THE TIME HAS COME!
The dread, the horror…the stress of it all! I know to some people, this is laughable, even some of my mom friends would roll their eyes when I would ask how they did it.

For me, the moment of putting a stop to my son’s pacifier addiction was not even close to funny. Friends of mine who are moms and even my friends who are not moms, looked my 2 year old in the eye and would say “What’s that in your mouth?”

They were looking at my son but they were talking to me. I wanted to reply like Stewie from Family Guy and say “It’s an Fing Pacifier, what does it look like?”

Jokes aside, the people who asked this (most of the time) were some very close friends of mine. When they asked it didn’t bother me too much until it was asked more frequently. It turned into a question I hated. Why, you ask? Because I knew it meant the end of something that not only my son looked to for comfort but in a way, something that comforted me. No no, it’s not what you think. I know some people kid about the pacifier being a mute button which yes, that was one of it’s functions. It was more a symbol, a symbol of my baby growing up.

These times are so precious; I know he can’t stay a baby forever. Holding him, watching him sleep, and watching him suck on his paci happened to be my favorite past times. Watching him was like watching Maggie from The Simpsons. I loved how his little tongue would curl up and he would suckle.

Some kids don’t ever take a paci or if they do, some aren’t that crazy about it. My son…let me tell ya…was obsessed with his! He had it from the moment he opened his eyes to the moment he closed them. Contrary to popular belief, it did not impede his talking. In fact, he talked a lot! I had one of those pacifier clips so he could talk and pop it right back in when he was done speaking his mind. When he talked with it in his mouth, visualize one of those 80 year old women with the lipstick smudged outside of her lip lines and a cigarette in her mouth. It was so funny and so adorable… to me at least.

Then one day right before his 3rd birthday we had a dentist appointment. The dentist told us that the paci was indeed changing his bite. Before this appointment, I was clinging to the 3 friends who told me they had pacifiers until 4 years old and never needed braces. I clung to the fact that I had braces twice and my mom got rid of my pacifier at 18 months old. I clung to anything I could to hold on to that thing. When I heard the dentist say it would be better for him to lose the pacifier, I knew I had to be strong for my child. I thought, “Well if it would be BETTER for him then I BETTER get rid of it.”

But how???? I remember crying on the way home because it stressed me out so much. I knew cold turkey would NOT work, and then I remembered what the last dentist we went to said. He said cut a tiny hole in the pacifier without him seeing and your son won’t get that same sensation. I knew I had to try this first and see what his reaction was.

Day #1

We went home after the dentist, I covertly cut a tiny hole and then gave it back. He kept sucking but kept spitting it out. He didn’t say anything yet; just kept trying it and spitting it out.

Night #1

My son kept putting it in his mouth and then said he thinks his paci is broken. I said, “I think it is broken too.” That’s ok, we will put it on the nightstand” He had a little trouble falling asleep but he did!

Day/Night #1 Down!

Day #2

He again kept trying it and it wasn’t giving him the same satisfaction. My son told me again that he thinks it’s broken and I said I think so too. I also made sure I threw away all of the other pacifiers in the house so in a moment of weakness I wouldn’t be tempted. He didn’t really ask for it the rest of the day.

Night #2
He asked for it to go to bed and I had it on the nightstand. I gave it to him and he tried it. He said again, “it’s broken.” I said, “Ok, should we throw it away since it’s broken?” He said, “yes.”
So I had him throw it away himself.
When he asked for it again in bed, I reminded him we threw it away because it was broken.

Day/Night # 3

He didn’t really ask for it too much with his dad but he did with me and I just reminded him that it was broken.

THE FOLLOWING 2 WEEKS

My son would ask for it here and there but like I said, I reminded him that it was broken and he seemed satisfied with that response. And then one day, he just stopped asking.

Being somewhat of an “older mom,” you get all that advice from your friends who have already had kids. They say “Cherish every moment because you blink and they are all grown up!” This is why I hold on so tightly! I feel like the days are rushing by! Sometimes I wish I can freeze moments.

When all is said and done, I have to admit, this was far less painful than I anticipated. It still hurt but less than I thought. Even writing this makes me tear up because I realize it was a milestone. I know there are many different methods out there but this particular one worked for us and I really hope it works for you!