is introducing a pacifier at all a good idea?
- Thread starter sh419ob
- Start date
my son immediately took to his thumb and I’ve been swapping it for a paci as often as I can because I don’t want to fight the thumb battlereginaevans7
New member
@lazzy To add to this, I was very pro pacifier and introduced it in the hospital. It never interfered with anything and they were EBF with an occasional bottle from dad. I did it specifically because I wanted to avoid thumb sucking and thought taking away would be easier than stopping thumb sucking. FF 6 months and they rejected the paci and are an avid thumb sucker at 23 months. I’m dreading the day I have to wean them off the thumb. Jealous of all paci moms rn.
@sh419ob The pacifier worked extremely well for my daughter and I plan on offering one to my next baby.
This is my experience: we introduced the paci to my daughter when she was about 4 weeks old. I did not find that it negatively impacted her ability to latch at all. It took some time to find the pacifier my daughter liked— we had the paci sampler box from Babylist and we went through some trial and error to land on a brand. Side note: she loved the MAM brand, as did many of my friends’ babies.
Other commenters have mentioned the link between pacifiers and SIDS prevention. In addition, the paci really helped soothe her in those moments of extreme crying and it helped her fall asleep faster and stay asleep throughout the night. She was (and continues to be) a really excellent sleeper. I know every baby is different, but I think the pacifier did help her figure out how to fall asleep independently and stay asleep throughout the night.
If you give your baby a pacifier, I recommend having some consistent routines around it from the start. With a few exceptions for really upset moments, like doctor visits and air travel, we only offered one at nap time/ night time.
The paci was working so well for her that I was dreading weaning her from it when she turned two. But it turned out to be a pretty simple and painless transition. We got some books like “Bye Bye Binky” to prep her. On the big day, she gathered up all the pacifiers in the house, put them in a box on our front porch, and went to sleep. When she woke up, the pacifier fairy had taken her pacifiers and left her a present! This process helped her say goodbye and move on.
She is 2.5 now. Her sleep is a little worse now that the paci is gone, but she still sleeps through the night 95% of the time and she still naps during the day. It just takes her a little bit longer to fall asleep without it. Overall, it was definitely worth it for us.
This is my experience: we introduced the paci to my daughter when she was about 4 weeks old. I did not find that it negatively impacted her ability to latch at all. It took some time to find the pacifier my daughter liked— we had the paci sampler box from Babylist and we went through some trial and error to land on a brand. Side note: she loved the MAM brand, as did many of my friends’ babies.
Other commenters have mentioned the link between pacifiers and SIDS prevention. In addition, the paci really helped soothe her in those moments of extreme crying and it helped her fall asleep faster and stay asleep throughout the night. She was (and continues to be) a really excellent sleeper. I know every baby is different, but I think the pacifier did help her figure out how to fall asleep independently and stay asleep throughout the night.
If you give your baby a pacifier, I recommend having some consistent routines around it from the start. With a few exceptions for really upset moments, like doctor visits and air travel, we only offered one at nap time/ night time.
The paci was working so well for her that I was dreading weaning her from it when she turned two. But it turned out to be a pretty simple and painless transition. We got some books like “Bye Bye Binky” to prep her. On the big day, she gathered up all the pacifiers in the house, put them in a box on our front porch, and went to sleep. When she woke up, the pacifier fairy had taken her pacifiers and left her a present! This process helped her say goodbye and move on.
She is 2.5 now. Her sleep is a little worse now that the paci is gone, but she still sleeps through the night 95% of the time and she still naps during the day. It just takes her a little bit longer to fall asleep without it. Overall, it was definitely worth it for us.
greatestace
New member
@sh419ob at 6-12 weeks baby could successfully decline a pacifier and demand sucking nipple only. if you plan to not breastfeed on demand all the time - it makes sense to offer a paci and a bottle with pumped milk as soon as possible. confusion is a myth, babies who like being nursed never give up on the breast.
@sh419ob My baby is just about 6 weeks and we recieved the same advice - no pacifier or bottles for 6-8 weeks if our goal was to exclusively breastfeed.
Having him use me as a pacifier instead was SO hard. He was often inconsolable unless he was sucking on something - no amount of swaddling, swaying, shushing, etc helped. I was worried about falling asleep holding him. We introduced a pacifier at about 2 weeks and I started pumping enough for dad to give 1 bottle a day. He is still not as soothed by the paci or the bottle compared to the breast, but at least we have the option. Since the pacifier is somewhat hit & miss, I anticipate we will just use it for settling to sleep as needed. I would want to avoid him having it in his mouth 24/7, e.g. while awake and playing - I'm not sure if it actually impacts anything developmentally, it would just be my preference.
Caveat: my baby breastfeed like a champ from basically day 1, so I suppose we were low risk for any sort of confusion. But as others have stated, evidence doesn't indicate that that's really a thing. I couldn't imagine waiting until just now to introduce pacifier/bottle, and I also wonder if it would have increased the difficulty of using those tools and then I'd never be able to be away from him. IMO the guidance should be phrased more like "until breastfeeding is established" rather than a hard 6+ weeks, if guidance is needed at all.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-022-04559-9
https://www.cochrane.org/CD007202/P...-use-duration-breastfeeding-full-term-infants
It is up to you whether you want to use one, but my advice is don't be afraid to give it a try if you feel you need to. I felt so guilty going against what was recommend to me in the hospital but I was literally risking a mental health crisis... AND it turns out the evidence doesn't even support waiting. What a nightmare!
Otherwise developmentally I think the bigger concern would be oral health rather than language. Expert groups like AAP and dental professionals recommend weaning by age 2-3, but many people successfully do it earlier, so the approach you envision sounds totally reasonable.
Having him use me as a pacifier instead was SO hard. He was often inconsolable unless he was sucking on something - no amount of swaddling, swaying, shushing, etc helped. I was worried about falling asleep holding him. We introduced a pacifier at about 2 weeks and I started pumping enough for dad to give 1 bottle a day. He is still not as soothed by the paci or the bottle compared to the breast, but at least we have the option. Since the pacifier is somewhat hit & miss, I anticipate we will just use it for settling to sleep as needed. I would want to avoid him having it in his mouth 24/7, e.g. while awake and playing - I'm not sure if it actually impacts anything developmentally, it would just be my preference.
Caveat: my baby breastfeed like a champ from basically day 1, so I suppose we were low risk for any sort of confusion. But as others have stated, evidence doesn't indicate that that's really a thing. I couldn't imagine waiting until just now to introduce pacifier/bottle, and I also wonder if it would have increased the difficulty of using those tools and then I'd never be able to be away from him. IMO the guidance should be phrased more like "until breastfeeding is established" rather than a hard 6+ weeks, if guidance is needed at all.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-022-04559-9
https://www.cochrane.org/CD007202/P...-use-duration-breastfeeding-full-term-infants
It is up to you whether you want to use one, but my advice is don't be afraid to give it a try if you feel you need to. I felt so guilty going against what was recommend to me in the hospital but I was literally risking a mental health crisis... AND it turns out the evidence doesn't even support waiting. What a nightmare!
Otherwise developmentally I think the bigger concern would be oral health rather than language. Expert groups like AAP and dental professionals recommend weaning by age 2-3, but many people successfully do it earlier, so the approach you envision sounds totally reasonable.
gracendesire
New member
@gracendesire I wasted so much money on pacifiers and chew/teething toys 
@sh419ob Ours was a lifesaver and we knew we wanted to use it because of the reduced risk of SIDS. We tried using it from day one but it took her about three weeks before she would take it without spitting it out (basically my mom arrived and was willing to be more aggressive about holding it in her mouth). Never had any issue with BF or nipple confusion - she actually wouldn't take a bottle but the binky was fine.
She's 23 months now and still quite attached, so that's a bit of a downer. Her speech has not been at all affected, but she needs it to sleep and whenever she's sad she wants it asap. We plan to wean her off of it, but I'm due with number two in about a month and we don't want to make any major changes to her coping mechanisms right before the baby comes.
She's 23 months now and still quite attached, so that's a bit of a downer. Her speech has not been at all affected, but she needs it to sleep and whenever she's sad she wants it asap. We plan to wean her off of it, but I'm due with number two in about a month and we don't want to make any major changes to her coping mechanisms right before the baby comes.
justifiablerebel
New member
@sh419ob I also used a pacifier from day 1 with all 3 of my children. The first 2 I breastfed until 15 months and am currently nursing my 3 week old. My oldest 2 just stopped using them before 6 months and I never had to wean them. I am pretty sure as stated in previous comments that nipple confusion has been disproved.
gabjensnsn123
New member
@sh419ob My baby was born early and for premature babies they recommended introducing a dummy straight away to help them learn to suck. The doctors were very supportive of breastfeeding and never thought this was an issue.
We successfully breastfed when she was big enough and used a dummy from the start. Although the first few weeks at home it wasn't that much help with sleep as she'd often drop it.
I think the developmental issues are mostly related to talking, so if you restrict use to to sleeping only that mitigates that risk.
I will say I didn't think we'd use a dummy before I had the baby. But it is insanely useful for things like transferring her from the car to her cot. Or even carrying her into someone's house if we're visiting. It really helps keep her asleep and we've never had to sit in the car so she can finish her nap. She's a bad sleeper at night still though even with a dummy.
Also, take it with a pinch of salt as we've not taken the dummy away yet at 20 months - it's still useful and isn't affecting her teeth. So I can't say if it will be worse when we do remove it
We successfully breastfed when she was big enough and used a dummy from the start. Although the first few weeks at home it wasn't that much help with sleep as she'd often drop it.
I think the developmental issues are mostly related to talking, so if you restrict use to to sleeping only that mitigates that risk.
I will say I didn't think we'd use a dummy before I had the baby. But it is insanely useful for things like transferring her from the car to her cot. Or even carrying her into someone's house if we're visiting. It really helps keep her asleep and we've never had to sit in the car so she can finish her nap. She's a bad sleeper at night still though even with a dummy.
Also, take it with a pinch of salt as we've not taken the dummy away yet at 20 months - it's still useful and isn't affecting her teeth. So I can't say if it will be worse when we do remove it
@gabjensnsn123 I came to also say that the nicu used a pacifier to help teach my son how to eat. He was born 9 weeks prematurely and they used the pacifier to help teach him the skills he needed.
When he was old enough, he had a great latch but I ended up exclusively pumping for other reasons.
My son is 21 months old and I have absolutely no intentions of weaning from the pacifier until he's 2.5 years old. His dentist, neonatalologist, pediatrician, dietitian, and speech therapist do not think his pacifier use is any problem. We mostly use it at nap time, nighttime, and car rides.
And anytime we see him with his fingers in his mouth. We offer him a pacifier or teether if we see his fingers in his mouth.
When he was old enough, he had a great latch but I ended up exclusively pumping for other reasons.
My son is 21 months old and I have absolutely no intentions of weaning from the pacifier until he's 2.5 years old. His dentist, neonatalologist, pediatrician, dietitian, and speech therapist do not think his pacifier use is any problem. We mostly use it at nap time, nighttime, and car rides.
And anytime we see him with his fingers in his mouth. We offer him a pacifier or teether if we see his fingers in his mouth.
gabjensnsn123
New member
diogenesquest
New member
@sh419ob My oldest son used a paci at night mainly, until 3. He is extremely verbal, light years ahead of his peers. The pediatric dentist said we were fine using a paci until 3.
My youngest son is 15 months and loves his paci. We don’t do screen time so it’s a great way to calm him when we need it.
I couldn’t imagine not having them! I do have friends that had children that didn’t take them, so again it depends on the baby.
My youngest son is 15 months and loves his paci. We don’t do screen time so it’s a great way to calm him when we need it.
I couldn’t imagine not having them! I do have friends that had children that didn’t take them, so again it depends on the baby.
@sh419ob I waited 3-4 weeks before introducing one & our kid had zero issues breast or bottle feeding.
It was a huge improvement for us, as he was a comfort nurser & he was content being pacified without my actual nipple & I needed that break.
Maybe we were just lucky, but he grew bored of them around the time he started walking & never looked back.
He has had zero negative effects, dental or otherwise.
It was a huge improvement for us, as he was a comfort nurser & he was content being pacified without my actual nipple & I needed that break.
Maybe we were just lucky, but he grew bored of them around the time he started walking & never looked back.
He has had zero negative effects, dental or otherwise.
@sh419ob My baby is 12 weeks tomorrow and doesn’t like a pacifier. I’m a SLP so I didn’t push it at all. She’s EBF and doing great- although I’ll be honest, she doesn’t like a bottle either despite my best efforts. She will take a bottle though, just takes some convincing.
But if she starts sucking her thumb I will be pushing the pacifier at that point!
But if she starts sucking her thumb I will be pushing the pacifier at that point!
@sh419ob I didn’t initially plan on introducing a pacifier early, but she came back from her “bath” at the hospital right before we left with one. That first night when we got home there was a bit of nipple confusion. But after she fell asleep and woke up again she’d totally sorted it out. So we’ve used pacifiers basically since the jump.
They have been a godsend. It’s so nice not to be her pacifier. So useful for keeping calm in public places. Helpful as a sleep aid now that we’re transitioning to using it just for sleeping at 6 months.
I’ll be looking to wean sometime between 1 and 2. Hopefully that’ll be before she gets too attached.
The most important thing is to offer the breast or bottle first before resorting to a pacifier at the beginning when you’re both still getting the hang of things.
They have been a godsend. It’s so nice not to be her pacifier. So useful for keeping calm in public places. Helpful as a sleep aid now that we’re transitioning to using it just for sleeping at 6 months.
I’ll be looking to wean sometime between 1 and 2. Hopefully that’ll be before she gets too attached.
The most important thing is to offer the breast or bottle first before resorting to a pacifier at the beginning when you’re both still getting the hang of things.