Pacifier-holic

When Yasmin was younger, she would cry for long periods of time, non stop. I think her record was 2 hours straight. The husband diagnosed her with colic. There was nothing that we could do except make her comfortable and soothe her as best as we can.

However, try as we might, the crying was unbearable. So, at 5 weeks old, we introduced her to - The Pacifier. Our pacifier of choice was from Avent, only because it came free with the bottles set that we bought from Avent. Needless to say, the crying became slightly bearable, and I was able to keep sane calm.

I read in my baby developmental book that babies lose their sucking reflex in months 3-4. So if there was ever a time to wean them off the pacifier, this would be it. The book said it would be harder to wean them off it if we wait till after she was one. However, the thought of those days filled with endless crying made me think otherwise. Furthermore, Yasmin relied on the pacifier to go to sleep so I was not prepared to face that battle yet. 

At 5 months old, I slowly started weaning her off the pacifier. I started with reducing the usage of the pacifier during the daytime. No more pacifier when in her stroller or when she cries at home. Pacifier use was restricted to nap and sleep time only. It took a few weeks but she finally got used to not having the pacifier around during the day. It also helped that she was becoming more mobile so she can roll around on the floor or play on her play gym  to keep herself occupied. 

When she turned 6 months old, I decided that this was it. Baby girl needs to be weaned for definite from the pacifier. I did my research to figure out the best way to do it, cold turkey vs slow weaning. I opted for slow weaning, which involves giving the pacifier to help her get drowsy and then removing it before she is actually asleep. Of course the first few tries were unsuccessful to say the least. She would cry her eyes out whenever I took away the pacifier, even though she was 1 wink away from falling asleep. I finally figured out a better way to do it - remove pacifier, pat pat baby quickly so that she goes straight to sleep. It worked wonders and by the third day, Yasmin was fully weaned off her pacifier. Alhamdullillah. 

Now, she falls asleep clutching a blankie instead. That I can live with.