WDYT: Breastfeeding and pacifiers?

sarahgcapecod

I am home with my 4 day old son and they did not give him a pacifier in the hospital because he is being breastfed. My DS took one from day one (although he never loved it and stopped around 3 months old on his own and was fine).  He never had nipple confusion.  I want to do what is right..but already I think DS#2 is using me as a pacifier.  He wants to 'eat' every hour or so but will suck for less than 5 minutes and then fall asleep. Then, if I try to put him down, he wakes up and wants to 'eat' again.  I know it's only been a few days - but the nights are miserable.  I am thinking of trying a pacifier with him tonight to see if it helps at all despite what I've heard about waiting a few weeks until they are better at breastfeeding. What is your take on it?

dnagal

I suffered through the "mommy pacifier" phase for about a month.  I wish I had given it to her sooner!  If you can survive another week, consider it, but if he's nursing well and you are being tortured, go for the pacifier.  FWIW-DD did better with the "soothies" style paci than the orthodontic style.

jeffs_baker

Has your milk come in? That would be the first milestone I would make sure you hit before offering ds a paci. If not, he could be trying to tell your milk to come in.

 The only thing I was always afraid of was offering a paci during growth spurts, but if you are aware of not doing that, then you should be ok. We waited to give dd a paci until she was about a month old, and she never liked it. She's also not a thumb sucker, but she did nurse for comfort for a while.

 

dnagal

I do have another thought upon re-reading your post, that you may not be in full milk production yet and he may be getting a little tired/frustrated.  Again, consider waiting a few days until he's really established and nursing for good long sessions (20 minutes or so)

sarahgcapecod

I was lucky - my milk came in after about 24 hours.  He was nursing for 20-40 minuts on each sides for 2 days.then last night it just went downhill fast.  Today he has been back and forth, sometimes he'll nurse 'normally' for 15+ minutes on each side, sometimes not.  But, I will try to hold out for another week or so to make sure my milk is fully in....I can't imagine it's not considering I look like a porn star and milk is pouring out of his mouth after he nurses, but better safe than sorry.

josie402

DS had a pacifier from the start and no problems with nipple confusion.  He had a really strong suck reflex and wanted to suck constantly.  I plan to offer one to this baby if she's the same way.

soxfan

My two children were/are bf - i did the paci from day one.  Nipple confusion does not mean they will ever eat again.  Offer it they may not like it, but they may and it may calm EVERYONE down.....

Sarah&JoeinSC

With my first DD, I waited two weeks before giving her the paci.  We had no problems breastfeeding.  With this baby, I had a homebirth, and after four hours the midwives were gone and I was tired but she just wanted to suck.  So I gave her a paci.  I love breastfeeding but I can't stand to be sucked on constantly.  She's two weeks old now and we have had no problems breastfeeding.  In my experience, as long as you're offering the breast every few hours, it's okay to give the paci to satisfy their need to just suck.  Go with your mommy instinct, I think you'll know what works for you and your baby.

JOEBunny

My DD had a bottle from day one due to glucose level problems and Small for gestational age.  She never had a hard time with nipple confusion.  In fact, after 2 months, she refused a bottle completely after having had one everyday.  She also would never take a paci.  I would give it a try.  I think it is a lot less likely to get nipple confusion from a paci than a bottle, since there is no reward.  Better to use your common sense about what will make your baby comfortable (and you!) than worry about something that isn't all that common.

mommy06

I gave my dd a paci from day one and she had no problems with nipple confusion and she bf like a pro. Good luck and Congrats!

Kelli

Ciarrai

I gave both the girls pacis in the hospital on the first night.  DD#1 was EBF through a year and DD#2 is working towards a year as well.  I don't see any problems with that.  That said, DD#1 especially BF 45 minutes out of every two hours for the first two weeks I think.  DD#1 kept her paci until 15 months and I half wished I'd kept it until 18 months because she started sucking/chewing on her hand for a while before giving that up too.  I'm not in as much of a rush to get rid of it with DD#2.

Has your milk come in yet?  If it has, try to wake him up and get him to BF for at least 20 minutes on one side straight.  That will fill up his belly.  He may just be eating a tiny bit and then falling asleep.  You might have to wake him to eat. Otherwise, personally I never had any problems using a paci to extend the time between feedings to closer to 2-3 hours rather than an hour.

If your milk hasn't come in yet, though, I recommend letting him stay on the boob as much as he'd like.  That will get your milk to come in better and sooner.

Bellisimo

They gave DS a paci in the hospital and I breastfed.  I also continued giving him a paci AND gave him bottles of pumped BM from the get go.  He never had nipple confusion and never seemed to use me as a paci.  He had a strong need to suck though...paci's were his best comfort object for the first year to two years.