No More Sucker!

Upon the advice of my trusted cousin, I decided before Baby Bear was even born, that there would be no more pacifier (better known in our house as “sucker”) after the age of one. After doing some of my own research I found that extended sucker usage can inhibit baby’s language and orthodontic development (just to name a few), but what I was really afraid of was trying to battle an unruly toddler that will remember for days that her mean mommy took away her sucker security. I definitely didn’t want to go through what some of the parents on Supernanny had to go through! This is the process I used and so far (officially two weeks sucker-free!) so good:
Around 10 months, we began only offering Baby Bear the sucker at nap and bed time, although every once in a while she’d find one and start sucking on it during the day
o No issues there as she didn’t seem to even think about it
• As her first birthday approached, I put all the suckers (but one) in a ziplock and put them away. The one I left out, I put on top of a bookcase by her bed so she would only have it at bedtime.
o That made naptime difficult. We were back to crying it out. Thankfully it usually only lasted about five to ten minutes. Then after about a week of that, she began going down for her nap with no fuss. She wasn’t necessarily going right to sleep, but she was quiet!
• About two weeks ago, I was dreading what I knew I had to do…make her sucker-free for good. I chickened out the first two nights, then bit the bullet and put her down with no sucker. I think it hurt me more than her!
o I was feeling so good- I put her down without a sucker and no fuss! I quietly exited the room and waited outside the door expecting to hear her screaming…hmmm…nothing. Wow! This was way easier than I thought. NOT! About five minutes later, she was screaming. Now what? I waited for a few minutes, then re-entered her room, held her for a minute or two, put her back down and quietly exited.
• Here we are exactly two weeks after her first birthday and Baby Bear goes down without a sucker and without a fuss!