Baby Boot Camp: Pacifiers -- Yay or Nay?

on April 21, 2010 at 5:15 PM

Baby Amber With a Pacifier
Photo by beachmamaof2 As a new first-time mom -- yes, I'm typing this with one hand -- I'll be exploring the often stressful, always magical first six weeks of little one's life with the scoop on things like car seats, cradle cap, cuddle time, and other newborn issues in CafeMom's Baby Boot Camp.

Before baby Kavya was born, I always had a negative opinion of pacifiers.

I mean, just think about the word. You shove this little piece of plastic in your little one's mouth to appease them or, really, to shut them up when you can't take the crying anymore.

It just seemed cruel and unnecessary. Plus, I had heard about how binkies were supposed to be bad for baby's teeth and whatnot. And how they could get sort of addicted to having a binky as a sole soothing method, or that pacifier use could lead to problems with breastfeeding.

So naturally, when I saw that big, bright green Soothie in her cradle-on-wheels thingie in the hospital nursery, I was freaking out. Weren't pacifiers a big no-no? Shouldn't they at least ask us if that's okay?

In any case, baby Kavi was introduced to the pacifier before we were. We took it home with us, but it sort of sat there untouched for the first few days. The baby was breastfeeding constantly, when would she have time for a binky?

But then, at the doctor's office, I read this poster on the wall that explained that pacifier use at bedtime and naptime could be linked to a reduced risk of SIDS. That would make pacis positive, no? Plus, occasionally giving Kavi a pacifier when she was clearly non-nutritively sucking gave me a much-needed break once in a while.

Of course, no matter what you decide to do, there will be naysayers. I had one such relative who, upon seeing Kavi with her paci when she visited, recommend I not get her in the habit. I pointed out to the woman that I'd much rather Kavi have a paci that I could eventually take away than get her in the habit of sucking her thumb, which I couldn't take away. I didn't need to remind the lady that her own son had sucked his thumb until he was about 11 years old.

So we're tentative with the paci. I don't want her to get too obsessed with it, but I don't see it as a looming danger either. Plus, if she doesn't want it -- which she sometimes doesn't -- she just spits it out. Because as I'm quickly learning, my little baby has a mind of her own.

Does your little one take a pacifier?

Filed Under: baby first year, baby gear, bedtime, breastfeeding, pacifiers

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Comments (18)

RanaAurora

on Apr 21, 2010 at 5:55 PM

You know what's even more effective at reducing SIDS? Room-sharing with a breastfeeding mom. Breastfeeding-friendly hospitals do not have pacifiers available, much less hand them out to all infants. Most sucking needs are satisfied by breastfeeding, which usually is there as a way of upping the mom's supply. Am I anti-pacifier? Absolutely not. IN fact, I've tried to get both my children to take them. However, I'm also educated enough in breastfeeding to recognize the majority of problems (especially latch and supply issues) before they start, so I'm comfortable with that... but the majority of women don't have that knowledge, so in general, pacifiers aren't a great idea. I also seriously hate seeing pictures of babies and never being able to see what their actual FACE looks like because they always have a plug in their mouth.

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sodapple

on Apr 21, 2010 at 6:02 PM

being a second time mom again, i already gave my daugther her first paci. my mom has disapproved of it but i don't want to have to fight with my child later on to remove her thumb from her mouth. we did it with our first daugther and a month before she turned 2 i weaned her off, cold turkey, so i'm doing the same with baby and we'll see how we go in the future =-D

Amazonora

on Apr 21, 2010 at 6:28 PM

My 7 month old's bedtime routine ends with the pacifier being popped in his mouth. It is his trigger, he sucks for about 30 seconds, then it falls out when he's asleep. Since he's gotten more control of his hands, he puts it back in on his own when he occasionally wakes in the middle of the night and he finds it, but I'd bet he's sucking for maybe 5 minutes a day, it's not something I'm anxious to get rid of. He is still breastfeeding and has had no problems. He doesn't like the plug when he's awake and alert, but when he's sleepy, it gets him over the edge to sleep, why should I mess with that?

Mama2Claire09

on Apr 21, 2010 at 9:09 PM

We never tried giving our DD a paci. She's pretty good at self soothing...I wouldn't tell anyone else NOT to give their children a paci, what works for me won't work for everyone else!

cecillesmommy

on Apr 22, 2010 at 8:34 AM

we gave our DD a paci when she started teething and constantly shoved everything in her mouth to gnaw and suck on. she pretty much only uses it for sleeping and during hard transitions. otherwise, she's pretty much paci free. she's about to be 11 months and is in the process of finding her words so its hard to communicate with her mam!

jeannesager

on Apr 22, 2010 at 9:42 AM

I concur with cecillesmommy -- the pacifier was incredibly valuable when she was teething. My daughter chewed on those things like there was no tomorrow, and it relieved a lot of the pain. But we weaned her off around her first birthday because we were concerned about orthodontic issues, speech issues, etc.

KatieP.

on Apr 22, 2010 at 10:26 AM

ok I had no negitive opinion of paci's until my almost 2 son still uses one! Seriuosly its a pain for me and I did not introduce it to my second child and am very happy I did not. Do whatever you feel is right but you can use other things for teething and soothing. Just my opinion coz I right now feel like my son will be going to college with his damn "bink bink"

jinglebells8677

on Apr 22, 2010 at 11:05 AM

I think pacis are great, my son didnt want to nurse in the hospital. I gave birth to him at 144 in the morning and at 330am the nest day i was still awake and had o sleep for more close to 48 hrs. The hospital i was at didnt take babies to the nursery so he stayed in my room screaming his head off. I went and asked the nurse for a paci and he went to sleep soon after we got it. It never messed up our nurseing, we used paci and bottles while i nursed and never had a problem. The paci was a life saver on car rides and when he was sleppy. At 6 months old her gave up the pacci and the boob all by himself. As soo upset that he didnt want to nurse anymore but what was i going to do. He never went back the paci and i have a happy healthy 4 yr old now.

arlenagauldin

on Apr 22, 2010 at 12:59 PM

i sucked my thumb until i was 10, so i know what it's like trying to get a child out of that habit. with my son, i introduced the binky the day after he was born. he tried a couple times to suck his thumb, but we would simply remove it and return the binky to his mouth. we sent it bye-bye right after he turned 2 and he hasn't asked for it since. now with my daughter, it has been a challenge. she is 2 months old and constantly sneaks that thumb in. we are still doing the same thing we did with my son, taking it out and replacing it with the binky. i'm not ready to just give in, but as others have said, it really depends on the child, and on your own personal beliefs. i personally don't want to go through the whole thumb sucking phase, but if that's the only thing that sooths my daughter, i'll be willing to put up with it.

haley128

on Apr 22, 2010 at 2:10 PM

With my now three year old son my hubby and I tried to give him a pacifier because we heard that it can reduce the risks of SIDS so I was all for one my son on the other hand had his own plans. He would never take a pacifier. We would try to give it to him and he would leave it in his mouth for 2 seconds and then spit it out flip it over chew on the plastic part for about 5 seconds and then want nothing more from it. I did breast feed my son and he seemed like that was all he needed no pacifier and he never tried to suck his thumb so I tried a few different brands of pacifiers and he did the same thing with all of the pacifiers so I just let him be. I really liked the fact of not having to try and take away a pacifier so I'm not sure if I will try to use one with the baby that I am currently pregnant with right now.