How to wean your child off a pacifier: 6 effective ways from Nutrilak

When to wean your baby off the pacifier

There is no consensus not only about the pacifier itself, but also about how many months or years the baby should be weaned off it. The prevailing version is that the smaller the child, the easier it is for him to give up his favorite “accessory.” For example, children 2 or 3 years old no longer need a pacifier to satisfy the sucking reflex (since it no longer exists), but it has become a comfort, a favorite toy, a companion for walks, and a ritual for falling asleep. Attempts by adults to take away the pacifier are perceived with offense. A child may even hide his favorite pacifier. Therefore, the age of up to 1 year is considered the best time to give up a pacifier: the sucking reflex subsides by 12–18 months, and there is no stable psychological attachment as such. In addition, at this age the child’s diet becomes more varied. It’s easier to switch his attention to new tastes and bright dishes. In three-year-old babies, the attachment to the pacifier is much stronger, but, on the other hand, the baby already perceives adults’ speech well and understands their arguments. Don't expect him to immediately understand everything and not try to do the opposite. But remember, have you seen older children with nipples? Hardly. So your baby will soon wean himself off it.

Time to part

By the age of one, or at least two, you should give up the pacifier. The best time for this is between 8 months and a year. During this period, the sucking reflex fades away, and the chewing reflex appears. It's not a sin to take advantage of this. During the day, instead of a pacifier, offer the child a dryer or a bread crust - let him scratch his swollen gums. And as soon as the first teeth appear, instead of pureed food, you can give food in pieces.

In order for the baby to remember the pacifier less often while awake, parents will have to pay more attention to him. The baby’s mouth can be occupied with something more useful. For example, let him learn to blow soap bubbles, blow a trumpet, whistle, and finally sing!

Ways to wean yourself off the pacifier

"Soska wants to go for a walk"

During the day, you need to remove the pacifier from the baby's field of vision. When he looks for her and persistently asks, you should explain that the dummy has gone for a walk. She likes to walk during the day and returns only in the evening. At first, the child will only fall asleep with the pacifier, and then he will be able to refuse it completely. If the baby is under 1 year old and does not accept such a story, simply remove the pacifier and try to distract his attention as soon as the whims begin. The main thing is consistency. If you are determined to wean your child off the pacifier, do not contradict your words and do not give the pacifier while he is awake.

Buying another pacifier

Grandmother’s method, which has been used for more than one generation, is to cut the pacifier so that it is inconvenient to suck on. But it has a big disadvantage: the baby can get hurt with such a nipple. Nowadays, pharmacies and children's stores offer a huge variety of pacifiers; they differ in size, shape and even taste. If your baby has certain preferences, buy him a completely different pacifier that he definitely won't like. When the baby is naughty, do not give back his favorite pacifier, but distract his attention.

“Let’s give a pacifier to Lala”

This method is suitable for 2- and 3-year-old children, with whom you can already reach an agreement. This is especially true if a little brother or sister has appeared in the family. In this case, it is worth offering to give the pacifier to someone who needs it more. You can also send a parcel to a bunny or squirrel with your child, and write a letter together for the “recipient”. In play, it is easier for a child to accept rejection of his favorite “toy.”

Loss of pacifier

This method is great if the baby likes to play with the pacifier and may spit it out or throw it away. It can be shown that after such a throw the dummy was actively searched for, but was never found. If your child already knows that a new pacifier can be bought in a store, try to avoid counters where he can see it.

Pleasant exchange

The story of the tooth fairy will help here (you can come up with any character that your child likes). Tell your child that he has become big and his favorite hero can take his pacifier and bring him a gift in honor of this event. Offer to put the pacifier under the pillow and give her a toy in the morning.

Using the Vestibular Plate

Such plates, like many nipples, are made of silicone, but have a different shape. The products are intended not only for weaning off the pacifier, but also to prevent the development of malocclusion.

How to establish breastfeeding and eliminate the cause of refusal

First of all, you need to understand why the baby refuses breast milk and cries. To do this, it is enough to carefully observe the baby during feeding for a couple of days and analyze the general situation. There may be several reasons.

Non-standard nipple shape

Diagnosing this reason is not difficult; a woman just needs to visually assess the shape of her breasts. If the nipple really has an atypical size or structure, the mother can use special breast shields. There are 2 types of such pads: silicone and latex. Pediatricians recommend choosing silicone; it is a safer, hypoallergenic material with a high degree of wear resistance.

Choosing the right feeding position

A comfortable feeding position is equally important for both mother and baby. If feeding occurs while sitting, it is recommended to lean your back. It is important that the baby is turned to the mother with his tummy, his body position is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. As soon as the baby opens his mouth, you need to insert the nipple into his mouth as deeply as possible. In this case, the nipple areola should be captured almost completely. This will avoid the formation of cracks in the juices, the baby will not swallow air and will be able to comfortably get enough.

Lack of milk

A decrease in lactation can occur for various reasons: difficult labor or concomitant diseases of the mother, late breastfeeding, improper organization of feeding. In most cases, stabilization of lactation will primarily depend on the woman’s desire and her persistence in this matter. There are general recommendations from breastfeeding experts to help increase milk production:

sufficient fluid intake, at least 1.5-2 liters per day;
feeding on demand;
mandatory feeding at night. The production of prolactin, the hormone responsible for lactation, occurs at night. Night feeding will serve as an additional incentive to increase production;
balanced diet;
stable emotional state, absence of stress and overwork.

Weak sucking due to illness or malnutrition

If the mother does not have a deficiency of milk, it is easily released from the breast, and the baby does not have enough strength to suck, you cannot do without the help of a pediatrician. Perhaps the child is significantly underweight, hence the lack of strength to suck. Or is affected by some disease. If necessary, the doctor will order examinations and decide on further feeding regimen. Most likely, in such a situation you will have to introduce a mixture. But any competent pediatrician will explain that you should not completely give up breastfeeding, even if supplementary feeding with formula is present. After some time, the baby can get stronger and take the breast with pleasure.

Lactase deficiency

Lactase enzyme deficiency can only be determined using an appropriate test prescribed by a doctor. But there are indirect symptoms that suggest that this is the reason for breast refusal. Enzyme deficiency often manifests as colic, increased gas formation, or constipation. The digestion process is disrupted, milk is poorly broken down and cannot be fully absorbed. Therefore, if a baby is severely tormented by colic, and against this background he refuses to breastfeed, this is a reason to assume lactase deficiency. When the diagnosis is confirmed, the pediatrician prescribes a lactase drug or a medicinal mixture.

Late breastfeeding

Breastfeeding should be started as soon as possible. The ideal option is breastfeeding immediately in the delivery room. But there are various medical conditions due to which this does not happen. In such a situation, the mother’s task is to maintain lactation. To stimulate the production of prolactin, it is recommended to express milk several times a day. And start breastfeeding as soon as possible.

Strong flow of milk

Due to excessive milk production during feeding, the baby does not have time to swallow it and begins to choke and cry at the breast. In such a situation, it is recommended to first express a small portion of milk so that the baby can cope with its volume. To avoid breast overfilling between feedings, breastfeeding experts recommend alternately offering your baby the right or left breast. That is, one feeding on the right side, the next on the left. This way, the flow of milk will be more even on each side.

Pacifiers and bottles

A pacifier is a kind of breast substitute. And no matter how modern and anatomical they may be, their sucking is not identical to the sucking of a female nipple. And if the child has not yet developed a sucking reflex or has other difficulties with breastfeeding, it is highly not recommended to actively use a pacifier. The situation is similar with the bottle. For example, a mother often feeds her baby with expressed milk rather than breastfeeding. The fact is that to consume milk from a bottle, the baby does not need to put in as much effort as when sucking the breast. The liquid practically pours into his mouth. Hence, again, disturbances in the sucking reflex. There are also situations when bottle feeding with expressed milk is the only alternative to formula. For example, if the mother is not able to constantly be with the child. Or the baby never took the breast, but he eats expressed milk well. In these cases, naturally, it will be impossible to refuse the bottle.

How to wean your baby from sleeping with a pacifier

A story familiar to many parents: the child is ready to give up the pacifier during the day, but cannot fall asleep without it. If you have decided to wean your baby off the pacifier for good, the following tips may help you.

1. If the child is under 1 year old, change the daily routine slightly so that feeding is immediately followed by sleep. Let your baby fall asleep at the breast or with a bottle. At this time, you can turn on a gentle melody or read a fairy tale. When breastfeeding, offer your baby a breast instead of a pacifier. At first, you may have to sleep next to him, since he may wake up, and you will need to calm him down without the usual “comforter”.

2. Children from one to two years old can be given rubber teething rings in their crib.

3. You can already talk to children over three years old about the dangers of pacifiers. Try to agree to sleep without your favorite “toy”.

What's good about a pacifier?

Nature has endowed newborns with a sucking reflex, thanks to which they find their mother's breast and extract milk. In fact, this is a natural instinct that prevents the baby from dying of hunger. In addition, during sucking, the brain is stimulated and pleasure hormones are produced. They make the child calmer and help him fall asleep faster. Thus, when a child is agitated, uncomfortable, but not hungry, parents decide to give him a pacifier to calm him down. Most often it comes in handy in the following situations:

the baby cannot fall asleep, but with a pacifier he usually falls asleep without prolonged rocking;

During a long trip, the baby may feel uncomfortable, but a pacifier can bring the necessary peace of mind;

babies don’t like being dressed and are often capricious, so in this situation, the pacifier will be the mother’s assistant;

A tedious queue to see a doctor is also often not complete without this “accessory”.

A properly selected pacifier made of high-quality materials can prevent the accumulation of gases (but a cheap one, on the contrary, provokes the swallowing of air). In addition, when a child begins to crawl and actively explore the world, the pacifier is used as a kind of barrier that prevents him from putting into his mouth everything that comes in the way.

Effective ways

There are quite a few ways to wean a child from sucking a pacifier. It is important to choose a method that is right for your child, without causing him psychological trauma.

Explain to the baby that he is already big and does not need a pacifier.
You can “lose” a pacifier.

There have been cases where parents actually lost their child's favorite pacifier. The baby, being capricious, gradually forgot about her;

Offer to give the pacifier to someone else , for example, a familiar baby.

You can exchange it for a toy or candy;

Make up a fairy tale story that a cat, dog, etc. took the pacifier.

Say that she chewed or ate it;

Gradually cut off a small piece from the pacifier every day until it runs out ;
There are tips to smear the pacifier with something tasteless , but it is not advisable to use them;
Some parents simply stop giving a pacifier , despite all the child’s whims.

This method can psychologically traumatize the baby. It’s better to try to explain your behavior to him, to somehow distract him from his worries.