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| Jacob with his daddy |
Then came the next day. And life decided it had a sense of humor :)
Jacob came down with a very bad cold/virus AND started to get 3 teeth (because this is what always seems to happen anytime you try to make any changes, am I right?!). Have I ever mentioend my little guy, who is normally pretty easy going, is a bit of a baby when it comes to pain and illness? And I mean crying and fussy most of the day and up crying for hours during the night. He pops back to normal once he starts to feel better, but it is a long handful of days and nights!
Anyway, I considered giving Jacob back the pacifier when he came down with the cold but decided to keep up with the no pacifier plan. He normally gets frustrated during colds because he can't suck on the pacifier so it made sense to keep it out of the picture, especially since he was doing pretty well with it gone.
What happened next:
Outside of the waking up crying at night which I'm sure was due to illness, here are the issues we had 1) fussing for a few minutes before going down for some naps and bed, 2) waking a little early in the morning some days 3) some short naps (1.5 hours, but short for him)
After a week Jacob no longer fussed for a few minutes before going to sleep and no longer woke up early in the morning. I'm pretty sure these two things were, at least in part, related to the dropping of the pacifier. He did continue waking up at night crying for a couple days and had some short naps. These are no longer an issue. I feel pretty confident the night waking was due to illness (and a little teething) since it is typical of illness for him and also started on day 4. As for the short naps, I'm not sure what caused them, but they did seem to be more illness related since he woke up screaming and extremely distressed.
After 11 days my little Jacob is sleeping like usual, has two incisors broken through and has a few sniffles and a mild cough remaining. Whew! I'm glad this last week is over with. I'm exhausted. There have been too many sick people in my house and very little sleep!
In case you're wondering, here's how I went about things with the pacifier.
I gave Jacob a pacifier whenever he wanted until 6 months of age. This was mainly for sleep since he was perfectly content without it while awake and I didn't try to push him to take it. After 6 months of age, I tried to use the pacifier for sleep times only. If he was sick or we were out and about and missing naps he could have it then. Pretty much, I used it when it made sense for him and me (because I like to have a happy baby too :)
I tried out multiple pacifier holders for Jacob. He got attached to the myblankee pacifier blanket that I talked about in the post plush pacifier holders. I gave this to him once I unswaddled him. My plan was to detach the pacifier when it was time to wean him from it and he'd hopefully have an easier time at it since he'd still have his blankee to cuddle. You don't need a plush pacifier holder, but please get some kind of lovey for your child early on. A pacifier should not be their only lovey!
When the time came, I got rid of all the pacifiers. Some people will poke a whole or cut off the tip but I preferred to do it cold turkey. I gave Jacob his {sans pacifier} blanket to hold once I got him up in the morning. I figured this would help him get used to the blanket without the pacifier so it wasn't such a shock when I put him down for a nap.
At nap time I cuddled with him a bit longer than usual with the blanket in his arms. I put him down with a positive and confident attitude and walked out like usual. He cuddled right up to his blanket and has gotten more attached to it by the day. If it wasn't for his illness, I'm pretty sure our only issues would have been a few days of fussing before falling asleep, a handful of early morning wake ups and possibly a few shorter than usual naps.
So this is what worked with us. What has worked for you?
So this is what worked with us. What has worked for you?
I've never commented before, but I'm so impressed with this post. Way to stick with it! Any tips for getting rid of a paci with a 2.5 year old?? I know, I know...its long over due. I've been dreading it. He only has it for sleeping and he has a lovey that he adores, but he asks for that dang paci ALL THE TIME! Help :(
ReplyDeleteElaine, I actually considered keeping the pacifier until like 3 years of age and I know many people do keep it this long, so don't feel bad for still having it. At that age you can add an explanation to things i.e. the pacifier is broken and you have to throw it away and he now has to go to sleep without it. Offer lots of encouragement, compassion and extra cuddles. People do various things like this at this age. Think through some scenarios and see what you think would work the best. The closer he is to 3, the more this will make sense to him. I am planning on doing a post with lots of info on this, but i'm only partly done with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was very tempted to give the pacifier back to him several times. It may not have helped with sleep since he had the stuffy nose, but it would have comforted him throughout the day. I decided that he needed to learn to comfort himself in other ways and that I would help him through it. I'm not sure who this was harder on, me or him!
Rachel
And thanks so much for commenting elaine. It is always nice to know i'm not the only one reading these posts!
ReplyDeleteRachel
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my site. I'm now following yours, too.
As for the pacifier, I can't say much. I tried giving him a pacifier when he was about three months old to make him stop crying and get him to sleep but he just kept spitting it out. At first I thought he didn't want THAT pacifier so I asked my husband to get new ones with different brands. He didn't like ANY of them. Turns out, he's not into pacifiers because it's the feeding bottle that he wants.
I was able to completely wean him out of the feeding bottle two months ago, a few weeks after his third birthday. :)
thank you for the info. i wrote the review . you have a very nice blog. i am following you on twitter, facebook and google.
ReplyDeleteway go go! we got lucky our son never took the pacifier..but guess what we just finally took the bottle away on 1/1/12 and yeah, he's 2.5!
ReplyDeletestopping by from the alexa hop
http://www.mysocalblog.com
I am so not brave enough to try this just yet! Good for you.
ReplyDeleteFollowing you back friend ~ thanks for stopping by our little blog!
Rebel sweetheart,
ReplyDeleteSome babies certainly like pacifiers more than others, especially if they aren't offered it until later on. Good job on dropping the bottle. That can certainly be addicting, maybe even more so than the bottle.
Rachel
I left you a comment on your blog tammy. Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteRachel
My socal life,
ReplyDeleteThat is great that you were able to take away the bottle. That can be really tough!
Rachel
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI think I was only brave enough because my doctor encouraged me to do it. I probaly would have kept it until 3 years of age if not for that!
Rachel
Way to go actually sticking to the plan even when he was sick and fussy. I was/am always the type to give in - I admire you for that!
ReplyDeleteOh, I was very close to giving in spilled milkshake. The thought of having to do it over again very soon made me keep to my guns.
ReplyDeleteRachel
Thanks for visiting the zookeeper!
ReplyDeleteRachel
Can you use The Baby Whisperer Method and still use a pacifier?
ReplyDeleteA little background. My LO is 6.5 mo old. We read Baby Wisee prior to Macy arriving and were doing fine on that until 4.5 weeks old when she was diagnosed w/ acid reflux. We had no sleep props prior, but her condition made us desperate and then came everything! :) rocking, jiggling, white noise, pacifier. Now that we have her acid reflux under control, I'd like to start sleep training.
She sleeps through the night with an ocassional cry. I put paci in and shes fine till 7AM. I attribute her STTN to Baby Wise / schedule. Her day time naps horrendous. So, im not sure which method will work for her. And I feel like it would be tough to change everything at once. For one, she's super hyper active. Even doctors say "wow, she never stops moving". At times feeding is a gymnastic event with her. :) also, she doesn't really cry when put down at first. When I get her sleepy and PD she just opens her eyes super wide and seems to get hyper. She won't start crying for maybe 20 min. Each min she's getting more overtired. The not crying for so long, then her getting frustrated seems like it would make Ferber hard, due to her being so over tired.
So, with all that being said, can you tell me why I might prefer Ferber over The Baby Whisperer or vice versa? And can I keep the paci with either method? Has anyone gone from a million sleep props to baby sleeping on their own? A little encouragement needed.
Katy,
DeleteYes, you can do the baby whisperer and still use a pacifier. For one, the pacifier doesn't always turn into a prop. If it does, if you don't have to reinsert much then you might be fine until baby learn to put it back in on her own (but don't rush in!). If you have to reinsert much, you can offer it when going to sleep but then try another methods (shush pat etc) if it falls out and she is upset.
If she goes from sleepy to wide awake when you put her down, it is often better to not have her as sleepy when you put her down.
If her reflux isn't totally under control, I'd be watchful about doing much crying. IF it seems fine, I think you are ok with either method. Both are going to cause her to get overtired. The ferber could be tough because she may be one that gets overstimulated more than usual from the crying, but at the same time, she sounds like she may get stimulated by your presence while doing the baby whisperer methods. With what I know, I don't think either method will much better than the other. They are pretty different, so I'd evaluate what you feel you can do most consistently and what you feel most comfortable with.
Rachel
Katy,
DeleteSorry, forgot to say that you can keep the pacifier with either method. See how she responds though. Many babies do well if you don't reinsert very often. They slowly get used to going to sleep without it. But some will show no progress with this so it will end up being better to not reinsert at all, or to get rid of the pacifier completely.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 11.5 weeks old and loves her pacifier. My son isn't quite two yet and wakes early in the morning so I used the pacifer as needed to help her get to sleep more quickly without having to hold her all the time. Now a lot of naps and bedtime are spent reinserting the pacifier. She consistently wakes once between the dreamfeed and morning and I've been feeding her each time (she has slept through the night on several occassions, but not consistently.) Last night, however, I tried reinserting and resettling her when she woke at 2:45 and she went back to sleep until 5. I am super concerned about her being dependent on her pacifier so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to spend the next months concstantly reinserting her pacifier but so far, I've found it works best to get her to sleep. Would you recommend taking it now before its a real problem or just deal with it until she's old enough to reinsert it herself? My son never really used a pacifier and I hate the idea of it being a sleep prop for my daughter. Is there a way to keep it without her depending on it? Thanks!
I should add that she does not wake up as soon as she loses her pacifier. After the DF when shes basically still asleep, I put her down without the pacifier and most of the time when I have to wake her up, she isn't sucking on it. I think its only when she wakes up, she can't get back to sleep without it.
DeleteHi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 11.5 weeks old and loves her pacifier. My son isn't quite two yet and wakes early in the morning so I used the pacifer as needed to help her get to sleep more quickly without having to hold her all the time. Now a lot of naps and bedtime are spent reinserting the pacifier. She consistently wakes once between the dreamfeed and morning and I've been feeding her each time (she has slept through the night on several occassions, but not consistently.) Last night, however, I tried reinserting and resettling her when she woke at 2:45 and she went back to sleep until 5. I am super concerned about her being dependent on her pacifier so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to spend the next months concstantly reinserting her pacifier but so far, I've found it works best to get her to sleep. Would you recommend taking it now before its a real problem or just deal with it until she's old enough to reinsert it herself? My son never really used a pacifier and I hate the idea of it being a sleep prop for my daughter. Is there a way to keep it without her depending on it? Thanks!
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 11.5 weeks old and loves her pacifier. My son isn't quite two yet and wakes early in the morning so I used the pacifer as needed to help her get to sleep more quickly without having to hold her all the time. Now a lot of naps and bedtime are spent reinserting the pacifier. She consistently wakes once between the dreamfeed and morning and I've been feeding her each time (she has slept through the night on several occassions, but not consistently.) Last night, however, I tried reinserting and resettling her when she woke at 2:45 and she went back to sleep until 5. I am super concerned about her being dependent on her pacifier so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to spend the next months concstantly reinserting her pacifier but so far, I've found it works best to get her to sleep. Would you recommend taking it now before its a real problem or just deal with it until she's old enough to reinsert it herself? My son never really used a pacifier and I hate the idea of it being a sleep prop for my daughter. Is there a way to keep it without her depending on it? Thanks!
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 11.5 weeks old and loves her pacifier. My son isn't quite two yet and wakes early in the morning so I used the pacifer as needed to help her get to sleep more quickly without having to hold her all the time. Now a lot of naps and bedtime are spent reinserting the pacifier. She consistently wakes once between the dreamfeed and morning and I've been feeding her each time (she has slept through the night on several occassions, but not consistently.) Last night, however, I tried reinserting and resettling her when she woke at 2:45 and she went back to sleep until 5. I am super concerned about her being dependent on her pacifier so I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to spend the next months concstantly reinserting her pacifier but so far, I've found it works best to get her to sleep. Would you recommend taking it now before its a real problem or just deal with it until she's old enough to reinsert it herself? My son never really used a pacifier and I hate the idea of it being a sleep prop for my daughter. Is there a way to keep it without her depending on it? Thanks!