When you told us threes would be rough, I laughed a little. It seemed like we just got over the sleep regressions of the twos and here we are, crossing another big milestone. Today, I am sharing how we gave up the binky, paci, soother (however you call it) and the steps we took to make Kai’s nursery a more peaceful space for better night sleep.

First, we noticed Kai was waking up in the middle of the night tossing and turning. She would lose her pacifier, wake up and be completely inconsolable. Before we started weaning off her paci, we actually looked at her mattress. Not gonna lie, the one she had since she was born is a hand me down. I didn’t know much about the difference in toddler mattresses and just took the one that came with the bed. One night, I climbed into her bed to fix the sheets and noticed it was stiff as a board. Of course, it kept her tossing and turning! After much research, we decided find the most natural baby mattress possible. After all, the newborn on the way will be using this mattress for years to come. I wanted something that would be non-toxic and gentle on a newborn’s skin but also durable for the toddler potty training years. The Signature Sleep Honest Blossom Natural Crib and Toddler Mattress was the perfect choice that didn’t break the bank. It is on sale for 50% off on Wayfair right now and came in a flash. You can also buy it on Amazon with free shipping. When it comes to choosing the bestt natural baby crib mattress, we knew the top 3 criteria we evaluated: Material, Temperature regulation, Waterproof-abilities.

Material:

The Honest Blossom Natural Crib and Toddler mattress is made with GOTS certified organic cotton, OEKO-TEX certified chemical free natural wool and OEKO-TEX certified coconut coir. The natural coconut coir construction, infused with natural latex makes it firm for proper support but still soft and cozy. These are some of the best materials I would only want to touch a newborn’s bare skin

Temperature regulation:

living in Houston, our summers demand a baby mattress with great temperature regulation. Kai used to wake up in a pool of sweat. I needed something that wicks the moisture fast. Natural wool, organic cotton and natural coconut coir all have moisture wicking properties, making them great temperature regulators. So goodbye being woken up by a sweaty, cranky toddler!

Waterproof-abilities:

The mattress protector included with the Signature Sleep Honest mattress is made with GOTS certified organic cotton. It’s a life saver with toddlers! It’s waterproof for easy cleanup and machine washable for those midnight accidents. Y’all know last week Kai decided she no long needed to wear pull-ups at night. We woke up to an accident (naturally) but the clean up was not a hassle at all!

I am so glad we made her space safe and comfortable before transitioning away from pacifiers!

How to wean from pacifiers: 

Kai has always been fixated on her binky. For a while, it was all day and all night. We would fight over it every day, have to pull over on the freeway to pick it up if she dropped it and so much more. Honestly this transition was just as hard on me. It’s the last baby like habit she has left and I wasn’t ready to see her as a big girl yet. But the tantrums got worse and worse. We were limiting use to only bedtime and car rides but she would wake up in the middle of the night crying if she lost it. This was every night. Finally, we knew it was time to bite the bullet. Here is what worked for us as parents to true binky addict.

Big Girl Day!

We excitedly told her she was finally old enough to be a big girl and enjoy things only big girls can do (aka rides, more choices & control). In exchange, she would have to give her soother to new babies who needed them. We counted down 3 days before the much anticipated “big girl day” and talked about how we would give up our paci every day. She was so excited to have a day dedicated to doing anything she wanted. She seemed to understand the concept of passing down her pacifier to new born babies. Finally, big girl day came and we gathered all our binkies and put them in an envelop. She sealed it and put it in our mail box. The key was to talk through the expectations and have her involved in every step.

We then celebrated by going to Chuck e Cheese (her choice) and bought a toy that would remind her of big girl day. We would talk about why we did big girl day, praise her every time and talk about all the things we can do now since she’s a big girl. 

Lastly, we let her keep 1 paci for nighttime. I helped her cut the nipple off of the paci. She only holds onto it now for comfort. We are 4 days in and the struggle is less and less every day. At night, we had to rock her to sleep a few times and go into her room to comfort her in the early morning hours. But overall, I am so glad we did this before the new baby came! For all you mamas out there struggling with weaning the paci and nighttime wakings, please feel free to send me a note! I’d love to chat!

xo

Joy