pacifiers- good or bad

[happyfeet88]

Hi ladies, when wud one give a pacifier to baby, and what r the pros an cons. I recently given to my lo, after feedin id give it to her it helps my lo fall asleep much quicker. Im not sure if its sucha a gud thing, i giv it to her wen she struggles to fall asleep, but it wud be nice to knw wht other moms thnk. My angel is 8wks

[campbell86]

Both of my boys had one and used it all the time. My oldest had it until 2 1/2 yrs and my 2nd had it until almost 2. Oldest is now 9 teeth.are fine I even.asked the dentist about the stories of crooked teeth from them she said tht was a lot to do with heritary or however u spell it.. lets just put it this way a paci is much easier to.get rid of then a thumb I know tht 1st hand bcuz a lot of ppl in my family are thumb suckers and not just toddlers ...lol I didn't stop sucking mine until I.was about 17. My cousin was 16 and another cousin was 14 lol. So I plan on a paci with my 3rd bby to... my 2nd sons teeth are perfect to. Now they didn't get it all day every day but like sleep time in the car whn they were cranky.. but if they are playing then no they wldnt have it..... good luck

[brit0585]

Some babies dont like them but they say not to give them one before 4 weeks. At least thats what i was told. The hospitals used to give them one right away but dont anymore. Just try to get the ortho recommended ones.

[aeryis]

Prolly lowers risk of Sids because they believe did can sometimes be caused by accidental suffocation, but I hadn't actually heard that, I had one baby take a pacifier and one that refused, there are times when its nice because it can automatically soothe a fussy baby when nothing else seems to and times when its 3 am and you are in desperate need for a pacifier and you can not find one anywhere! I'm any case its totally up to you as mom, there are pros and cons to each, one thing that I learned too late is that pacifier nipples made from the same material as bottle nipples is NOT dishwasher safe and can cause them to crack (not always noticeably) and make them a choking hazard.... I'll only buy clear plastic nipples with the next baby

[happyfeet88]

Wow lacey ur lil man is so clever lol, never underestimate their intelligence, lucky for me my lo only takes it wen shes tired, and naptime, lets hope it stays tht way wudnt wnt her to b too dependant on it but i thnk its way too soon for tht

[laceylace_2004]

Rachyrou,

Poke holes in the pacifier to loose the suction and then cut the tips off. The toddler will not get any satisfaction from the suction that is missing. That helped us too

[rachyrou]

That's amazing! What a Clever boy x

[laceylace_2004]

We gave ours to our son the night he was born to help him learn how to suck through a bottle correctly. It helped him eat so much more efficiently. When he was around 10 months old, we began taking it away during the day and only allowed it for nap times.  Children after 12 months begin to "bond" so we had to break the cycle. He became less and less dependent on it, and when he started walking at 12 months, i told him one night to throw his binkie away (just joking). He walked in there, opened the lid, chunked it, ,closed the lid, and never whimpered for it again. We were shocked how easy it was for him. My only complaint was them falling out at night that led to the screaming until he could find it himself. I will say if you use pacifiers and trying to break the habit, they have a stash in their bed sheets. I found 10 of them in his corner when we were weaning him.

[rachyrou]

I'm pro dummies. completely. I see no problem, and a new study shows it reduces the risk of SIDS by amazing ammounts. I just don't give it to her all the time. Just bed time/ nap time. They say not to give it when they're playing as it discourages them from making noises, sounds etc. The only time it's a pain is when they're teething and they dribble alot, alot of the dribble sticks behind the dummy which can make a bad rash, but if that's the case we use it as little as possible. :) People stick their noses in, but remember they're called soothers for a reason. I'd rather my baby be calm and have it to help her be content, than be crying for ages getting distressed. we are hoping to wean her off it soon though as she's now 13mos.

[happyfeet88]

I introduced it especially because she ***** her fingers wen she sleeps an ***** so hard i noticed tht the skin lukd irritated, an to soothe her as well wen i change her or wen shes so exhaustd after bath she gets cranky, id like to thank all the ladies for the great advice and support means alot

[JennBism]

My son used one & on his first bday we had a big boy day and he threw all of his away. My daughter was not having one at all, she chose her thumb. She is now 8 years old and when she is super tired we have to remind her, take your thumb out, you are not a baby anymore. I hope this one will take one!

[Lesley27]

Im pro suckie :) with my first she was in the NICU for a couple days and when i got to go see her for the first time she had one in her mouth already lol so the nurses gave her one and she wasnt even 24 hours old and she had one since... with my second it helps her fall asleep and i dip it into the gripe water if she is really fussy and she takes it faster....calms her right to sleep :)

[cnhauk]

she can sleep with it. if it falls out while she's asleep, don't try and put it back in though. do what works for you. my dh made a good point the other day-since becoming parents, we really try not to judge other parents just because they do things differently than us. you do what works for you and as long as it's no harm to anyone, who cares!

[sorenr]

People always judge us...I had a pregnant lady give my 8yr old crap for not moving out of her way quick enough the other day, I wanted to say "one day your baby will be 8 yrs old and thoughtless too" the fact that I was telling him to move wasnt good enough for her.

Folk will always have opinions on dummies, as a dental nurse my mum hates them, but she's not the one living with a screaming baby...you're on your own too and that makes it twice as hard for you to cope as you get no break, just keep your head high, ignore the looks and remind yourself that you are doing what is best for you and your baby :)

[happyfeet88]

Can she sleep with it? Or should take it out? I finally managed to upload her as my prof pic she was two days old lol

[happyfeet88]

Thank u ladies cause some people frown wen i giv it to her, wen shes tired after a bath she cries like all babies do they cry wen they tired so she loves eatin her hands wen shes distressd (came out chewing her hands) i only giv it to her wen shes fed an cries it really helps me jus dont wana b judged lol

[cnhauk]

We give our daughter one when she's falling asleep. It helps calm her. If it falls out when she's asleep, we just set it aside. Like someone mentioned, it somehow helps reduce the risk I SIDS and really does help calm them. Sucking (whether on your breast, finger, pacifier, etc) releases seretonin in baby's brain which is a hormone to help calm and soothe. So I am all for it! Should start to be weaned by 6 months (only use it when falling asleep) and be done by 1 year due to teeth, etc.

[sorenr]

My daughter wouldnt take one, but my 2 sons have loved theirs...I reckon boys just like the thought of a boob in their mouth!! lol

[farO_jan]

My son took them easily. I didn't let him get too attached to it though. And i took it away when he was 10 months old. But with my daughter who was born this May never took the pacifier. Since i was breastfeeding her i didn't give it to her at first. Now i bought three different brands and she does not even allow it in her mouth lol she used to gag when i forced it in...i know bad thing to do. But she is a quiet and happy baby i guess she knows she doesn't need it.

[MissJLJ]

Im a first time mom, but i thinkits been great for my son. Hes 2 Weeks old and i waited for my milk to come in before giving it to him. Also it reduces SIDS, like other ladies have said, by not letting them fall into a deep sleep because they are constantly sucking. So i'm all for pacifiers :))

[mommyTobe_12]

My son is a week old, and since we were in the hospital he used one lol. I'll give it to him during diaper changes & to sooth him if he's cranky. but with my son, if I try giving it to him and he don't want it, he will keep his mouth tightly shut lol. & if he's sucking on it, and don't want it anymore he spits it out and is more relaxed. I think their great. I don't give it to him to try and sleep tho, unless he's superrrrrrrr cranky. then he spits it out when he's relaxed and ready to fall asleep lol

[Zombonnie]

I have a 4yo stepdaughter and I'm 33 weeks with my first baby girl my stepdaughter was encouraged to suck her thumb and now it causes so many problems 1st being we cannot get her to stop and it drives us wild! And 2nd she's sucked on her thumb so much her thumb won't straighten out its permanently shaped to fit the top of her mouth so with this baby I'm definitely doing the pacifier like a previous poster said u can take away a pacifier but u can't take away a thumb lol plus I think pacifiers would be so much cleaner

[mrsreeder2be]

I'm pro pacifers! They lower the risks of sids and help babies soothe themselves. My oldest used it till he was 6 months, then he self weaned himself from using it. My youngest loves his pacifer. But it calms him down, and helps him soothe himself. He is 20 months. The pacifer isnt causing any damage to his teeth or growth. I love them!! It will suck when we need to wean him off of them!

[crstl11]

And pacifiers also keep them from sucking thumbs...u can take the paci away but not the thumb

[crstl11]

I let my daughter have them from the time she was born and let her keep it til she cut her front teeth 4 on top and the 4 on bottom cause it eased her teething pain. I wouldnt let them keep it too long cause they can (not saying it is always the case) cause tooth decay and cavities like a bottle and the baby can chew the end off and get choked at an older age....but I loved my baby having a paci and I'm giving this baby one too. Just try to wean early if possible.