I can't believe I am even able to type the words "paci-free" when referring to Laney, but indeed she is. I really didn't think it would be possible to pry that paci out of Laney's mouth for good without some serious gnashing of teeth. I have longed for this day, and I'm happy to say that there was no gnashing of teeth.
How did we wean her from the paci? Easy. My friend Stacey and an author from Prayer of Hannah gave me great advice. Simply cut the paci vertically from the end of the paci ( not cutting off the end, but just making a vertical slit in the paci). The paci will still look the same, but they will know something is different.
Laney was old enough to know, after putting the paci in her mouth and then examining it, that it didn't look the same because it now had a cut in it. She looked at it and said, "I need a new one. It's broken." I just told her, "Let's put it back in your mouth and go nite-nite Laney." So, she did, but the desire for her paci just wasn't the same. For two-to-three days she kept that paci loosely in her mouth. We'd go and take it out of her mouth after she was asleep. (FYI: Laney only used the paci during sleep hours, not during awake time.) Within those two-to-three days, she would complain that it was "too big" because it wouldn't stay in her mouth. She never screamed or seemed really upset that it wasn't meeting her need to soothe her to sleep. It was just different. By me still giving her the paci at bedtime for those few days and her deciding it just wasn't "cutting it" anymore, we didn't seem like the bad guys taking away her beloved paci she's had all her life.
Day three: I didn't give her the paci at all, for she fell asleep faster than lightening due to the fact that she didn't have a nap that day.
Day four: I told Hugh about her not even having the paci the night before. He encouraged me to not mention it at all, unless she asked for it. Come to find out, she didn't ask for it that night. Hugh and I were FLOORED. FLOORED! She did request the paci at bedtime that night, but I distracted her with the books we were reading.
**One thing that I would advise the parents who want to use the method is to try giving something for your child to physically hold onto, whether it be a blanket, new stuffed animal, etc.. Coincidentally, during this week, Laney found a few of her baby blankets (as I was getting the nursery ready) that she totally remembered were hers from infancy. It was as if she fell in love with them and wanted to carry one particular one from room to room. When she went to bed at night, she wanted it close by. So, I jumped at that opportunity to fill that desire for something and tried to mention her blankie at bedtime. I'm fine with her having a blankie until she's thirty even, if she truly wants it, just not a paci.
The rest is history my friends. She hasn't asked for it since, and we haven't mentioned it. I was in prayer over this weaning process while we were going through it. It's definitely a HUGE answer to prayer. H-U-G-E. I'm so thankful that this is behind us and it wasn't even a painful process.
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