Opinions on pacifiers please

emilyknelson

I am really struggling.  My ds is 10 days old and I have been trying not to give him a pacifier.  Mainly because I don't want to have to wean him off of it later.  So when it seems he needs comfort I am using my finger.  Is this a list cause will he just get addicted to having a finger to suck on?  Opinions.

mrsV719

If you don't use the pacifier all the time, they won't get too attached. LO has been using a paci since birth (he was a preemie so he needed it to learn how to suck/swallow/breathe) and he rarely ever uses one now at 1 year old. He mostly uses it now to play with or to chew on when teething. We just didn't use it every time to soothe him nor did we allow him to keep it in his mouth while he slept.

tokenhoser

I miss the paci so much... we gave it to him at about 2 weeks, and at around 6 months he just quit it. The problem is he still wants to suck to sleep and in his sleep! Usually we get by, but he's been sick and my choices are let him suck on my boob from 1 am until we get up in the morning (which makes it hard to sleep) or let him cough until he vomits... and then let him suck on me until morning.

In other words, I'd give the paci again in a heartbeat. We kept it for only in the crib and the car. 

honeybee #1

I think that with the info that can be found on a paci helping prevent sids, I'm all for it until 6 months. But we've never had any luck getting LO to take one for more than a couple of minutes and it doesn't really soothe her.

I don't think they're very likely to become to attached to your finger though, once they figure out how to chew on their own.

3003girl

LO refused the paci. So we went with a finger or boob. I kinda wish she would have taken to a paci, but i'm also glad we didn't have to wean her from it. 

ambermcmullin

I would say if you want to try it, I've also heard that doctors suggest using one at least the first 3-6 months. My older guy never cared for it but my younger son wanted the boob 24/7, he was a slow, lazy feeder and what a lifesaver when I did give the paci to him.  He didn't seem to have any nipple confusion, but he did get attached to it.  We weaned him around 18 months (after I read here on TB that it should be stopped by 2 yrs. old latest) over a weekend and he was fine after 2-3 nights without it.  Good luck!

WildcatPrincess

I loved the pacifier! DD stopped taking it around 3 months and I tried just about every one they sell. Instead I ended up nursing her every time she woke because she needed to suck back to sleep and refused anything other than the boob. I have no problem with it being used for nap and bed.

LouiseB2001

I was very anti paci in the beginning too but flipped on a plate when DD just had such hard time going to sleep in her pram or anywhere else but being fed. She rejected it though apart from the one time she fell asleep with it, and I must admit I am happy she never used one. She used bottles and it was a bit of a struggle to wean her off those (it happened at around 18-20 months) so I was happy it was just that one thing. If you BF, feed all the time (I know it sounds like a lot but that is how it is like in the beginning) and let your DS suck on your finger like you do, then there is no need for a paci :-)

pixieprincss

Are you nursing? If so, put baby to the breast when he wants to suck as much as you can handle. Baby's desire to suck is very helpful in the first 6 weeks for estabilshing your milk supply. Also, being able to see rooting is a valuable cue for knowing when to nurse on demand. Additionally, baby "nurses" on a pacified in a different way than he'll latch. So, unless baby has a perfect latch already, it can cause problems. These are just some of the reasons that pacifiers are not recommended for breastfeeing babies younger than that. Here is lots of great info:
https://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/concerns/pacifier.html

As for being addicted to sucking, sucking is a natural impulse. Children naturally outgrow the need to suck as they get older. Sure, we all know the kid of a friend who sucked a paci until age 5 or their thumb until 12, but those are extreme examples that fall outside of normal child development.  You cannot control your young baby's desire to suck any more than you can control his desire for sleep. If sucking gives your baby comfort, I don't see it as harmful to address this desire.

We did nursing-on-cue and when I couldn't nurse, we would do (my) finger sucking, so LO could still have the physical contact with me that is so vital for newborns. When we was 6-10 weeks old, we did introduce a pacifier because DS had an intense need to suck beyond what my nipples could hadle. We would pop it out once he was asleep. He is 14 months now and uses it only to go to sleep when he wants more than nursing can provide and when he is inconsolable in the car. We do not allow him to walk around with it in his mouth. I see it as a tool in box of parenting tricks, and when used in moderation has been helpful to us.

earthmama2011

We use a paci with our DD for car rides, sometimes for naps and sometimes for bed times. She is at the stage now when she can take it out and put it back in as she pleases.

It was suggested to us by our midwife and our prenatal instructor to wait until 6 weeks before introducing it as it can potentially cause "nipple confusion" I think (not sure) because baby doesn't have to open their mouth as wide to take in the paci. We waited the 6 weeks but I know lots of moms that didn't and never had a problem.  

SpiderSpray

It's not the pacifier he needs, it's the sucking comfort, if that makes sense. We decided early on that if ds needed something that badly (and he so, so did) we would do whatever needed to keep it from interfering with bf. For what it's worth, he weaned himself off the paci and took to his thumb very quickly, and neither interfered with bf.