Goodbye Paci.

I feel like I need to say that this IS NOT a sponsored post or connected to Build-A-Bear in any form. It’s just something that worked well for us, and I just want to share with my fellow mamas!!

pacis on table

Pacifiers can be such a debateable topic. Some people swear by them. Some hate them. Some worry about nipple confusion right at the beginning with breastfeeding. I definitely went through all of those feels when we brought Aria home. I was extremely adamant at the hospital for the nurses to not give her one just in case she didn’t take to nursing. I was a first time mom, and I was C R A Z Y. I know you mamas know what kind of crazy I’m referring to! I also had this giant fear of not giving her a paci and she would end up being a thumbsucker, which is a much harder habit to get rid of since you obviously can’t physically take away a thumb!!!

Anyway, after about two weeks of nursing, we introduced it to her and it was AWESOME. It kept her calm, and it helped her sleep. We loved it. She loved it. Car drives became a lot less torturous. Going out to eat was doable. It changed our lives so we knew that we would be a paci family!

Aria holding Pacis

 Fast forward to now. This little angel of mine is going to be 3 in less than two months. Now, she doesn’t use her beloved paci during the day…It was always used at nap, and at night. I knew I couldn’t take it away from her when she was about 18 months, when it would’ve been the ideal time. But her little brother came into our lives, which rocked her world completely. I felt awful thinking about how I was going to tear this sweet “blanket” from her that comforted her in a time where things were completely haywire at the house. I just couldn’t bring my heart to do it…not to mention, she would’ve been confused if I gave it to new baby brother but she couldn’t have one. So I waited. And waited. And waited. But I knew it was only going to get harder and harder if I waited any longer. 

Hands holding pacis

So the dear hubs and I decided that we would pick a weekend and be done with the paci with what I’m going to call the Build-A-Bear method. It basically meant that we would go to build a bear, stuff the pacis inside the bear, and pray to god that she wouldn’t tear that damn bear apart in the middle of the night. 

I talked about it everyday with Aria as we approached that Friday. I’d tell her that she a “big girl” and only “babies like Rish have pacis”. I told her we would soon have to say goodbye to the pacis. I could tell she was pretty nervous every time we talked about it, so I was also pretty scared of what was going to go down when we did finally pull the plug. 

So we took her to Build A Bear after nap on the Friday before labor day weekend. We specifically did that in case she had a few rough nights and needed the weekend to cope. 
Aria looking at bearsFluffing and stuffing machineAria pushing a pedalAria hugging Rory BearGiving the bear a bathAria picking out an outfit for Rory

I’m here to tell you she loved getting to do this! She was extremely brave, and because I think she’s at an age where she understood what was happening, and because we had talked about it over and over, she did AMAZING! ZERO tears!! We came home, and she slept with the bear and didn’t even ask once. She has asked once since then, and once we told her it was inside the bear, she was like “Ohhhh yea!!” Little goob. 

She sleeps with it at every nap and every night. We named her “Rory Bear” and she absolutely loves her! Best $20 spent. 

On the train

 Not sure when I’ll pull the plug with Rish, but I definitely think that this was the perfect way to do it with her, so I may attempt the same method with him when the time comes! He’s got a different personality so there’s a chance he may actually rip the bear apart! HAHA. #boys

Rish on the boat

I know there are a ton of other ways to do it like, cut the tips of the actual pacifiers, “give them away” to a baby, or hand them to the trash man when he comes by. I’ve heard lots of interesting ways that parents have attempted to rid this habit!  And I’m sure those have worked well, but we all know our own kids and what will work for them. And I knew that those methods weren’t going to be what worked for Aria! 

Photo Sep 07, 4 30 47 PM

The infamous Rory Bear! =) 

What did you use to get rid of the paci? 

Love, Alfa

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How to Get Rid of Pacifiers. || No more binkies || Saying goodbye to things kids are attached to

 

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The Comments

  • jehava
    September 9, 2016

    Aww I love this idea! My boys loved the pacifier and my youngest luckily didn’t take one but, it was crazy how hard it was for them to let it go! LOL

  • Mommy Little
    September 9, 2016

    I am all about the Paci. I know some parents don’t like them, but I’ve used them with both my kids so far and they have been life (and boobie) savers. I let my son have his (at bedtime) until he turned 3, and then one day I said it was time to throw them away. He was totally fine with it! Hopefully my daughter will be as easy!

  • tineke - workingmommyabroad
    September 9, 2016

    Hadn´t heard about this method, so interesting! My baby is still full on with his paci but he just turned one so guess we still have some time 🙂

  • Jasmine Hewitt
    September 9, 2016

    We never wanted to give our son a paci. I carefully instructed each nurse to not give him one for fear of nipple confusion. I’ll be dammned if that’s not exactly what one did first chance she got as he was getting his vitamin K shot ( he didnt cry about the shot-he cried about the lotion she put on him afterwards). Luckily, after I took it away for a feeding, he has never taken one again. Spits them right out,lol

  • Jennifer Hamra
    September 9, 2016

    Aww this was such a sweet post. I don’t know why, but it made me get a little teary-eyed. I was thinking of how much this meant to your daughter having her paci in her now beloved bear. I think it was such a sweet way for you and your husband to teach her to be a big girl but she could still hold onto the paci in a sort of treasure box, only it’s the bear. My daughter still uses her pacifier. Maybe I could try this method with her, too.

  • Gina
    September 9, 2016

    What a cute idea! My son wouldn’t ever take a pacifier, but I’m going to have to keep this in mind in case we have a child who uses one in the future!

  • ashley
    September 9, 2016

    Getting rid of the Paci was one of the most challenging things we faced with my daughter.

  • Danielle
    September 13, 2016

    Such a great idea!! I was lucky, I told my daughter that the doctor said “no more binky” when she turned three, because she was a big girl. She turned three, gave me her binky and that was that.