Is anyone planning on NOT using pacifiers?

DeniseS7 · May 2010

I just took a breastfeeding class and the instructor recommended NOT using pacifiers. She went on to explain how they don't really serve a purpose because if LO is crying it is for a reason and it's better to just find out what it is instead of just shoving a pacifier in their mouth. I had never really thought of it before but I think it makes sense. So I was just wondering if anyone out there is planning on not using them.

On a side note, yesterday we were with some friends who have a 1 year old and the mom was telling me how they never used them either. I was pretty shocked cuz I guess I assumed everyone used them! WDYT?

Legally Nads · May 2010

We're not, even though MIL insists that we should and bought us some even after I told her we won't be using them.

MrsBalletStar05 · May 2010

I don't think I planned on really using them with DS#1......but I've heard it helps prevent SIDS and we had just had a baby in our family pass away due to that a few months earlier, so our family was like SUPER CRAZY on anything to prevent it. So we used one.

Bethpogue · May 2010

I breastfed both of my children, Oldest took a paci immediately in the hospital after his circumcision. My 2nd refused to take a paci and would gag whenever you tried to give her one. After both, I would say paci baby definitely easier , so easy to quiet the fussiness sometimes otherwise you breast becomes a pacifier like very 30 minutes when they are alraedy full!

I am hoping #3 takes the pace, I never had issues with nipple confusion or not having enough supply! Oh baby #2 is almos 5 and still sucking her thumb and baby #1 gave up paci at 10 months with out a problem!

CoastieWife08 · May 2010

It's all going to depend on your baby, honestly. Some babies do fine without them while other babies have a greater sucking comfort need.

My DD is a paci baby. Always was. Once I knew I wouldn't be able to nurse and had to exclusively pump, I offered a pacifier. It made a huge difference in DD's temperament. We're starting to wean off of it now, but not pushing the issue.

I won't know if DS will use one or not until he's here. He may hate them or prefer to comfort suck at the breast (praying I can actually nurse this time).

It's one of those things you can't really plan for, imo.

GinEthansMom · May 2010

I'm sort of for whatever makes life easier. DS had a paci and loved it. He's highly verbal and it never interfered w/ breast or bottle feeding. There is some evidence that shows it reduces the likelihood of SIDS. I'm sure we'll probably offer a paci. Besides, he/she may opt for a finger or thumb instead and you can't take those away when then get bigger. A paci you can!

shelbym · May 2010

We didn't them with DS and I don't plan on introducing one to DD when she is born either. I gave one to DS one or two times when he was less than two weeks old and my mom tried to get him to take one but it never really caught on. I had a natural rubber one and he was breast feeding so maybe he just never liked the texture. I am really happy now because I don't have to wean him away from it and he was always perfectly happy without it.

Brougham7-15-06 · May 2010

Coming from someone who swore up and down they would never use pacis....well I ate my words really quickly. In general I do not have an issue with them, I just didn't want to be the mom of the kid who is 3 years old with a binky and can't break them of it....so as a result I was anti binky....but we used one, DS was BF and bottle fed too with no issues...and it was gone cold turkey by about 15 months old...so I can't complain.

I do feel that they do serve a purpose, and I do not agree with the BF instructor. Not all babies are crying because they NEED something....some of them just require something to help them soothe and a paci sometimes helps.

monkeyqueen · May 2010

Brougham7-15-06:

Coming from someone who swore up and down they would never use pacis....well I ate my words really quickly. In general I do not have an issue with them, I just didn't want to be the mom of the kid who is 3 years old with a binky and can't break them of it....so as a result I was anti binky....but we used one, DS was BF and bottle fed too with no issues...and it was gone cold turkey by about 15 months old...so I can't complain.

I do feel that they do serve a purpose, and I do not agree with the BF instructor. Not all babies are crying because they NEED something....some of them just require something to help them soothe and a paci sometimes helps.

Babies do not fit a mold. And, some babies have a stronger urge/desire/need to suck, whether from a breast (for comfort nursing) or from a pacifier.

I don't think that planning pacifier use or non-use is necessary. It's fine to take cues from baby and see what they need/want. The may not necessarily need a pacifier, but it's okay for them to want to suck.

(My little BFing story - my oldest had a very strong desire to suck - I ended up spending most of my day comfort nursing because that is all that would soothe her. By the time I wised up and offered her a paci (about 4 weeks), I was already completely exhausted from BFing/comfort nursing that I was weaning Olivia from the breastfeeding......I should have gave her a soother earlier.....much earlier.)

monkeyqueen · May 2010

Brougham7-15-06:

Coming from someone who swore up and down they would never use pacis....well I ate my words really quickly. In general I do not have an issue with them, I just didn't want to be the mom of the kid who is 3 years old with a binky and can't break them of it....so as a result I was anti binky....but we used one, DS was BF and bottle fed too with no issues...and it was gone cold turkey by about 15 months old...so I can't complain.

I do feel that they do serve a purpose, and I do not agree with the BF instructor. Not all babies are crying because they NEED something....some of them just require something to help them soothe and a paci sometimes helps.

This. Babies do not fit a mold. And, some babies have a stronger urge/desire/need to suck, whether from a breast (for comfort nursing) or from a pacifier.

I don't think that planning pacifier use or non-use is necessary. It's fine to take cues from baby and see what they need/want. The may not necessarily need a pacifier, but it's okay for them to want to suck.

(My little BFing story - my oldest had a very strong desire to suck - I ended up spending most of my day comfort nursing because that is all that would soothe her. By the time I wised up and offered her a paci (about 4 weeks), I was already completely exhausted from BFing/comfort nursing that I was weaning Olivia from the breastfeeding......I should have gave her a soother earlier.....much earlier.)

EmmaRain · May 2010

We're not planning on using one. I never took one, my siblings never did, and none of my nieces or nephews have used them. They don't really serve a purpose, and they can lead to some nipple confusion issues if introduced too early. If they're used too long, they can cause some speech issues. If our LO has a strong urge to suck, we might use one, but we don't plan on using one from the start.

juietbride · May 2010

I was told in the breastfeeding class I took with my first pregnancy not to give the baby a pacifier until he was 3-4weeks old. We didn't and he never took a pacifier, we did at times try to get him to take one but he was not interested. We still have pacifiers on hand and are willing to let our second son try it out after he is a month old. I worked for a dentist and he was a bigger fan of pacifiers than thumb sucking because it's easier to take the pacifier away to stop the habit. HTH

DeniseS7 · May 2010

Thanks for all the input! You have given me more to consider

Brougham7-15-06 · May 2010

I agree, you can't take thumbs and fingers away. My nephew who is 5 weeks younger than DS started out taking a paci...and weaned himself...but now he sucks his thumb unfortunately

KeepingItLowKey · May 2010

I wasn't planning on it, but they gave her one at the hospital because they said she needed to be sucking on it for her hearing test.... and then I just kept giving it to her because it always made her go to sleep immediately- and she was STTN 10+ hours uninterrupted at 2.5 weeks!

But we just took it away and she won't nap and sleeps so much less so now it's kind of a pain that we did it, but we had 19 months of wonderful sleep with it...

It really is a soothing thing and I just figured it was a technique I could control- I could keep it clean and take it away, unlike fingers/thumbs... so we used it. It was always for the crib only though.

oh and I BFed for a year with no issues.

joelen&louis · May 2010

I didn't plan on it but because LO was a preemie and needed some extra practice to learn how to suck early on, the NICU highly recommended it. It also does prevent SIDS as a previous poster mentioned. Now, LO has done great with his sucking and that helped with BFing. We also use it sparingly when LO has a need to suck for comfort. At one point LO was nursing for over an hour, sometimes 2 hours.... only to find out from our pedi that he wasn't exactly hungry but rather wanted to suck for comfort.

Luv2teach719 · May 2010

I didn't really care either way since I was a paci baby, but I will tell you that they gave one to my DS at the hospital after he was a day old. He was crying a lot and they never asked me if they could. As I said, I didn't care but I'm not sure if all hospitals ask. DS still (unfortunately) uses one to sleep, but his world is going to be rocked soon, so I'm not pushing for him to lose it just yet!

kayteatrudeau · May 2010

We will be using them until she's 6 months. Then at six months we will move to only nights until she's 1.

OregonMama · May 2010

I refuse to use them. My oldest nursed for ten months and at times she did use me for comfort but I had no problem with it at all. Just had my baby two days again and I will not be giving her one either. I agree with the instructor that if a baby is crying its because they need something. So nope, no pacis in my house at all.

LyndsayQ · May 2010

Sucking is calming for some babies. That's why DD is given one when she's extra fussy, sick and to sleep. We try to keep it from her as much as possible, but it can help. So I do plan to give DS a paci, if he wants one.

Bride2bMO · May 2010

I am SO encouraging a paci this time! I waited a few weeks to introduce and he never accepted it. Long story short, this kd had a wcked booby addiction for 21 months.

he still wanted to comfort nurse all.the.time. This time around, I jdt don't have it in me to let a toddler comfort nurse on me 10 times a day. so I will use pacis to see if he just needs to suck. They will spit them out and cry if they are actually hungry, or so everyone tells me.

*speedracer* · May 2010

i said i wouldn't use one with #1...lol, never say never.

sometimes babies like the comfort, so if they're uncomfortable or overstimulated or whatever, the pacifier will calm them down. when it's 2 am and it's between a paci or your boob, the paci wins.

the LC i saw said that nipple confusion is blown out of proportion and not to worry about it so much. we were able to break the paci habit with no problem.

AprilCachet · May 2010

We have no plan to use one for several reasons but I don't think it's a big deal that others use them.

jellybelly03 · May 2010

Anyone who says that babies only cry for a reason has clearly never had a colicky baby. It actually makes me angry to hear people spreading that sort of thing because when you have a colicky baby (especially if it's your first), it is INCREDIBLY challenging just to deal with the crying ALL. THE. TIME. without also having to feel like you're some sort of failure for having a baby that cries and you're unable to comfort. In case you can't tell, DS was colicky and it was really hard. It was made even more difficult by the sort of attitude that you're describing. I just felt like, "He's got to have a reason for crying and I must be a terrible mom for not knowing/being able to figure out why." My advice is to cut yourself some slack: use the paci, don't use the paci, just don't stress about it by some kind of edict before the baby is even here.

ETA: I did give DS a paci and also breastfed him until he was 15 months old - it didn't seem to affect his ability to breastfeed at all. Nor did it affect my supply, for what that's worth.

mommyrenee · May 2010

if it wasnt for them reducing the risk of SIDS, i wouldnt bother with them. i dont think they interfer with BF'ing - i just dont want to have to worry about getting rid of them once DD is a toddler.

im paranoid about SIDS though - so anything that is linked to reducing the risk, i will try.

MermaidNM · May 2010

I am pro pacifiers. I sucked my thumb until I was 5 or 6 and it messed up the shape of my mouth so badly I had to have surgery when I was in high school. I was in ICU for two days. I would much rather have my kid use a pacifier than suck his/her thumb.

MoniqueJW · May 2010

my BF class instructor just said not to use pacifiers or bottles before 4 weeks while you are establishing BFing

so that's what we'll do - then we'll play it by ear - if LO seems to like to make the sucking motion a lot we'll use one for a bit (although they recommend to get rid of it by 6 monthsish) if all seems well, we won't

newly_naugler · June 2010

I'm going to try to not use them. We'll see how it goes though. I just thought if I could not start using them, it would be one less thing that would have to weaned off.

mysticporter · June 2010

Sometimes babies cry because they want to suck on something, and a paci can fit that bill. The babies I know that use them spit them out if they have another need and keep right on crying.

As it happens, DD never took one. We avoided giving her one at first because of establishing BFing (in the beginning even comfort 'nursing' by the baby can help establish supply, although I know a lot of people who used one right off with no problems), and when we did offer, she refused. She's never sucked her fingers/thumb, either. We'll just see how it goes with this one.

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