Crib Notes: To suck or not to suck

Jan 6th, 2011

I am introducing a new segment to the blog this year. The aptly named Crib Notes will be the lamentations of all things mommy-related that irk me.

First up, the pacifier. It is perfectly acceptable when your baby is still in the rear-facing car seat but completely ridiculous when your kid is big enough for a booster. Whenever I see a 4-year-old strutting along with a binky in his mouth I have the urge to yank it out and slap the mother with it. A little harsh? Maybe but there are some things parents just have to take the lead on. Many moms will argue they do not deserve to be binky-slapped because every child is different and should be allowed to give it up when they are ready. I feel this is a very weak argument. There are some things, like potty-training, that you know from your child’s behavior if they are ready or not to start. But the use of pacifiers and extended bottle feeding is solely up to the parents for modification. I am personally guilty of letting my kids have bottles well into their second year. I fretted and fretted taking away Grayson’s nap-time bottle and then one day I just gave him a ‘big-boy’ sippy.

Here’s how that went down:

Grayson: “No! Want baba!” Then he threw his sippy on the floor.

Mommy: “You are a big boy now and big boys drink from sippys.” I exited room.

Grayson: “No!” then “gulp, gulp, gulp”

The lesson I learned here? The bottle was MY problem not his. It really took all of 5 minutes and one additional breakdown a few days later to wean him. One tactic I employed was throwing all the bottles away so there was no chance of me breaking down to give him one. A girlfriend of mine used a similar tactic with her daughter’s binky collection. She warned her that the Binky Fairy was coming soon to take all the pacifiers back for new babies to use. They gathered all her binkys in a basket one night and in the morning all the nipples were cut off. Her 2-year-old daughter was officially weaned.

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Written by Lea Barlow • 4 Comments

4 Responses to Crib Notes: To suck or not to suck

    Jennifer Oppelt Thu, Jan 6, 11:52am

    Reply

    I think it is personal but on the other hand, 4 is too old (especially in public)! Alchemy gave hers up on her 3rd birthday and for a good 6 months before then she was limited to “pappy” use only in her bed. We may have done away with it earlier but we went through a lot of transition in her second year with moving and she had ear tube surgery. So, for us it was a personal thing. But I agree, it was more my issue in not wanting to deal with the stress than it was hers. On her 3rd birthday she happily traded her last two remaining pappy’s for the Dora twin dolls!

      Lea Barlow Thu, Jan 6, 12:44pm

      Transition years are TOUGH. We moved out of a house, into a rental then into a new house and then out of the new house for renovations. As a result, I have a 4-year-old sleeping with me most nights!

    J. Is A Bird Thu, Jan 6, 1:08pm

    Reply

    It’s a personal choice thing. If it bothers you, then yes it’s “your” problem.

    Neither of my kids were big on the paci, but both held onto that bottle for dear life. My youngest is 2 and still clinging to the baba. I don’t see it as a big deal, as long as she eats first, so I’m inclined to let her have it for now. Hey if I was still bf’ing no one would say boo so what’s the dif? And I also think it’s more important to be potty trained than to be off the bottle or paci, so that’s where my tough love lies.

    Tanya Thu, Jan 6, 3:45pm

    Reply

    We introduced the pacifier once or twice to each of our babies, neither of them took it and I didn’t push it, so no pacifier for us. I breast fed each of mine to 21 and 24 months respectively, so I agree it’s personal and won’t judge here.

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