There comes a time in life when we have to put away childish things. Unfortunately, my one-year-old doesn’t understand that. In his defense, he is only one…
My kid is late to the whole teeth game. They are slowly, but surely coming in, which means many nights of interrupted sleep. His pacifier is the only thing that satiates him when the pain becomes unbearable (and before the Motrin kicks in). Lord knows we have a lot of them. From regular pacifiers that we keep in the freezer to the Wubbanubs with various stuffed animals attached to them, we are never without one.
Like most parents, we also use the pacifier to stop the irrational screaming. Why do they do that? One minute toddlers are happy, lovable, cuddly creatures, and the next minute they’re channeling Linda Blair. The aptly named pacifier is always there to the rescue. Alas, my husband and I have realized that the time to ween him from the pacy is drawing near.
We don’t know how or when we’re going to do it yet, but the fact is we’ve all become too dependent on it. Just this morning, he had a meltdown because I accidentally put it up too high for him to reach. I quickly dropped what I was doing (dishes) and handed it to him. I swear if we, as adults, had meltdowns like this, we’d all be locked up in asylums.
If I’m being completely honest, I’m afraid to take away his pacifier for good. I know that we have to teach him to manage his emotions and make sure his teeth come in properly, so we don’t have to pay for braces. I just want to know, is there a way to skip over the meltdowns and go straight to a well-mannered, even-tempered child?
The Saucy Mama 
