There are many names for it: binky, paci, nuk, soother, dummy, hubby, pacifier, etc. My son called it his Fa Fa.

A month or two after his second birthday, we decided it was time to phase out the Fa Fa. We, of course, had no idea how to do this. But, it was definitely time. I also felt like it was effecting the positioning of his upper teeth.

Using a pacifier was a suggestion from his pediatrician shortly after he was born, and he had been sucking on one from almost day one. It definitely soothed him between feedings as a newborn. Before he could walk, he would have his Fa Fa with him randomly throughout the day. But as soon as he started walking, he used it less and less until he only really wanted it when he snuggled up to sleep.

His Fa Fa was his constant bedtime and nap time companion. He HAD to have one to sleep. He would have little melt downs if he didn’t have it. Even would wake us up in the middle of the night crying because his couldn’t find his precious Fa Fa. (Usually it was right beside him.) We had at least a handful that would rotate from being used to being cleaned. And even with so many in rotation, somehow some days we would be scouring the house for one, frantically searching for a Fa Fa to tame the tiny wild beast’s cries of despair.

How It Worked For Us

My son is a planner. He always needs to know what is going to happen ahead of time. So, a few days before the fairy’s visit we discussed with him what was going to happen. He wasn’t happy about it at first, but he came around when he found out he would get a special gift from the Fa Fa Fairy.

The day of her visit we gathered up every Fa Fa and placed them in a large organza bag and set them out for the Fa Fa Fairy to collect.

There were a few tears that night as we tucked him into bed without his precious Fa Fa. We made sure to discuss that although he would not see the Fa Fa again, in the morning there would be a gift for him.  

The next morning, he woke up excited for his gift. And was proud of himself for being a big boy and sleeping through the night without a Fa Fa. He did have his special lovey, Elphie, to help him through the night. And after the Fa Fa left, his attachment to Elphie and Bunny (another of his loveys) grew.

I must admit, the first night after the Fa Fa Fairy visited, he had a huge meltdown about going to bed without his Fa Fa. We had discovered a Fa Fa earlier that day that hadn’t been collected with the others and he wanted it. So the Fa Fa Fairy had to make a second appearance at our house to take the final Fa Fa.

He woke up that next morning to a final small gift from the Fa Fa Fairy. That night we had a few sniffles, but he no longer needed his Fa Fa.