Pacifiers

ladameperdue · June 2014

Hey all - let me know if a similar q (or poll!) has been posted recently. Are you using a pacifier to help LO get to sleep, or at other times? Edie has had a strong sucking reflex since birth and seemed soothed by the paci from week 1. When we stopped BF, the lactation consultant endorsed it saying young babies have a need to suck more frequently than bottle feeding enabled, so I never worried about it. So now she's 5.5 months and I'm starting to wonder whether we need to wean her off of this soon. She can go down to sleep at night without it, but the tiny naps we get during the day seem to be non- existent if she's not given the paci. How long are you planning to use one for, or are you just seeing how things go? FYI my own was 'lost' at Disney world when I was 3 years old (parents decided it was time to give it up)

ladameperdue · June 2014

This is reassuring.^^ Thanks, SSM.

RockiesNugget · June 2014

We are still giving it at naps/bedtime and I'm not worried about it at those times yet. We have been working toward making nap/bedtime the only appropriate times to offer the pacifier and in reality, it is the only time he cares about it anyways.

ETA: Clarification...LO has shown that he really doesn't need/want one except when sleepy, so the training has been on us not to give it to him when he was fussy and could be soothed other ways. I don't want him to see it as a toy, which it becomes if we give it to him outside of bedtime.

jy725 · June 2014

My LO gets a paci whenever she wants one. I won't consider giving it up until she is 1.

cboink · June 2014

LO also gets her pacifier whenever she wants it and will have it till she doesn't anymore. My son weaned himself off it around age 3 1/2.

lifesaverz · June 2014

Our LO definitely needs it for sleeping, & can't sleep without it. I'm thankful she has something that soothes her though. She rarely needs it any other times though. I wouldn't worry about it til she's older.

Alexisgamez105 · June 2014

Dd doesn't care for her pacifiers anymore they use to help soothe her in the car. Sometimes help put her to bed I'm actually kind of glad she's not interested in them anymore.

Danicali · June 2014

So glad this was posted!! Just this morning I thought "I should start weaning him off for naps". After 30 min of crying (not straight. I went in to soothe every couple minutes) I gave in. Guess I just won't worry about it!!

thesportsgal · June 2014

Our LO goes to bed with one and then I add 3 more after she's asleep. I like to think she gets really excited that the pacifier fairy visited her in the middle of the night. When she can't find one, she throws a fit. When she can, she sleeps for 12 hours. I'll deal with it later.

MissyC979 · June 2014

We give Finn a pacifier if he needs it to go to sleep. Sometimes I take it out before putting him in the crib. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, I usually give him a paci to see whether he'll go back to sleep.

We had to stop giving DS1 a pacifier to sleep around 4-5 months because he would wake up every 15 minutes when it would fall out. It wasn't really helpful for sleep anymore and we were better getting past the paci. So far, we haven't had that problem with Finn (knock on wood).

SusanC111 · June 2014

He's an addict. I have no plans to take it away any time soon. I just need him to figure out how to put it back in his mouth.

thesportsgal · June 2014

SusanC111 said:

He's an addict. I have no plans to take it away any time soon. I just need him to figure out how to put it back in his mouth.

I have an addict too. She has figured out how to take it out and hold it up like it's her holy grail and then pop in back in her mouth. As "bad" as it is, it's pretty freaking cute

eccoogan · June 2014

We give it at sleep times and sometimes when she's very fussy, and honestly it's been a PITA at night lately since she's waking up a lot more and wanting it. We have a Binkie Bungee and I'm trying to teach her to put it back in by herself - she's actually kind of getting the hang of it! But, I'm not worried about her using it and don't think I'll wean her until a year, maybe later. I feel like it's pretty developmentally appropriate to need to suck at this age!

ladameperdue · June 2014

thesportsgal said:
Our LO goes to bed with one and then I add 3 more after she's asleep. I like to think she gets really excited that the pacifier fairy visited her in the middle of the night. When she can't find one, she throws a fit. When she can, she sleeps for 12 hours. I'll deal with it later.

Just had to say I love this so much, ha.

ladameperdue · June 2014

Thanks so much all for the insight. I'm afraid it will be harder for her to give it up later vs. now but don't want to take away my only nap tool. Guess we'll see if she still needs it in another few months...

thesportsgal · June 2014

CDalloway said:

Thanks so much all for the insight. I'm afraid it will be harder for her to give it up later vs. now but don't want to take away my only nap tool. Guess we'll see if she still needs it in another few months...

My feeling is that sometimes when they're older, they might be ready to get rid of it on their own and then there's no fight. This happened with all of my nieces and nephews around age 2. One of my nephews said he wanted to give his to his stuffed lion and so they took his pacis away and he never asked for it again. My niece said she wanted to give her pacis to the elephants at the zoo so next time they were there, they left a box of pacis by the elephant exhibit. I followed behind and then grabbed the box

. But then when she would ask for it, my sister just said "You gave them to the elephants, remember?" And my niece would just say "Oh." and forget about it.

So I'm crossing my fingers that something like that happens - though realistically, I know we won't be that lucky. It will probably be a giant shit fit

.

ladameperdue · June 2014

@thesportsgal‌ Definitely going to remember this little story...your niece has creative parents!

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