Hi,
If this is the wrong forum, please let me know and I'll move to the correct place.
We have 4 children: 6.5, 5, and 18-month old fraternal twins (who were 2 months premature, so 16-months adjusted age).
First two kids were "binkie" kids, and were both easily de-binkied (cold-turkey) by about 15 months when they got into the habit of tossing binkies out of the crib ... the fun "game" just ended one day when I decided I couldn't spend 3 hours a day re-binkie-ing them. For each of them, they lost maybe one nap, fussed at bedtime, but it was a non-issue, and was essentially child-led (e.g., if child desperately needs binkie, she/he does not toss it over and over!)
The twins, thus far, are totally different from the older two. One of the twins is a voracious thumb-sucker, though ONLY in bed or in the car, when blankie is present. Thumb baby's front teeth are already fairly misplaced -- sticking out -- due to this habit. The other twin is binkie baby, but again, only in bed or in the car. Paci baby has only recently cut first front upper incisor, so too soon to know if the teeth are/will be affected. No one sucks anything around the house/while playing, period (I don't know how this happened, it just evolved this way somehow, and seems to be a good development, based on my research).
Based on the fact that both twins are a bit developmentally delayed - esp. binkie baby - (prematurity/twins/older sibs, who knows??) and the fact that there is a strong family history of thumb-sucking requiring extensive speech therapy, I would like to eliminate BOTH the thumb and the pacifier in the next 6-8 weeks. The reason for this timing is (a) to eliminate before 18 months adjusted age, as many speech therapists/dentists recommend; and (b) to avoid any other possible transition periods -- e.g., starting a mother's morning out in the fall, one morning a week; or getting into potty training, etc.)
I don't want to be unkind to them in any way; and I know from reading other threads here that there are a lot of opinions to the contrary (e.g., "no big deal," "she/he will stop on her/his own when he/she is ready," etc.). However, given what we're facing in the bigger picture and in the family history, we (DH and I) think it's time.
So, I'm searching for the most kind ways to make this transition from pacifier and from thumb. I figure we might as well all suffer at once, versus doing one twin then the other, but I'm open to different thoughts on that, too. We are willing to try "cold turkey" on the binkie (that one is obvious) but I'm less sure about the thumb. Also, they're too young to "rationalize" this decision, so explaining it to them, although appropriate, is probably not sufficient.
Thoughts, anyone?
Although I do appreciate and value other viewpoints (the "don't worry about it" camp being one), the purpose of this post is to solicit input on how we might transition away from the thumb and binkie. I appreciate any suggestions or experiences.
Thanks for reading this!
