Goodbye Sucky!

Binky, Nungy, Suce, Soother, Pacifier... apparently, there are LOTS of names for that little devil!
And as I try to write this post, Red is whining that I won't give it to him!

Before I was in the trenches, I read that the developmental need to suck is well gone by the age of 6 months.  In my mind that meant no soother after 6 months. Big Spender and I both didn't like to see a child running around or trying to talk with a soother in his mouth and we agreed it would be better to get rid of it sooner than later.

There is a small chance I was wrong...

Ginger never was really into the soother. We would wait until we tried other things to help her calm down and then offer the soother.  She would clamp he lips tight!  The only time she ever wanted it is if she was already calm.  Around  6.5 months we just stopped offering it to her and she seemed fine with that.

Ginger

Ginger - Toes are WAY more tasty!

Red, on the other hand LOVES his suce.  From the moment he was born I said, "he is either going to be a thumb sucker or crazy for a soother".  I don't really remember him sucking his fingers at all but once we had a good latch (for breastfeeding) established he was delighted we introduced him to a soother.  I would try to only offer it when he was fussing (which was all the time!) but I soon attached that sucker (haha) to his shirt and we were all happier!

Red

Isn't it funny how siblings can be so different?

Now Red is 16 months old.  The suce usually hangs out in his crib and he has it for sleeping.  But lately he has been extra fussy.  I think there is a good chance he is teething - but I am tired of making excuses to keep the thing!  A few months ago he created a sign for soother where he makes an O shape with his mouth and taps his index finger to his lips.  Super cute when he is 9 months old... but hard to say no to because he is trying to hard to communicate without whining/screaming.

So now I am finding ways to get rid of the soother.  Ways that will minimize the amount of stress this will cause for Red and the family. So far I have:

- Snipping the tip off.
- Attaching it to a toy and then eventually he will just have the toy.
- Poke holes into it so there is less resistance - therefor less interest.
- Attaching it to a helium balloon and have a "release party"!
- Put it in a build-a-bear.
- Create a story about the "Soother Fairy".
- Give it to a baby in the family and explain that it's time to "pass it on" to a baby now.

The last four are really only good if the child is old enough to understand what is going on.  I really hope his soother is gone well before then!  He has become quite dependant on it.  It took us a long time to get him to self-soothe to sleep so I would like him to learn how to, eventually, do that all the time.  This is also why I am afraid to say goodbye sucky, for good.  It is only now I would call him a good sleeper - a 2-2.5 hour nap everyday and sleeping about 11 hours most nights.  What is going to happen when the soother is gone?  How long will the chaos last?  I can't handle this!?  Phew -  As I often say to Ginger: "Deep breathe in... and blooooooooow".  Ok we can do this! ........... Once I return from my week away at the end of the month ;)

Have you ever had to do this transition?