Bye-Bye Binky: Is it time to say goodbye to the pacifier?

 

I was always on the fence about whether to use a pacifier or not. I didn't want to struggle to get our newborn boy to calm down, but at the same time I didn't want to end up with a 6-year-old that still sucked on a pacifier (like some of the kids I've seen at the grocery store...)  

I also wanted to avoid having our baby still sucking on pacifiers once he was grown...

Our pediatrician told us early on that she thought some "nipple confusion" was a good thing, and so we decided to use the pacifier to soothe our newborn if nothing else would work. The very last resort would be letting him suckle at the breast (non-nutritive sucking) if he was really inconsolable. I read (in The Happiest Baby on the Block) that you should phase out the pacifier by the time they are 6-months-old so as to avoid an emotional attachment to it. So I planned to have Baby G off the binky by that age, and didn't think it would be too difficult because we hardly used it anyway. Mostly in the car if he was fussy (since there was little else we could do) or at night, though we tried not to let him fall asleep with it. However, sometimes if he seemed tired and cranky, the minute the pacifier went in his mouth, his eyes closed and he was out. That was a handy trick that we still tried not to overuse.

We barely used the pacifier on our vacation, so I started thinking we were on the way to saying goodbye to it, but right when we got home, he seemed like he was beginning to teethe. Everything was going in his mouth, he was drooling like a faucet, was really cranky, and orajel and the chilled gel-filled teethers seemed to soothe him. I'd read that you shouldn't take the binky away while they're teething, since it can be a great way to pacify them (heehee). Plus, babies often chew on their pacifiers when they're teething too. 

Just a couple weeks later though, we started trying to get him to sleep in his own room at night, and stopped letting him nap on us. I think it was harder on me than on him; for that first week, it went magically. Hardly any fussing at being laid down, he wasn't waking frequently, and when he did wake, it was only to eat and then he went right back to sleep. The second week though... he seemed angry when we'd lay him down and no amount of back patting or rubbing or soothing lullabies would calm him down. So as usual, we'd turn to the pacifier to see if that would work, but it just made him angrier! He would thrash his head to the other side and scream bloody murder if we tried to put it in his mouth again. At first we thought it was merely because he was already upset and just wasn't noticing that we were giving him his binky, but when we offered it to him the following night while he was only fussing a little bit, it flipped a switch in him and he went berserk again! This went on for a week; us offering the pacifier to calm him down so he could go to sleep and him rejecting it vehemently with heart-wrenching screams and cries. 

I stopped giving him the pacifier during the day as well - he didn't seem to need or want it. And after a week of difficult bedtimes and him still refusing the pacifier at night, we stopped using it altogether. The pacifiers remained untouched on the drying rack and sank to the bottom of my diaper bag from disuse. He started solids during this time, which perhaps helped.

About a month passed with absolutely no sign of the binky, and I thought "Hurray! He's weaned himself off the pacifier!!"

But then...

We had a rough couple of nights a little over a week ago, and nothing was working. He was inconsolable and on a whim, thought I'd dig around for a pacifier and see if that's what he wanted. I hesitated to give it to him because 1) it could just make him even angrier like it did before, or, 2) would just put him back on the binky, which we thought we were done with.

Thankfully/unfortunately, the pacifier worked and it calmed him down and he was able to go to sleep. Darn it. I tried not to use the pacifier after that, but I ended up giving it to him again. Now it seems like he's back on it, but hopefully not emotionally attached to it. He's coming up on his 6-month birthday... but there's no sign of him self weaning again anytime soon. Although, that last time did just happen out of nowhere, so perhaps he will surprise us again.

I did recently see some cute ways for toddlers to "say goodbye" to their pacifiers, with little ceremonies and parties and letting the binkies be carried away by balloons. Though I do not want our boy to be attached to a pacifier for the next couple of years, I'm still intrigued and excited by the thought of letting him be in charge of a "goodbye ceremony." He would be initiating himself into childhood and perhaps that would be exciting for him as well; to take a "big boy" step and happily move on from babyhood.

But... we shall see. I really don't want to just take the pacifier away cold turkey, but I'd still like to try and avoid too much of an emotional attachment to it. Which means I need to phase it out soon.

Didn't have a pacifier handy... and couldn't get him to suck his own thumb (which he rarely does), so he sucked on my finger instead. Leaving me immobile for a short while.

How old was your baby when they stopped using the pacifier? Did you use any special tricks to wean them off of it or use a "ceremony" to have them say "Bye-bye binky"? Comment below!

WubbaNub Pacifier Review

When registering for baby stuff before my son was born, I came across a pacifier with a stuffed animal attached to it. Perhaps you've seen it? It's called a WubbaNub (though I've always thought it was called a "Wubba Nubba"), and comes in a plethora of adorable animals. I thought it was cute but kind of frivolous. Close to $15 for a pacifier?! But I bought the giraffe pacifier anyway, just to try it out (and because it was just too cute!)

Though when I bought it, I didn't think it could possibly be better than any other pacifier - plus I was planning on using pacifiers sparingly - but I quickly fell in love with it. We almost forgot about every other pacifier - I had them stuffed in diaper bags as our "backup," but we never went anywhere without what we began referring to as "THE Pacifier." (I wouldn't even leave the room without grabbing it). 

What makes this pacifier so great? 

I'm glad you asked. 

Here's my list of things I like (and don't like) about the WubbaNub. 

1). The pacifier/nipple itself is a Soothie, which is the kind our boy preferred. It's also the type that our hospital used to soothe him during his circumcision. So this was great for us - I didn't waste $15 on a pacifier we'd never used. (He only rarely took a Nuk pacifier and any others almost never. There are still some rejected pacifiers in the nursery somewhere...) If your baby prefers a flat nipple such as the one on a Nuk over the round one on a Soothie, then this may not be the pacifier for you.

2). The attached stuffed animal makes it larger - therefore easier to find when you're fumbling around in the dark looking for it. Or when fumbling around in a cavernous diaper bag. It also makes it less likely to get lost in the sheets or blankets. This may seem trivial, but trust me. When you're dealing with a crying, upset baby, you don't want to be spending precious minutes digging around for a tiny pacifier.

3). Aside from making it easier for you to grab, it's also easier for little baby hands to hold on to as well. Baby G didn't hold the giraffe right away (too young!), but he got into it eventually and now whenever he sees the giraffe he grabs it and stuffs it in his mouth. Some may say this is because he knows that it's something he likes to suck on... some may say it's because he's stuffing everything in his mouth... 

4). A potential downside of the WubbaNub is that you can't attach many paci clips to it. However, because of the plush animal, you can shove it places to get it to stay. For example, it gets wedged quite nicely between my body and any of our baby carriers (like my husband in the Ergo, below).

The WubbaNub between my husband and the Ergo shoulder strap. The nipple rests in the perfect spot for baby to suck on!

It's hard to tell, but the giraffe's body is actually in the front pocket of the Balboa Baby Ring Sling.

5). Other than the actual nipple, the WubbaNub provides many things for baby to suck (or chew) on. Though I haven't tried any of the other animals, the giraffe in particular has feet that are the perfect size and shape to fit in baby's mouth. He loves to suck on those almost as much as he likes to suck on the pacifier part. Though, now he's teething, so he's really chewing on the poor giraffe more than anything else...

Mouthing on the giraffe's foot.

6). It's slightly more difficult to clean than standard pacifiers - depending on how neurotic you are. I don't like to rinse the nipple because then the giraffe gets wet - and normally when I'm rinsing it, I need to use it right then and don't have the time to lay it out to dry. Not a big deal... but I'm a bit weird. :P You can throw it in the washing machine though. I actually don't do that too often (or put regular ones in the dishwasher) because I read that heat wears down the plastic and it can eventually break off. (Apparently you're supposed to replace pacifiers every 2 months. Not a big deal for $3 ones, but I really didn't feel like replacing a $15 pacifier when he may only use it for another month). I do stick it in the bottle warmer (which doubles as a sanitizer). The warmer isn't huge, so I just tip the pacifier piece in, letting the giraffe's body hang over the edge.


Do you have a WubbaNub for your little one? What did you think of it?

Why I Have Three Diaper Bags

Before my son was born, I read lots of tips that suggested having three sets of crib sheets and three changing pad covers. One that would be in use, one that would be in the laundry hamper/washer/dryer, and one that would be in the closet. Well, these are great tips, but do not apply to my three-diaper-bag situation. So why do I have three diaper bags?

Well, I got all of them as gifts (one off my registry and two from different military spouse baby showers) and wasn't really intending to use them all (at least, not all at once). But my mom suggested putting one (stocked with diapers and wipes) in the back of my car in case I ever run out of the house without my fully stocked diaper bag.

Then, just recently, I began using my third one. My main diaper bag is so heavy and really all of that stuff isn't necessary for quick trips (but it's great for all-day outings). So I put the most minimal stuff in that extra bag for shorter trips.

What is in each of my diaper bags:

Binky Monster Pacifier Clip Review

Disclosure: I received a binky clip sample from Binky Monster to review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Binky Monster is a small business (but growing!) that sells binky/pacifier clips, blankets, accessories, wash cloths, and nursing pillows. They just launched their new website too! Their tag line is: "Baby products and goods created for your little monsters!"

 I got their popular "Mike" style (as in Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc).

It is super cute! And Mike's face is much larger than I thought! (No risk of losing your pacifier with a clip this large!)

 

The character piece is made of felt and appears to be hot glued together. 

The leash is a standard ribbon with two snaps on the end. The leash is a good length - if I have it clipped to the strap of my Ergo, even if he turns his head the pacifier will stay in his mouth.

Unfortunately, the clip doesn't attach to all types of pacifiers. I had three pacifiers on hand - a Soothie, Nuk, and Tommee Tippee and it only attached to one of them. The clip would've attached to the Tommee Tippee if the "female" snap had been the one on the end of the ribbon instead of the "male" snap. Because the protruding part of the snap wouldn't fit through the opening on the binky. (See photo above!)

Clearly this wouldn't attach to the Soothie. But I charge that as Soothie's problem - because very few types of pacifier clips will work with a Soothie. Those little holes are too small and there isn't a handle like with the Nuk.

It does attach to the Nuk because it has a nice "handle" with a large opening.

Bonus: Once your child outgrows pacifiers, you can just cut off the ribbon and reuse the character as a decorative clip! Cutting the ribbon off can also help signify to your kid that they are growing up. Some ideas for how to use it once you cut the ribbon off: clip it to your diaper bag, decorate a baby carrier with it, it could be a reusable gift tag, or use as a cute "paper clip."

All in all, it's an adorable, simple binky clip that has multiple uses and comes in lots of different styles. And at $8.50 it's a good deal! It makes a great gift and you'd be supporting a small business.

Binky Monster's links and social media information is below:
www.binkymonster.com
twitter.com/binkymonster 
Facebook.com/binkymonster
instagram: @binkymonsterinc