Lose the Pacifier Once and For All With The Paci Fairy

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Say goodbye to the Pacifier with the Paci Fairy!

Is it time for your little one to say goodbye to their pacifier? Meet the Paci Fairy! She’s obviously the Tooth Fairy’s sister. After you prepare your little one, the Paci Fairy comes after he goes to sleep and takes his pacifiers in exchange for a little treat or gift. I’m going to walk you through how we did it when my eldest, Elaina was creeping up on three years old.

Introducing the Paci Fairy

I was dreading taking Elaina’s paci from her. She absolutely loved the thing and slept with it every nap and night. It was as if “Paci” was a very special friend who helped her through the night alone in her room. I had already let her have it beyond two years old, which I know is frowned upon. Shame on me and all that, but I just couldn’t find it in my heart to take it away. She was such a good girl. She slept so well, and never got out of her toddler bed until I came to get her each morning. I thought, how bad is a paci really hurting her when she only has it for bedtime?

Then one day, she bit through one of her pacifiers. At this point, letting her keep them was just not an option. The paci was hanging on by a thread, and it was an obvious choking hazard. I knew I had to come up with a way to help her move on. After reading about all kinds of methods, the Paci Fairy was the perfect solution. We discussed how the Paci Fairy was going to come and take away her broken paci. She did have others, so I cut them when she wasn’t looking, causing them lose their suction. (This didn’t stop her from wanting them.) I told her that when the Paci Fairy took her broken pacifiers, she would leave her a surprise.

Build the Paci Fairy Excitement

Elaina talked about this over the course of the next few days. It’s important to talk to your child about what is going to happen when the Paci Fairy comes each day leading up to the event. You want to make sure they understand that this will be the end of pacifiers. For the first day or so, Elaina kept telling me that the Paci Fairy was going to bring her new pacis to replace the broken ones. I clarified to her that pacifiers were all done. She had big girl teeth now that were too strong for a paci. I explained that the Paci Fairy would bring her a different surprise to replace the pacis. Elaina told me that the surprise was going to be lollipops and a stuffed penguin. She was very excited about this idea, and I figured that was simple enough.

Together we created a countdown to the Paci Fairy paper chain. After each nap and every morning, we took off a piece of our Paci Fairy chain. Elaina knew that once all the chains were gone, the Paci Fairy would come when she went to sleep.

Meanwhile, I had gotten a bag of dum-dums and a two pack of cute little stuffed penguins. This would be the surprise the paci fairy left behind. I also downloaded and printed out these useful (and free!) printables from Moms & Munchkins. These include a note from the Paci Fairy, a delivery tag, a door sign, a pacifier receipt, and a thank you tag. To this day, Elaina displays these in her room.

Paci Fairy Printables and Paci Penguins

The Paci Fairy is Coming to Town

The day came when we took off our last paper chain. We got out a blank envelope and let Elaina decorate it for the Paci Fairy with markers and stickers. We put the pacifiers in the envelope and sealed it up. I brought Elaina up to bed, and that’s when the panic hit. As I turned on her music, she ran to the envelope and tried to open it to get a paci. I walked over and explained the plan again. She let me leave the envelope outside her door, and we continued on with our bedtime routine. I will note that I recommend doing this during nap time. It’s a shorter period of time and therefore gets them to their reward quicker. I tucked Elaina in for her nap and went downstairs. It took her a little bit longer to fall asleep, but there were zero tears. It was a huge relief!

I quickly got out the two little penguins I mentioned above along with some of the lollipops. I put them in Elaina’s pacifier box and slipped it into her room. When she woke up, she was absolutely thrilled to see that the Paci Fairy actually came and delivered what she had wanted. There was a note from the Paci Fairy explaining that these were “Paci Penguins” and anytime Elaina Missed her paci she could suck on her penguins. Thus, the paci penguins were born in our home and have worked like an absolute charm. (Note: I recommend getting two packs. We lost a paci penguin this past year. Her absolute favorite stuffy, even her favorite of the two paci penguins. Luckily, I had a back up, and now paci penguins are not allowed outside of the house or car. They are only allowed at family members homes where we know they will be safe.)

The Successful Paci Fairy Visit

Not a single tear was shed for the pacis. The Paci Penguins became the new bedtime superstars. One year later, and they are still in Elaina’s arms when she falls asleep every night. The Paci Fairy made this transition so simple for all of us. I cannot recommend her enough. I also highly recommend the Paci penguins. These are something tangible that your child can use at bedtime in place of a pacifier. They truly work miracles. Just for the love of everything, do not lose them.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with those pacifiers, Momma! Let us know if you try this method with your little one in the comments!