Figuring out the best way to say good bye to your baby’s pacifier and bottle can sometimes be a dreaded or difficult task.  Here are a few ideas of how to go about weaning your baby from their “ba-ba” and paci. 

Toddlers who drink from a bottle for too long can tend to consume more milk than necessary.  This can cause your baby to have little appetite for the variety of solid food they need to eat, or they may be consuming too many calories from the liquid.  When kids drink from a bottle, the milk pools around their teeth and can create a major cavity risk. 

Between 12 and 15 months is a good time to wean your baby from the their “ba-ba.”  This is when babies can drink well enough from a sippy cup and should go completely bottle free.  If you wait more than 18 months, the bottle will have become a habit rather than a necessity and your child will cling to it even harder.

How to  wean your baby from their bottle?  It is a good idea to introduce the sippy cup between 6 and 9 months with milk or formula, not just water or juice.  Otherwise, some babies can get the idea that milk only comes out of a bottle and water or juice comes out of a cup and they will resist drinking milk from a sippy cup even though they are able to.  Once your child has mastered the cup, around 12 months, tell them they are a “big kid” and you get to use a cup instead of a bottle all the time now.  Many doctors advise the cold-turkey approach, but you can also eliminate one bottle-feeding at a time, starting with the bedtime bottle.  A one year old does not need to eat right before they go to sleep.

Ideally it is a good time to wean your baby between 8 and 12 months from their pacifier.  This is when kids start to form fierce attachments, so it’s a great window of opportunity to replace a pacifier with a lovey, such as a small blanket or stuffed animal, neither of which has any potential negative health consequences.  Research has shown that pacifier overuse is linked to ear infections.   One theory is that the constant sucking pushes excess saliva and fluid toward the baby’s eardrum, making her more susceptible.  Also, a heavy duty habit could alter your child’s bite, potentially causing a lisp.

How to say goodbye to the pacifier?  Again most pediatricians recommend doing this cold turkey for babies because in the long run it’s easier for both you and your baby.  Although it might be hard it will not be scarring and your baby will adapt within a couple of day.  After about age 2, do it gradually.  Start by limiting its use to certain places like bed, then only during certain times like sleep until it’s gone for good!