Plug no more!

Joey and I decided that it was time for Layla to part from her beloved pacifier/bink at the tender age of 11 1/2 months. We both did not suck on a pacifier or a thumb when we were babies, so it was easy for us to take it away. It's for her own good. I guess you could call us tough parents... in a good way, I hope.

Research says that the longer your baby uses a pacifier, the harder it can be for her to stop, but another reason to make the break now is that it's the beginning of an exciting speech development phase. Babies around this age may be less likely to chatter away with something in her mouth all the time.

We can admit that when Layla started to throw a little tantrum or two, we would "plug her up" with the handy-dandy pacifier. Maybe now we can ask Layla to use her words and tell us what she wants and how she is feeling. I can see it now, "Mom, please don't brush my hair, I can do it myself". She actually does the motion with a comb, although the language isn't quite there yet. Today she did not suck on her pacifier (or thumb) the entire day and NIGHT! She did great and went right to bed at 7:20pm as usual. Next goal, bottle no more!