Ok so in the hospital the nurse gave DS a pacifier which I was ok with because it is a great soothing tool, you can take it away unlike a thumb when they get older, and it reduces the chances of SIDS. But then the pediatrician said we should take it away if everytime it fell out of his mouth it woke him up.
Fast foward a week of hell since the poor little baby couldn't figure out where his favorite soothing tool had gone, and he wanted the boob nonstop. So DH calls the pediatrician today, explains the situation and he said "ok some kids just need to suck, and said go ahead and give it back to him."
Well the day was pure bliss, he was happy as can be. But now we are on hour 3 of me having to walk in his room every minute and half to put the pacifier back in. Of course DH who came up with this brilliant plan is sound asleep and the poor LO is miserable. He is now WAY overtired and clearly stressed to the max, and I am about to rubberband that thing in his mouth lol
Any suggestions, do we just take it away again and deal with the consequences? We used to have a baby who went down in the crib and actually fell asleep on his own -- now we have a baby who either needs to be rocked to sleep so he forgets about the pacifier, or you have to hold it in his mouth until he is sound asleep and then slip it away. Either way, 9 times out of 10, he is back up in 20 minutes screaming for something.
I am one very frustrated, and sleep deprived mom. I haven't slept more than an hour at a time in 5 days, so my patience is wearing thing.
Re: To Pacifier or Not to Pacifier - LONG VENT
what is this????? more info please!!
I'm sorry LO won't sleep well and that you're frustrated! It will get better(so everyone says).
In every book I've read, they all say that newborns need to suck. It's inherent although not every newborn needs a pacifier. Does he fall asleep while comfort nursing? Can you pull him off and does he stay asleep? You might consider doing this at night just to not have to deal with the pacifier. LO will occasionally take a pacifier but often during the day he comfort nurses during his time at the boob and then falls asleep. He's usu asleep enough so I can remove him and transfer him to someplace else(crib, swing etc) for a nap. I'm not sure if you want to go back down the comfort nursing road but I hate having to reinsert the pacifier every few minutes too!
ETA: Could it be the 3 wk growth spurt that made him nurse continually the other day? Based on your ticker, LO should be having one soon.
I don't think the pacifier is the issue. Around 2 weeks, babies "wake up" to the world and become more fussy and less sleepy. It sounds like you took the pacifier away right around the time this happened. You can keep trying to introduce the paci, see if he takes it again, but I can almost guarantee it won't make his sleep go back to the way it was.
The good news, the fussy period is relatively short -- it peaks around 6 weeks. Just hang in there.
It's a sound machine that makes womb/ heart sounds.