Binky Bye Bye
So as if we felt as though our life wasn't already tough taking care of two 14-month old toddlers, we decided to add another struggle to our already struggle-filled life. We decided that it was time to get rid of the pacifiers. Yes, the only thing that we were sure would give us some semblance of sanity, we chose to rip away from them as though it was a poison.
Why?
We had already known that the time was coming. Their pediatrician had already told us that around a year the pacifiers should. And if that wasn't enough we also had their dentist confirmed that notion (yes, we took them to the dentist even though they only have two teeth each). Initially, we didn't rush to do this, but one day my wife noticed that Judah's upper gums were starting to concave forming an open bite. Now, the concavity is very, very slight, but I don't want that for my kids. I then did a couple of google searches for removing pacifiers and moments later we removed the pacifiers cold turkey. I collected all fo the pacifiers from around the apartment, I even snatched the two that were still in their mouths and put them into a bin. Success! Right? Well, let's see.
The Result
One of the things that I noticed is that their personalities, I think, started to become more apparent. Of course, they cried more (like a lot more), but they also laugh more, talk more, play more, are way more adventurous and (check this) are way better nappers. It's almost like the pacifier not only calms cries but also suppresses everything else. A week later, the kids don't need the pacifiers the be able to control their emotions. I wish I did this much sooner.