How did you wean your baby off the pacifier?

I came across this article that offers a "three-day approach" (towards the end of the article), which I thought is interesting because it offers some sort of a “closure” for the child. http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/bye-bye-binky-ending-the-pacifier-habit/ It involves informing your child that he/she will be saying goodbye to his/her pacifier in three days time. Repeat the same talk over the three days and act on it on the third day (via a game-like approach). Having the three-day timeline could prepare your child for the change and make it easier for him/her to accept it. Thus far, two of my friends have successfully weaned their babies off their pacifiers. One went cold turkey when her baby was 18 months while the other tried the gradual approach for her two-year old daughter. The latter slowly limited her baby’s use of the pacifier. She first removed it during naptime, then slowly extending to bedtime.

10 ways as below:- 1. Take it away early 2. Go cold turkey 3. Make it taste bad 4. Give it away 5. Take it away gradually 6. Sabotage it 7. Leave it for the Binky Fairy 8. "Lose" it 9. Read books about it 10. Let nature take its course My preferred is #10 "Why not wait until kids give up the pacifier on their own? How many adults do you see walking around with a binky in their mouth? None! Because they all decided at some point in childhood that they were ready to brave the world without it. My daughter's binky is her comfort item. It helps her sleep and makes her feel safe. I hope everyone who reads this and is having binky trouble will stop fighting the battle and let their kids be who they are – happy to have their binkies!"

For my daughter, she gave up her pacifier at 2 yrs old when the CC teacher told her to. Back home, she would cry herself to sleep at night whenever she wanted to find comfort in her pacifier. After 6 days, she stopped looking for it. For my boy, we threw the pacifier away when he was 13 months old when PD mentioned that his teeth were slightly protruding. Before that, my mil would allow him to suck pacifier whenever he cried. He cried for a good 5 days before he stopped looking for it. It was tough at the beginning but must persevere. YOU CAN DO IT, MUMMY!

Firstly, do not wait for a long time to wean your baby off the pacifier as older babies may have a tough time giving up a habit. If you have an older child, then it would be a good idea to trade it with something that he likes. Read more about what other mums did to help their baby wean off the pacifier http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/social/weaning-baby-off-binky/

I let my daughter keep her pacifier until the age of 3 and after that, I threw it into the dustbin. And guess what, she wasn't looking for it at all!

thanks