How I got rid of the soothers

Oh yes, my friends, this is one of those big unpleasant moments of toddlerhood. It's not easy - actually in our case it was absolute hell - but I can say that with some sheer determination, it is possible to rid your house of soothers. It won't easy and you probably won't sleep for a few nights but if I can do it then so can you. You just need to stand your ground!

 

Oh and do it on a Friday so at least you're sleep deprived at the weekend.

 

My five-year-old Jack adored soothers when he was a baby, so when Holly came along, I remember planning not to give her a soother at all. I remembered all too clearly trying to get Jack off them when he was three. Fast forward to Day Two in The Coombe Hospital with Holly crying in my arms as I waited for my breast milk to come in properly and I succumbed.

 

I asked my husband, Richard, to pick up one en route to the hospital and he did, I put it in her mouth and peace. She loved it immediately and it was so lovely. I ate my tea and toast in silence as I looked at my beautiful newborn beside me and thought to myself, sure it's only for a few days while I'm here, then I'll take it off her. It won't be a problem this time...

 

As the weeks and months went on, she became addicted to her su-su and because she was a 'sucky baby' and I was dealing with an energetic toddler, I let her continue. They were so handy when it came to injections, car sleeps and when she wasn't well, but she would sometimes have three on the go at once. She would wake in the middle of the night and we would sleepily walk into her room, stubbing toes in the dark, trying not to swear while looking for her soothers using our mobile phones as torches.

 

Nine out of 10 times, the su-su was beside her ear. So annoying.

 

This continued until she was able to find them properly herself at a two-years-old, at which point I started to wean her off them, allowing one in the car, in her cot and at night.

 

 

Then, after Christmas, having spent a fantastic few days in Carlow with my lovely family-in-law, we left for Dublin without any soothers. I was oblivious to this, so you can imagine my absolute horror when she asked me for her soother and I had nothing. With sweat trickling down my back and a dry mouth, I searched frantically through all the bags as my husband continued driving on the N7. Holly cried and cried and cried and we all kept talking to distract her. Poor Jack even sang!

 

By the time she'd settled, we had arrived home with headaches, feeling exhausted but we had survived the hour. So feeling brave, we decided that if she could stretch the car journey then we had kind of started the process. We sat her down and explained to her that the baby reindeers had taken them because they were tired after their hard work and they needed them.

 

She was not impressed but we kept positive and saw her through the night and the following day and the following night and the following day and then.... nothing. No mention of them at all and we've never looked back. I'll admit we nearly gave in four times and we felt awful but it was worth it.

 

It's like giving up anything, if you can do it for three days, you can do it. And she did. We were so proud of her and happy that she wasn't walking around with a su-su in her mouth and hand all day. She was two and eight months and has never mentioned them again.

 

So if soothers are a problem in your house, just stop delaying, bite the bullet and go for it. It's definitely hard but it's absolutely do-able!