We fill our days with trips to the park, play dates with friends, reading books, drawing on his easel, playing with trains, “cooking” together and plenty of time outside.
Chase’s personality shines through so much and it’s funny for me to think back on some of the characteristics I noticed in him as a baby and see how they have manifested in other ways now that he’s a toddler. He was always the most distracted eater when it came time to nursing and that’s definitely held true for him at mealtimes as a toddler. Play > Food. Always. He was always so active through kicks, little punches and general body movements as a baby and that’s definitely translated to a very active and on-the-go toddler.
I’m loving this stage so much because Chase can communicate well and is always up for adventure. Ryan and I are continually shocked by the things that come out of his mouth and his memory at such a young age. I’m sure this is total first-time parent syndrome, but I cannot believe such a little person can say and do everything he can already! He talks non-stop – a total chatterbox – and I absolutely love it when he sings in the loudest, highest most adorably tone-deaf little voice. He’s huge into music and requests favorite songs on repeat.
Chase is so curious and I have so much fun showing him new things and explaining things to him all day long. He listens intently when we’re telling him about something new, with his brow furrowed as he takes it all in. He’s a little parrot these days and repeats everything. It’s so incredible to watch him grow and learn and he’s always up for a new adventure which reminds me so much of Ryan. He’s energetic and brave but cautious, too, and still wants me to kiss his boo-boos, hold him when he’s getting tired and rub his forehead on long car rides.
It’s easy to look at him and feel like he’s already this independent, tiny adult, but moments when he stands at my feet and says, “Mama, hold you” and wants me to scoop him up into my arms makes me realize he still needs and wants the comfort I loved giving to him when he was a baby, too. I’ve honestly loved every stage of Chase’s life so far, but this one is my favorite because he’s right in that sweet spot of being old enough to understand things and get excited about new adventures but he’s also young enough to still want and need regular comfort and nurturing. 
Eating
Eating is slowly improving for Chase but it definitely comes and goes. His favorite foods are Earth’s Best Sunny Days Organic Snack Bars, fresh berries, muffins, burgers with ketchup, cucumbers, macaroni and cheese and oh-so-predictably he also loves ice cream and doughnuts.
The good news is that eating dinner as a family almost every night has really helped with Chase’s vegetable consumption. He’s trying a larger variety of vegetables and seems to like vegetables more when he sees us eating them, too. He eats the tops of asparagus like a champ and also seems to enjoy roasted Brussels sprouts. Cucumbers and raw carrots are some of his favorites.
Because I know how much a child’s eating can stress a parent out, I also want to say that Chase is in no way scooping up vegetables and requesting them for every meal. That’s most certainly not the case and there are definitely days when he won’t touch a vegetable. It’s easy for me to stress out about it, but our pediatrician is really awesome and reminds me that force-feeding a toddler isn’t going to happen. We’re doing our best to offer him veggies often and we encourage him to eat them, but if he’s not having it, I try to chill out and revisit veggies the next day.
Sleeping
I don’t have too much to report on sleep other than to say that I feel like we’re in a really good spot with sleep at the moment. (This is also why I’m particularly apprehensive about the pacifier situation detailed below…) Chase generally goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 p.m. and wakes up about 12 hours later. Naps are later in the afternoon now that he’s in preschool two mornings a week and we don’t get home until after 1 p.m. on those days. Naptime now usually takes place between 1 and 2 p.m. and will last for anywhere from one to three hours. (Three hour naps = Oh happy daaay!)
Current Challenges
The biggest challenge on our plate right now is the pacifier. It is SUCH a crutch for Chase and I can see the way it instantly relaxes him whenever he grabs his Wubbanub (“Wubby”) and shoves it into his mouth. We limit his pacifier use to naptime and bed time and the occasional long car ride, but after a visit to the dentist, it’s becoming increasingly clear we need to work on getting rid of it. Chase’s dentist said she likes to see kids pacifier-free by 2 1/2 years old and I am DREADING this transition. HELPPPP MEEEEE.
Chase has a few Wubbanubs (the pacifiers with the little stuffed animals attached to them) that he loves and the animals have ripped off from the pacifier on two of them which shockingly didn’t seem to bother him that much. We told him the Wubbanubs were broken but he could still have the animal and he pretty much shrugged it off and still loves the little animals. So here’s my current game plan: I’m planning to cut the pacifiers off the remaining Wubbanubs. (Chase has three left with pacifiers on them… yes, I need to buy stock in Wubbanubs.) I am hoping that cutting a pacifier off a Wubbanub every other day so the transition into pacifier-less Wubbanubs is gradual will help Chase go with the flow. I’m not naive enough to think it won’t be a big deal, especially when the last Wubbanub is pacifer-free, but I don’t have any other ideas.
If any of you have any suggestions, I am ALL ears. I cannot help but picture sleepless nights and non-existent naptimes when this transition begins!
Likes
- Music (Favorite songs are “Baby Beluga,” “Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Minnie the Moocher”)
- Any sport involving a ball (especially soccer)
- Wrestling in our bed with Dad at the end of the day (“Bouncy Bed!”)
- Reading
- Preschool and Miss Debbie
- Helping Mom cook and bake
- His wooden dog pull toy
- Running around outside
- Playing with his trains and drawing on his easel
- Coloring and stickers
- Sadie (Watching him try to call her and do the little kissy noise with his mouth is so darn adorable)
- Gymboree
- Animals
- Crib kisses (Chase has never been into hugging/kissing on demand – which I’m totally okay with – but he always requests a “crib kiss” at night and wants a kiss from me through his crib which absolutely melts my heart)
- His best buddies (Claire, Lilly, Lily, Ella, Caleb, Cooper and Jack)
- Running around the kitchen island and playing chase
- Finding and collecting rocks
- Picking figs off our fig tree
Dislikes
- Getting his teeth brushed… but this has improved dramatically thanks to our dentist’s tip of lying him down to brush his teeth after his bath
- When we wipe his nose
- Coming inside after playing outside
- Staying still for diaper changes
2 Year Old Favorites
PLAY
- Magnetic Dry Erase + Chalkboard Easel
- Magnetic Trains
- Kitchen Helper Cooking Stand
- Wooden Dog Pull Toy
- Markers and Stickers
- LeapFrog On My Own Laptop (We save this one for long car trips only and it’s fabulous!)
- Golf Putter
- Foam Glider Airplane
- Soccer Ball
- V-Tech Count and Learn Alphabet Bus
BOOKS
- Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things that Go (Chase is obsessed with finding the little Goldbug on every page of this book!)
- Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
- Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
- My Big Book of Beginner Books About Me
- Point ‘n’ Match Books (Great if your toddler loves matching and finding things.)
- Go Dog. Go!
- I Love You Just Like This
- I’d Know You Anywhere (This book is beautiful and one of my personal favs!)
Past Updates
- 20-22 Months
- 17-19 Months
- 13-16 Months
- Twelve Months
- Eleven Months
- Ten Months
- Nine Months
- What I Wish I Knew Before My Baby Was Born
- Eight Months
- Seven Months
- Six Months
- Our First Sleep Training Experience
- Traveling With A Baby For The First Time
- Five Months
- Four Months
- Three Months
- Two Months
- And Then He Smiled
- Three Weeks
- The First 12 Days
- Q&A: All About Birth & Life With A New Baby
- Chase’s Birth Story: Part I, Part II
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
my mom told my brother and I that the Easter bunny or Santa took our pacifiers when they left an Easter basket or presents. She talked it up for a while so we both knew it was coming, and I guess we thought the trade off was pretty good!
So creative!
I am 100% scared to take away my daughter’s pacifier. She just turned 2 on Saturday and she loves it. She only gets it for naptime and bedtime, or when she gets hurt/finds it in the crib, ha! But, she doesn’t use it all the time so I feel like it’s not that big of a deal. I tell myself she’s not going to go to kindergarten with it soooo that’s all I have, lol. I have friends that cut holes in the pacifier? Maybe that would help. I also had friends who made up stories for them and said another kid needed them or something along those lines. Reading books, and pacifier fairy are also ideas.
I have never heard of lying down to brush teeth! That seems so odd to me and like it would be worse, but I’m glad it works! For some odd reason, Annabelle loves brushing her teeth, ha. I am with you, though- this stage is the BEST! I am having so much fun talking with my daughter and she can clearly communicate which is amazing!
My friend’s pacifier weaning method makes me laugh: she tied the paci to a string, which she then tied to a random hall closet doorknob. Her son was allowed to use it as much as he wanted, but he couldn’t go very far because of the string. The first day he sat by the door a lot, but after that he got bored and used it less and less. By the end of the week, he was all done!
Not sure that’s useful, since Chase only uses his wubbanubs in the crib, but thought I’d share. Another friend swears by cutting a little bit off the tip every day so it’s gradually less satisfying!
Ha! That is too funny! I’ve never heard of tying it to a string! Whatever works, right!?
My son is just a few weeks younger than Chase and also has a collection of Wubbanubs- 2 of the OGs were lost along the line but we have Bear Bear, Cow Cow and Frog Frog. One pacifier had already detached and he was still fond of the animal though less so. About a month after a dentist appointment this past summer we quit cold turkey. I kept procrastinating it due to a cold and travel plans but it was inevitable- he has an open bite that the dentist attributed to his aggressive pacifier sucking. It was a bit of a rough week but actually went smoother than expected. For awhile there he sucked on the animal body afterwards and I was afraid we would have to remove the animals too but that ended and they are his buds- it’s always drama if we misplace one before nap or bedtime so we still try to limit them to his crib and the car. Wishing you luck in this transition. The older they get the more you can rationalize with them it seems!
I thought the same thing… I do think that he’s getting old enough to understand what’s happening which will hopefully help!
I’m not even a mom, but the thought of weening a toddler off a pacifier sounds terrifying, lol. I’ve loved reading about Chase growing up and know I’ll refer back to all of these posts if/when I have children of my own.
My twins had wubys too 🙂
When we were ready…..we actually cut the pacifier part off and sewed the mouth of the animal closed
We let them keep the animal part to sleep with
So, they still had a part of the beloved pacifier
It ended up completely working for both of them without a problem!!
Good luck!!
He is such a cutie! I find myself getting excited reading your posts about this new stage is Chase’s life as I think about my own son, who is 13 months. I feel like each month is more fun as they develop those ‘conversational’ skills. Being a boy mom is the best!
I saw a mom cut the tip off the actual pacifier part of the wubanub so that they can’t actually suck it and they’re just getting air… just a thought! It’s gonna be okay.
We gave my son’s pacifier to a friend who had just had a baby and told him he was giving it to her…he still talks about it to this day and felt very proud to gift the baby something since he was a big boy. We were in the same boat…very attached/ used for soothing, but only at sleeptime and long car rides, and I was very nervous about having to sleep train all over again. It was much easier than expected…longer to go to sleep than usual, but I just gave him some books to occupy him until he got tired and that seemed to do the trick (plus stuffed animals).
Just don’t turn back once you take them away! I purposely took all the pacis and put them in the basement locked up so I wasn’t tempted to give him one if times got tough. Good luck!
I love this so much! Chase is a beautiful boy and so full of joy 🙂
You should be proud to be his mama!
One by one we would cut holes in the pacifiers (thus making them unusable) and would talk about how they were broken and he would enjoy throwing them in the trash! It sort of became a fun thing for him to do and he would say “es bro-kin”
We just did one at a time until they were gone, and it worked. Still not sure how, but it did! Best of luck to you. We did it with our first and will soon be taking away pacifiers for our second (19 months).
My daughter is just a few weeks older than Chase. We limited our daughter to paci just during sleep times (like you), and then started talking about how she is a big girl and her friends don’t use pacis anymore. Then we introduced the book “Bea Gives up her Pacifier” which was a lifesaver. Bea collects her pacis, leaves them outside her bedroom door, and the paci fairy comes and takes them away while she is sleeping. The fairy leaves a present for Bea in exchange. We read it and my daughter immediately asked to gather her pacis for the paci fairy. She left them outside her door, went to sleep without too much trouble (total surprise for us!) and when she woke up a dog toy was waiting outside her door. It was a bit rough going for a few days after that, so we continued to read the Bea book and remind her where he pacis went. Took about a week, probably less, for her to say goodbye for good.
We also have wubbanub loving guy on our hands! The pacifiers fell off of them, so he still has his ‘friends’ to snuggle with at nap and bed time. He has one pacifier that remains. I’m waiting for it to break so that we can say goodbye to it. Occasionally, it will fall on the ground/side of the crib and we lose it at bedtime, but he always manages to find it. I’m considering taking it out of the crib when he’s sleeping. He literally only uses it to fall asleep and in the morning before we wake up. Ugh, this is so tough! Good Luck!
There’s lots of good advice here. I just wanted to let you know, we had both our kids quit the paci around chases age and it stressed us out waaaaay worse than them . I know not everyone has this experience but they just asked for them and we told them the Easter Bunny took them and that was that. It was bizarre how similar both kids were and I think we did it at a good time (2.5). Good luck!
Ah we are in are in the same boat with the paci ? We are going to go to build-a-bear and will have our daughter watch as the pacis are put into the little bear (I guess they can stuff them in there with the stuffing??) and then she will still “have them”. Ha – not sure this will work but a couple friends of ours have done this and it worked great! And I’ll be way less likely to cave if all those pacis are inaccessible inside the bear. Good luck girl!!
I did this for my twins. It worked beautifully. My daughter (now 4.5) still uses her bear as comfort when she’s upset or tired. She used to say, “When im hungry for my paci I can go get Rainbow (her bear). It was one of my favorite (although a little pricey) days with my kiddos!
What a cutie! I agree – this age is so fun! Enjoy every moment 🙂
SO adorable! It’s great to hear about your baby’s milestones. So happy that you’re raising a sweet, happy, and healthy boy. Happy Tuesday!
2 is so fun! He is such a cute little guy. Good luck with the pacifier, that can be a hard one.
We are in the same situation with pacifiers over here. My girl is just too smart (total Mom bias) and all my tricks to take away her “bubba” have not worked yet. Our dentist recommended poking holes in it gradually and it might take away the satisfaction of sucking it? So far it is not working but i’ll poke a few more holes tonight. I fear I need to suck it up (pun intended) and let her (and therefore me) have a restless sleep without the pacifier and show her she doesn’t need it?
Several people have mentioned it, but we also did the snipping the end of the paci. Two of my 4 were paci lovers and around age 2 (or 3!) I snipped a very small bit off the end of each one and a few days later snipped a bit more off and gradually they decided they didn’t like them anymore. I don’t think I ever even said anything about it to them, though it’s been a while…one of them is now in college, the other in high school…and no lasting trauma! Seems like we also limited it to the car and their bedroom at some point, though the string idea mentioned above is hilarious! Good luck!
I have heard that cutting the tips works really well, so that will probably work. I was always just worried he would bite some off and choke.
For my son, we got rid of the paci at closer to three years old. I was a bit worried, since he used it throughout the day, not just for naps. However, our supply was dwindling and they are actually kind of pricey, huh? I was totally over buying them, so I told my son that the store was out of pacifiers. SHOCKINGLY, he looked at me, shrugged, rolled over and went to bed. And he never asked for a pacifier ever again! I think because he was a little older and had more cognitive awareness and ability to rationalize a bit more, he was able to roll with it better.
A couple months later I made the mistake of walking by the paci aisle at Target, and he was all “Look! Pacis are back in the stores!” LOL. Luckily, he was over them at that point.
So, my whole point is that it may go better than you think. Sometimes cold turkey is the way to go!
Our older son was going strong on the paci as he was closing in on his third birthday. He was down to one because I refused to buy more when one disappeared or needed to be trashed. Then one day while potty training, he dropped it in the toilet. He accepted that it was yucky and had to go bye bye. Any other negotiations or weaning up to that point had failed. But the paci meeting the fate of the toilet made sense to him. He asked for it a couple times after that but we reminded him about what happened and he was ok with it. So, I’d say don’t worry too much about the paci now. He won’t be on it forever. In day something will happen and it will click for him.
Our pediatric dentist gave us totally different feedback on the paci! She said that as long as he wasn’t using it during “talking times” (i.e. keep it for crib time only) he was fine and we can discuss again at 3. Who knows. I feel like a lot of this stuff is a crapshoot and depends so much on your family and child, just do what you think is best!
Julie this update was so fun to read! I’ve been following your blog for several years now – and it just warms my heart so much to see your lovely family.
Our baby boy just turned 5 months old (why are my eyes getting watery?!?!) UGH.
Anyways, he LOVES “Jeffery” his wubanub giraffe. Even though we are a ways away from that transition, I am already terrified. He instantly relaxes when he sucks on it. Lately, I have noticed he will start moving his arms around in his crib at night until he finds Jeffery. Once he touches him, he goes to sleep.
I think your idea of cutting the paci out day by day is a great idea. I am pretty sure that is what we will do too. I couldn’t imagine getting rid of Jeffery. It is almost like I have an emotional attachment too because Jeffery has been here from the beginning!
my 8 month old loves his binky’s for bedtime, nap time and the car too…we’re sleep training now and sometimes he’ll yank the bink out of his mouth and accidentally push it out of the crib…those nights are the worst :/ i want to run in there and give it to him but it makes him more upset. i guess it’s good since it’s teaching him to fall asleep without it, but i just feel so bad about it! he likes it and it’s comforting to him 🙁 i honestly don’t see the harm in it now since he doesn’t walk around with one all day but i know the time will come to get rid of it.
clearly i’m a great help.
so what did the dentist say about having a binky anyway? is it screwing up his teeth or is it his jaw or what? my husband is concerned already about what the binky can do, but what does it do exactly?
Hi, love love love your blog!!! When my son was the same age I had the same situation with his pacifier. His doctor told me to have him put them in a box and tell him we were packing them up to give to kids who couldn’t afford any. My son said, well they can just ask their parents to buy them some! So that didn’t work! A friend told me to cut the rubber part in half with a scissors so when he put it in his mouth he would hate it. He tried the first one, asked for another one, etc etc. They were all cut! Worked like a charm!
I cut mine too, but all the way off and just told him they were “broke”. He tried to put it in his mouth, looked at it funny, threw it down on the ground and was off and running. That was it!!
LOL!!!
So cute! I love that grumpy face. And I feel like I was just reading your pregnancy posts! Time flies!
My little man is approaching 2 1/2 and we have the same paci problem! I’ve been told since Christmas is coming to relate it to that and to tell him we are giving Santa his paci’s instead of cookies this year…?!? my little guy is too smart for my tricks so if you find something that works plllleeaaseee help this momma out!
When our daughter was just shy of 2, we told her the paci fairy was coming and would take all of her paci’s and leave a present in their place. When she woke up the next morning, there were 2 new stuffed animals and it actually worked like a charm! She asked about her paci maybe twice after that and then we were DONE! 🙂
We did the same thing. We put the pacis in the mailbox for the Paci Fairy to take and then we left to go run errands. When we returned there were 2 new toys in the mailbox that he had REALLY been wanting that the Paci Fairy had brought him. There were a few tears that night but then he was over it. It helped too that he also slept with a blankie so he still had that comfort.
the paci fairy is such a cute idea!!
My son is about 2.5 now and was very into his paci at bedtime/naptime until a couple months ago. One day we were cleaning his paci and it wasn’t in his room and we told him it was gone and he just went with it. I was kind of shocked because I thought it would be a huge deal and it just wasn’t. So maybe try to give it a shot and see what happens? I will say that since he no longer uses a paci, he doesn’t sleep as late as he once did and now seems to either not nap or take much shorter naps. But I guess that’s the price we’ll pay!
The best thing I’ve ever done for getting rid of pacis is to send all the pacis to The Babies. You talk it up for a few days, about how Chase is such a big kid now and there are babies who need pacis and so it’s time to send his pacis to the babies. Get a box, let him decorate it, write To The Babies on top, and have him put the pacis in. I think you could still keep the animals so he has those guys around, but this should still work with the pacifiers cut off.
Then tape up the box and have him put it in the mailbox (or on the porch), right in the morning. Then, during nap, you can sneak out and grab it and throw them away (where he won’t see). You may consider giving him a new toy for being so brave and so kind to share his old pacis with The Babies.
If he brings up the pacis after that, it usually works to just ask him where they went and he’ll likely tell you, “to the babies!”
Good luck!
THANK YOU for the Wubbanub advice your post is generating! We’re in exactly the same boat. I’m sooooo dreading the sleep battle that may be ahead with no “guys” (as he calls them). Might just work our way through all the suggestions here!
I remember when my brother was getting my niece off her pacifiers, he took a needle and poked a hole in the tip of them. I think he did a different one every week or something like that. Then when she would try to use them she would say “This one doesn’t suck right” and grab a different one. Eventually she knew only the blue one worked, but when that one got a hole in it too she was so annoyed with all of them that she just got over the whole thing.
Ohhh! I just love Chase updates!! I love hearing about how he is growing, learning, and developing! I just love that you fill your days with fun things, I hope I am like you when I am a Mom and take my child on fun adventures!! Chase seems like such a happy happy boy! You and Ryan are doing an amazing job raising him!! Have a great Tuesday! Xoxo
I have no advice on the Wubby situation, but I wanted to commiserate as we’re in the exact same situation with our almost 2.5-year-old. The pacifier part of two of his three Wubbys already broke, and we sewed the mouths shut, but now he likes to sleep with all three (we call it his “pack”), including the one with the pacifier still attached. I’m also hoping to cut the cord on that last one soon and try having him sleep with just the animals, but like you, I’m petrified as we’re in a really good place with sleep, ack! Please share any success or updates, and good luck!
My oldest is 25, so we didn’t have those cute Wubbanubs when he was little, so this might not work for you (if you plan on keeping the animal part). My son had to have two pacifiers at all times – one in his mouth and one in his hand, but as he got older and more active and talkative, he would most times leave them laying around because he couldn’t play if one of his hands were occupied by holding the pacifier and then the more talkative he became, he had to remove the pacifier to talk to us. So I’d come across one laying on the floor, pick it up and toss it. He’d obviously come looking for it and I told him he lost it. Too bad so sad – haha. I actually don’t remember it being too traumatizing for him or I. I do remember being nervous about taking them away from him because he was super attached to them and he was older than 2.5 when we took them away. I suppose you could still take away the Wubbanubs and then 6 months down the road, return them to him without the pacifier – kind of like SURPRISE! Look what showed up! Good luck! (My boy also had a blankie that we never took away from him and he couldn’t fall asleep without his favorite cassette playing, so he did have other crutches to help him through the transition).
I had the same issue with my son. What saved us is that our kitten at the time had a thing for his soothers and would chew them all up, so when it came to the last one, we just told our son that Milo ate it and that was that. My son still asks Milo why he ate all his soothers, even now that he’s 4 years old. The great thing is that our son and cat are the best of buddies.
I have one recommendation, and that is to try to take it away from him during his nap and see how that goes before doing it at bedtime. Then slowly transition to bedtime?? Sometimes its more of the transition, rather than the attachment.
Chase reminds me of my son, a ball of Energy and it only gets better with age. I loved two but three was much more fun and now so it four =0)
Good Luck
My first born (now 4 years old) was OBSESSED with her pacifier. It was constantly in her mouth. And we had started trying to wean her to just bedtimes and long car rides around the age of 2. But it was 100% affecting the shape of her palette and her teeth, so around the same age as Chase is now, we did exactly what you described. She had 1 pacifier/animal and I slowly (over the course of about a week) cut a little more and a little more of the nipple off until just the ring of the pacifier remained attached to the animal. And it went totally smoothly. I was shocked at how easily she transitioned! And she still sleeps with it and will chew on the ring when she’s really, really upset. But she can’t suck on it at all, so it doesn’t affect her teeth like a pacifier would. You can do it!
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/bye-bye-binky-ending-the-pacifier-habit/ This article has some great strategies. I would caution you to consider prepping Chase to say goodbye to the pacifier! My parents took the pacifier away without warning one day and I started sucking my thumb which had its own challenges. Empowering me to help with “toy recycling” or helping new babies, or something, would have been better and helped me, my mom said.
ALSO i have to add this: my dentist and all others thought my thumbsucking was impacting my teeth but then found out I was actually growing an extra tooth in the roof of my mouth which was altering the roots of my front teeth! So, you never know.
I don’t have kids but my friend was ingenious (I think) by cutting the sucker-part of the passie in half so it’s less comfortable! Just thought I would share!
He’s seriously one of the cutest kids ever!! 🙂
This is funny you mention the wubbanub thing.. I too, have a wubbanub addict for a daughter. She turned two yesterday and I am also dreading the transition! We only do it for nap and bedtime and LORD KNOWS I don’t want my sleep messed with 🙂 I mentioned to my husband just yesterday that we should cut the paci off the wubbanub! I notice my daughter does suck on the paci but she also rubs the legs of the animals all over haha! Great ideas. Good luck!
exactly! it took us a LONG time to get to a point where sleep was actually GOOD again in our house and i’m terrified to mess with it!
My 2 year old was wubbanub obsessed! He had several but his favorite was the red dog one. What we did was a little “magic trick.” We had him put his wubbanub in a big box that (unbeknownst to him) already had a small Clifford the red dog stuffed animal (tried to find something close to the beloved wubbanub animal) and my husband shook the box. Then we pretended the wubbanub turned into the Clifford and told him he was a big boy now, and his paci turned into a big boy dog for him to sleep with. We went cold turkey from that moment and he had maybe 1-2 rough nights, but he never asked for it again. Good luck!
I am a two year old teacher for Kohls Corporate so I’m an expert in this area 🙂 When you take his pacifier away, it’s going to be TOUGH for probably about s week. He’s going to scream, cry, and yell and may not sleep for about a week but eventually he will give up and go to sleep just fine. This won’t take longer than a week IF you don’t give in. If you give in, that’s just going to show him that if he yells/screams/cry’s he will get his pacifier back and will continue to do so. It’s tough but just stay strong for that week and it will make your life sooooo much easier after that week. Also keep in mind when he is screaming/crying that he is not feeling sadness. Most of crying that happens when a child is 2 is crying to get what they want, not crying because they feel sadness/hurt. Also, besides the teeth issue, taking the pacifier away will be great for self regulation and self soothing. One of the most important things you can teach your two year old us how to self soothe on their own (without a hug and without a pacifier.) The pacifier inhibits him from learning how to self soothe on their own so that is another benefit of taking it away. 🙂 Hope this helps!!
Also, don’t worry about the eating…no two year old eats well or at all, haha!
thanks so much for this insight!!! i appreciate it so much! i definitely have to staaaay strong when we make this transition. can’t say i’m looking forward to it! haha!
He’s such a cutie!! My older daughter had her binky til she was 3, if that makes you feel better!! She was SO attached to it! We did the binky fairy thing- she came one night and took all the binkies and left her a new doll. I don’t remember her being upset about it at all. We did the same with the “bottle fairy” around 2 1/2 I think. Clearly I wasn’t in a rush lol. The funny thing is my new baby has zero interest in pacifiers and never uses them! It’s amazing how kids can be so different!
One pacifier top our pediatrician gave us was to cut the tip off the top of the pacifier. Not a big hole but enough so there is no more suck in it. My son was sad and asked us to buy a new one but ultimately it was his decision to not use it. Worked really well. One other tip our dr gave us that was a game changer was when you decide to potty train. Put undies under the diaper. The kids don’t like the feel and it saves your house and furniture. We bought a couple packs of cheap but cool undies and it was pretty quick. We have 4 boys and I wish I had known about this trick on sons 1-3. Good luck
Chase has really grown into such a sweet boy! My girls were never binky babies-they had blankies and thumbs, lol! Our grandson was a binky boy, and when the dentist told our daughter it was time for him to give up, she poked holes in them! Her son was funny, “it doesn’t work anymore!” and slowly all the “broken” ones were tossed out, it was a slow transition, but worked! Good luck!
The paci fairy (like the tooth fairy) comes and takes the pacis to new babies who need them! Everyone in my family uses this one. You can have Chase “help” you collect them and put them in a box and place on tour doorstep for the fairy to collect.
Aww, Chase is so adorable!! He favors your Dad a lot!