Pacifier just for naps - is it possible?

amother

Aquamarine

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 12:52 am

When my baby was 11 months, we took away his paci cold-turkey. He was able to sleep through the night, but his naps went from 1.5 hours to 40 minutes. We spoke to the pediatrician who advised giving back the paci and trying again.

He is now 13 months B"H but started waking up in middle of the night when his paci falls out. Last night I heard him on the monitor cry, shriek, and make a sucking sound when he found his paci. He slept till the morning. However, I think it may be time to take away the paci at night. I want to do it before 18 months, as my doctor says between 18-36 months, it's impossible to take it away from them.

I don't want him to lose out on his naps. He takes 2 1.5 hour naps during the day.

So...has anyone successfully used a paci just for nap time?

Or...any tips/advice?

TIA

Iymnok

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 1:35 am

From when my babies no longer need the pacifier as a regular soother, I only give t to them when they are tired or especially cranky. As they grow, this becomes less and less. Since they sleep so much better while sucking, I let them sleep with it for a couple years. It makes bedtime so much easier.
I should probably take ds's away, he recently turned 3. But it's just at night.
DD is 16 months. She has it when she finds it around or is tired. If I see that she has it and is happy. I can usually take it away and she's fine.
I just really don't like the look of kids with pacifiers. They have such cute faces, why cover up a happy one?

amother

Beige

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 8:08 am

I have never been successful at taking away the paci at such a young age.

they just sleep so much better with it that I dont find it worth it at that age.

my first was addicted to her paci (hmm maybe thats why she was such an easy baby lol) and what I should have done was take it away during the day and have it only at nap/bedtime. we only got rid of it at 3.

with my others I played this whole game of taking it away, trying to be strict and wtvr and it backfired, they just weren't that hooked on it and also didn't sleep as well.

for some things, its just worth it to let them be babies and let them have what they enjoy.

Stars

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 8:17 am

At my son's first dental check up I was told to take it away at around 3 ½. I don't know the reasoning for this though.

At around 16 months I made a rule pacifier is strictly for the crib only.

FranticFrummie

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 11:14 am

DD didn't take a paci as a baby, but at about a year old her sleep patterns changed, and we tried a paci. I made a firm rule that the paci meant "sleepy time", and she understood.

If it were "impossible" to take a paci away from an older toddler, then way aren't there adults walking around with pacis in their mouths? Your doctor is being ridiculous.

When DD was 3, she bit through her paci. I told her that meant that she had big girl teeth, and that it was time for paci to go bye-bye. She walked over to the trash can and threw it away herself. When she wasn't looking, I took the trash to the curb.

That night, there was a bit of pouting, and looking in the trash can, but once she realized it was truly gone, that was it. I kept telling her what a big girl she was, with her big girl teeth, and she fell asleep in about 15 minutes. I don't even remember tears being involved.

The next night she asked me to buy her a new one. We had the same conversation about teeth, and she dropped the subject. I never heard about it again.

When she would see a kid with a paci, she would comment "Look mama, it's a BABY!" Very Happy

esther11

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 2:46 pm

With my older daughter, at 12 months we limited it to sleep times, then at about 26 months we had a conversation about how soon we would throw the packs in the garbage. She threw them out herself. That night and the one after there was a little difficulty with bedtime and that was it. She still talks about how her pacis are in the garbage and she is totally fine with it.

pesek zman

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 5:00 pm

amother wrote:

Let the poor kids have his paci.
My son is 4 and still has one. We have rules though that that age.

Disagree! It's terrible for his oral development!!

secondary though, my personal parenting philosophy is about fostering independence and empowerment rather than reliance, so I'm anti-paci. But one has to have a higher tolerance for whining than most.

LittleRed

Fri, Apr 28 2017, 5:37 pm

Having discussed this with several sleep experts and doctors/therapists, my conclusions are that yes, you can do a pacifier for naps and not for nighttime. The brain organizes daytime sleep differently and they can be separate enough for a toddler. Daytime sleep is harder, so this might be a good idea. Also, if a pacifier is restricted to sleeping times only, it shouldn't cause any physical developmental issues (obviously check with your own dr). Easiest times to get rid of the pacifier are before 12 months and then again after 3 years, when the communication skills and cognitive abilities are there to make it smoother.