Bye Bye Pacifier

Thursday, August 09, 2012 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford from Child Development

I loved the paci, nuk, binky. My little girl loved it more. From the time she came home from the hospital, and wasn’t nursing, she was sucking away on her pacifier, or bink as we fondly referred to it. I never thought about the day we would say good-bye to it. It seemed that it would be long into the future and then I blinked and it was here.

Does your little one love his or her pacifier? Are you concerned they are growing too old for its use?

As my little girl approached toddlerhood, we weaned the use of her paci down a bit. As her language developed, we didn’t want any interference, and so the bink became a naptime or nighttime only option. Well into toddlerhood, I was happy with this compromise.

At 19 months, my little was about to venture into a preschool program. It was a big transition. It became a bigger transition when, the night before the program began, I got word about the “no pacifiers” during naptime.

My heart raced. I admit it, I panicked.

At first I was angry about just finding this out. Had I missed this information somewhere?

After I simmered down and talked to her teacher-to-be and a few family and friends, I talked myself into believing that I would be okay and SHE would be okay without that pacifier during naptime.

And she was. Go figure.

The pacifier remained in her toddler bed as she approached 2 ½ years old. The teacher was hinting that it was time to say good-bye to these nuks for good. I was pondering the idea.

Next up, one of our family members was due to welcome a little one into the world.

Thinking about it, I decided to drop the idea that the NEW baby would need a pacifier much more than my little one did these days. No, we weren't planning on REALLY giving this baby her bink to USE, but it was more about providing the perfect transition for our little girl.

During the first visit from our family, my little girl proudly declared that she was giving her paci to Keegan. She then took the pacifier and brought it to the baby carrier, tucking it beside this little newborn. I beamed with pride.

The family left and so did her pacifier.

I told my daughter that it was time to celebrate her achievement of being a big girl. It did not matter that it was nearly bedtime; we were on our way to the local toy store to pick out something special.
Arriving back home, she was proud and happy. New toy in hand we proceeded to get her ready for bed.
As we began our bedtime routine, she asked for her paci.

“Um, what?” I stuttered. Obviously, there had been some sort of miscommunication

My dear daughter indeed knew there was more than ONE paci. She simply was requesting paci #2, 3, 4, 5 and so on.

As challenging as it was, I played dumb. I acted oblivious. “What other pacis?”

And, so the story ended. There were a few tears from her, but her purple blanket filled in for that night.
The paci request lasted a few days.

It was hard, but I kept consistent. I still haven't quite let go. Nearly three years later, you’ll find that cup of pacis in my cupboard. And every now and then I bring them down just to hold them once more.

Are you ready to let go of your child’s pacifier?

Looking for tips?

Good luck to you AND your little one!

Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
Jeannie Fleming-Gifford is a mama to one little lady, freelance writer, and the director of education for a non-profit community school of the arts. Graduating with a B.A. in Music and a M.A. in Child Development, Jeannie began her career in quality child developme...Read More

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