Pacifier Weaning Tips
If you've found yourself doing the ‘pacifier dance’ and replacing it every time it falls out of your baby’s mouth while they’re sleeping, you're not alone! In this blog, we’ll dive deep into what to do when the pacifier disrupts sleep. So, grab your favorite beverage and let’s dive in.
Is it too early to give up the pacifier?
Has your baby been waking up the second they drop the pacifier at night? Are you constantly replacing the pacifier at night because your baby wakes up every time it falls from their mouth?
This is where I found myself at less than 12 weeks with my little one. Every 20 mins or so at night, H would drop the pacifier, wake up and cry until we replaced it. Over and over again, all through the night. Of course part of the waking was hunger, but it was easy to tell - when I replaced the pacifier, he wouldn’t calm right away, so I’d feed him.
In my desperate googling, I read over and over that you can teach your baby to replace the pacifier… at SEVEN MONTHS. How was I ever going to make it 4 more months without sleep? Here’s what I learned.
Pacifier Benefits
Pacifiers can be amazing! They can:
Soothe a crying baby
Provide a temporary distraction
Satisfy the sucking reflex
Help your baby fall asleep
If they’re working for you, don’t change a thing!!
But if it’s not working for you and it’s becoming the bane of your nighttime existence… mama, you can make a change. Do what works for you and your baby! What works for YOU usually works for your baby because a happy mama makes for a happy baby.
My parenting philosophy can be summed up in: if it’s working for you, keep it! But if it’s not working for you, change it!
The pacifier wasn’t working for us anymore, so we changed it!
Pacifier Weaning Options
Gradual Approach
You can wean the pacifier gradually. If you want to offer it only for naps and not overnight, you can do that! If you want to offer it only for one, that’s fine! Remember: You decide when to offer the pacifier.
Remove the pacifier before your baby falls asleep
If you want to still utilize the pacifier at during the day, you can still have this be a part of your settling to sleep routine, just remove it prior to your baby falling asleep. This way, when they rouse between sleep cycles, they’re not looking for the pacifier.
Cold Turkey
Choose a morning and stop offering the pacifier. It’s as simple as that. You may need to work a bit harder to distract your baby when they signal for it, but within a couple of days, most babies will have weaned the pacifier with this approach.
I chose cold turkey
I picked a morning and decided not to offer a pacifier anymore. The first two days were HARD. H protested a bit so I was constantly finding new things to distract him with so we went on a lot of walks outside! But then a miracle happened: within two days, he didn’t even miss it AND he slept better at night than ever before.
Teaching Your Baby to Fall Asleep without the Pacifier
You may need to layer in new sleep associations or work a little harder to settle your baby for a few nights if the pacifier was a big sleep association for them. I had to do this with H - the pacifier was a big sleep association for him, but I comforted him in his crib and slowly pulled back from that over the next week or so.
I was terrified to pacifier wean, but let me tell you, my baby’s sleep was SO MUCH BETTER overall. He only woke when he was genuinely hungry. He didn’t miss the pacifier! And I got more than an hour of sleep at a time!
You Do You
Every baby is different - do what works for you!
My sister has a baby about a month older than my little one and she had a completely different experience. Her baby loves the pacifier and is a bit more insistent than H so when she tried to get rid of it, she gave up after a day or so.
It was harder to get rid of the pacifier than to keep it. So she kept it and taught A how to replace the pacifier ASAP. She played the pacifier game throughout the day and scattered a few pacifiers in his crib to make it easier to reach for them.
Her baby is going strong with the pacifier and replaces it himself and it doesn't affect his sleep (or hers!)
Cross the Bridge When You Get There
If you’re a brand new mama, don’t be afraid of the pacifier. It can be so helpful! And even required after a tongue tie release. If you need to introduce one, don’t worry! Keep going until it doesn't work for you anymore!
But know this: pacifiers are not a requirement. Every baby is different and ours didn’t really love it at first, so giving it up was a pretty easy process.
Trust Your Instincts.
You are the best mama for your baby — and if something isn’t working for you, if something is stealing your joy or causing you stress (and it’s not essential, like going to the doctor), feel free to get rid of it.
Tell me your story! Did the pacifier work for you? Are you in the middle of the pacifier dance nights?
If you are exhausted and ready to make a change to your baby’s sleep but don’t know where to start, I’m here to support you! Book a consult and we can create a personalized plan just for your little one. What to know more first? Send me a DM and let’s chat.
You've got this, mama! You’re doing a great job!
