When we first got to the hospital, the nurses kept talking about the importance of getting her to take a pacifier so that she learned to suck (she was on a feeding tube for the first six weeks). I was hesitant, but tried to give it to her. She wasn't really interested, and she was starting to suck on the bottle anyway, so I didnt push it. And then one day, I watched her put her little thumb in her mouth and start sucking.
Speaking as a thumb sucker (for far too long), I panicked. I grabbed her thumb from her mouth and gave her the pacifier. Because a pacifier can be taken away, a thumb cannot. And the thought of her being laughed at in her first sleepover because she starts sucking her thumb in her sleep is too much for me.
So I've been giving her the pacifier when she seems to want it, mostly after she wakes up and while I'm getting her bottle ready. But this week it changed... Suddenly she needs it all the time, and even wakes up multiple times during naps and wants the pacifier. Im not sure if it's just because of the changes and travel over the last week or what. She did fine while we were traveling, and while we were staying at mom's, but being back in her crib seems like its really shaking her up. Today has been a little better, however we're leaving in two days for another trip... We'll see how this impacts her.
This afternoon Troy changed her clothes after a spit up, and put on clothes that were obviously too small for her. His defense was that it was all too small, so I spent the evening going through her little outfits and putting away the ones she had outgrown. It was hard, especially since some of those cute outfits she was only able to wear once or twice. But the fun part was going through all of the bigger clothes which now fit her!
Oh, for those who asked, the Zantac has really helped. Her stomach aches/discomfort has eased quite a bit, and she's not spitting up as much.
I love the pictures, she's getting so chubby!
ReplyDeleteMy son had a pacifier until just a few weeks ago (he's 2), I weaned him off of it when I noticed that it was already affecting his teeth--his molars would touch but there was a gap between his top and bottom teeth in the front. I decided for the next kid I'll wean a little earlier, but I would definitely recommend keeping it for the babyhood stage. It was such a sanity-saver for me SO much of the time, especially when traveling and making bedtime easier.
Weaning wasn't that hard, it took him about a week to stop asking for it and maybe two weeks to go to bed as easily as before. And you're right--definitely a lot easier to wean than thumb-suckers! Took my parents a year to break my sister of thumb sucking.
Good luck!