we needed it. The pacifiers were only used during sleep or while traveling (car or plane). I didn’t allow them to walk around with one because I didn’t want it to become a constant habit. Plus, they both went to daycare, where the pacifiers would get lost anyway.
What Didn’t Work the First Time
With my first child, I’ll admit I didn’t do great with weaning the pacifier. I had planned to wean her off the pacifier earlier, but being pregnant with my second, I chose to keep the peace. By the time I really committed to weaning the pacifier from her, she was around 2.5 years old.
I tried the “cut a hole in the pacifier” method that I had read about online. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. She still put the pacifier in her mouth and cried even more. She would ask for the other pacifiers (we had several), and at times I gave in because we were juggling a toddler, a newborn, and two parents working early mornings. I think this approach just confused her. She even slept with the cut pacifier next to her pillow for a while.
What finally worked was explaining that her pacifiers needed to go to other babies. At 2.5, she was able to understand. I even showed her pictures of babies using pacifiers, so she felt like she was helping them. This pacifier weaning method was what finally worked for her.
What Worked Better
By the time my son came along, I knew I wouldn’t wait as long to wean the pacifier. I promised myself I would wean before age two and it was so much easier.
He also only used a pacifier while sleeping or traveling. This time, I went straight cold turkey pacifier weaning. One night before bed, I hid all the pacifiers and put him down as usual. When he realized it was gone, he asked for it and looked around. I calmly told him it had gone “bye-bye.” He obviously wasn’t thrilled about it and cried a bit. However, the entire pacifier transition took no more than two or three nights. Since then, he hasn’t needed a pacifier at all and usually sleeps like a champ.
Every child is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to pacifier weaning. For me, starting earlier and keeping things simple worked better.
If I had to wean another child off a pacifier, I would make sure to stay consistent, pick a realistic method, and remember that a few rough nights can lead to better long-term results.
