Bye Bye Paci… or maybe not… (Difrax pacifiers to the rescue)

Aria loves her pacifier. Yes, we have been saved by the little suckers, but now it’s a bit of a curse considering she can’t seem to live without them. We were recently told by the dentist she should be giving up the habit, but like all addictions it’s not going to be easy. Fortunately, we have been weening her off of them (only for sleeping now or when mommy wants a quiet car ride), but there is no way this child is giving them up… not without a fight.

That’s why I was thrilled to find out about a pacifier that was designed to help encourage your child to give them up. Can you believe a company actually made that? No repeat customers there! Well, in fact it’s genius because I’ve found out (after lots of mom talk and googling) that I’m not the only mom trying to break up their child’s first serious relationship.

The Difrax 3-Stage Pacifier was introduced to me a while back, and as soon as I heard about it I thought we must have one. I had bought a MAM orthodontic pacifier in Duane Reade prior to getting the Difrax.  MAM also is supposed to be better for jaw and teeth development and claims to be recommended and developed by dentists, but I loved that the Difrax 18 + months has similar benefits and also is supposed to ween your child off (or encourage them to give up) their pacifier.

I was concerned when I first gave Aria the new Difrax pacifier. It’s more solid and stiff than most and she had been a bit of a pacifier snob, but after not getting her beloved Avent back, she seemed to accept the Difrax and now is very happy with them. So happy in fact, that I have to wonder if they are actually encouraging her to give up the habit. She may be the exception because so far she still seems hooked. At least I am comforted by the fact that the orthodontic model is supposed to be better for her jaw development and help with the orthodontics. Baby steps I guess.

Follow Up: I just discovered that Difrax also has a FREE E-BOOK on their website that is a 15 day stop plan to help little ones give up the pacifier.  Downloading now!

 

Dentists, Doctors and Big Purple Dinosaurs

Aria went for her first dentist appointment a few weeks back. She was not a fan.  We were actually about a year late since they say you should take them at age one. Aria had no teeth at one—or maybe one or two—so I decided to spare her. Here’s what the dentist told us after her first visit (at almost two).

1. We should be brushing her teeth. We had let her do it herself which seemed to be working just fine, but apparently even though she still waiting for quite a few molars to come in, we should be getting back there for her.  Also, toddler toothpaste only (it has no fluoride and is safe to swallow). So far, so good. She’s cooperating on these.
2.  She needs to give up the bottle and the pacifier. Granted, her teeth are perfect now but apparently if we don’t want them to get completely misaligned (and other issues), two of her favorite things have gotta go. So far, neither has been easy. I’m following up this post with a product that has helped, but going cold turkey on either just isn’t an option. Not yet at least.
3. She’s due back in 6 months (really, a toddler needs to go to the dentist every 6 months??)

Next, comes her 2 year old doctor appointment, which neither of us is looking forward to.  At her 18 month appointment she seemed to have put together that the doctor was not fun, and I felt like she was traumatized when they had to take blood for a lead test (for which I had to hold her down. Talk about mom-guilt, she cried and said “no more mommy…all done…all done,” over and over. Completely heart wrenching.)

I am not looking forward to shots this go-around. I am hoping that she’s a little bit more prepared for it this time, since a big purple dinosaur has been chatting her up about the doctor.  She’s a sucker for Barney and her go-to on Netflix lately has been  “Barney Goes To The Doctor” (over and over and over again.)  I’m hoping that the big purple guy has given her better understanding into it all.  Somehow she seems to think he is the king of all the universe and she’s a loyal follower. We’ll see.