Pacifiers- what does everyone think

[KSLaura]

Just wondered if anyone is using pacifiers.
We've been using them for car rides and occaisionally in the evening. I'll probably leave some with the baby when I go back to work, too.

[Sage_SS]

I have three daughters. DD1 and DD2 were big soother babies! They were always happy babies, never fussy.
DD3 wouldn't take a soother for anything! She prefered to voice her unhappiness. lol.. man, we tried so hard to get her to take one!

Lucien would have nothing to do with one when he was breastfeeding. We tried but he kept spitting them out. We had to quit nursing just over a week ago and in that time he's turned into a big soother guy too! But his bad latch translates into a problem holding onto the soother too. His tongue is in the way so he loses it often, then cries for it. Thats fun. He's slowly starting to get the hang of it.

So to answer your question I'm a supporter of the soother!

[peacefulT]

Well we REALLY tried to get DD to take a pacifier ..cause she LOVES to comfort suck .. but there was no way she was havin it .. spit it out every time .. so I just gave up on it (never really tried that hard cause I guess I was never big on them to begin with .. just thought it would be nice to have a boob break every so often )..but now at 6 weeks .. she has found her fingers ... and constantly has them in her mouth if she's not at the boob .. and IMO its sooo much cuter But hey whatever works for you and your LO .. go with it !

[Biscuits & Gravy]

He'll take one in the car once in a while, and he would take one if my mom was trying to soothe him while I was showering or busy. He will not take one if I'm holding him though. No way!

[arahzel]

I don't mind pacifiers. I had to fight for ODD to take one. Took us a while.

This one took to a pacifier right away. She'll slurp on her hands, too, but I'd rather she take the pacifier. You can't take a thumb away later!

I do have a pet peeve regarding pacifiers though. I can't stand it when the kid spits it out (especially an older child), and the parent just pops it back into their mouth immediately rather than let the child fuss first.

[jspring0308]

I wish my LO would take one but alas when she's upset the only thing that comforts her is bouncing...not even nursing! She's started sucking her hand not just fingers but the whole darn hand and so I'm trying to push the pacifier in lieu of having a red, raw hand so we'll see. My first loved her pacifier until 7 months and then literally one day spit it out and never took it again!

[namistenicole]

God I wish DD would take a pacifier in the car (or anywhere)! She prefers to "voice her displeasure" as well! Car rides are no fun at this point. But she's just figuring out her hands and beginning to suck on them... so maybe it will get better.

[terrainthailand]

My brother and I both sucked our thumbs until we were about 10 so when Hazel started searching in earnest for that thumb (so cute!! ) DH and I started discussing what we wanted to do. She seems to have a lot of sucking needs and we do comfort nurse, but my breasts never seem empty and it seems to upset her sometimes... suck, fuss, suck, fuss, suck, fuss. At first I decided I would just let her stick with the thumb... seems very natural, don't have to worry about it getting lost, falling out, etc.. But we have also been giving her the paci sometimes to get her down for daytime naps... which are a big challenge for us! I'm still okay with the thumb but she isn't consistent enough with it yet... she starts sucking her fist, her arm, two fingers... sometimes she gets the thumb in there and seems to choke herself!! Sometimes I feel bad about using the paci, but it seems to make her happy so I'm going with it. I'm really restricting its use though to daytime naps.

[mom2annika]

DD1 would have nothing to do with it. She's 3.5 y.o. and still sucking her thumb. No biggie.

DD2 got a different kind of paci in the hospital (which we didn't plan at all cause we didn't plan to be in the hospital to begin with). It's shaped like a baby-bottle top. She likes it. She doesn't seem to have any problems with nipple confusion. But she also slurps her hands, and this morning I found her sucking her thumb. Soo cute!

So whatever makes 'em happy, is OK with me.

[jenniferadurham]

Evan doesn't really use them. I give them to him when he wants soothing. I'm not against them. I'd rather have to break a paci addiction than a thumb addiction.

[Swandira]

I'm with Jennifer -- if they're going to suck on something, it's easier to take away the binky than the thumb.

That said, none of mine has been a huge paci fan, and I haven't really pushed it. My DS1 never once took a paci. He didn't suck his thumb or fingers either -- he just wanted the boob. He nursed for five years.
My DD took a paci occasionally until she was about 6 months old, when she suddenly wanted nothing to do with it. She sometimes sucks her thumb and other fingers, but not much. And, of course, she still likes to suck the boobie. DS2 takes the paci for his dad sometimes when I'm reading to the big kids in their room before bed, but he has to be swaddled and lying down in bed with his dad with the fan and the white noise machine both going before he'll take it. I don't imagine we'll have much trouble taking the binky from him -- probably he'll wean himself off it like his big sister did.

Edited to add that I saw a baby about the same age as mine today who had a paci in his mouth that said "Mute Button" on the handle. Hahaha.

[leavemealone]

My son seems to only be willing to take a pacifier when daddy's holding him. If I'm holding him, he knows I have the real thing and doesn't want a pacifier. I can sometimes get him to take one for about five minutes, but that's about it. DD had a pacifier for about two years, but my other DS never wanted one at all.

[sarahmagoo]

DD1 took a paci. but really only for bedtime. I didn't offer it to her during the day unless she was teething or sick.

DS had a paci... ME. : He was a comfort nurser and no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't take the paci.

The newest little one is happy without a paci, and doesn't seem to comfort suck as much as my son did.

[caedmyn]

I was totally against them with DD and she wouldn't take one anyway the few times I tried...although I really wish I'd tried a little harder as she was a screamer in the car and once screamed for FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT on a long road trip (no matter how often I stopped and what I did, she'd start right up again once the car started moving). She was a thumb sucker (although she never would use it to comfort her self in the car: ) but weaned herself off it before she was one.

DS loves his binky, and I am so glad he takes one. He's also a screamer in the car although he's fine after the first couple of minutes if he has his binky. Plus he's a very intense baby with a strong need to suck and he has reflux that's partly caused by my oversupply & overactive letdown issues, so comfort nursing is not a good thing for him. It did take about ten days to get him to the point where he'd really take one well--before that he preferred to suck on my pinky finger. He is starting to suck on his fists now, though, so hopefully I can gradually start weaning him off the pacifier.

[ChesapeakeBorn]

Originally Posted by terrainthailand

My brother and I both sucked our thumbs until we were about 10 so when Hazel started searching in earnest for that thumb (so cute!! ) DH and I started discussing what we wanted to do. She seems to have a lot of sucking needs and we do comfort nurse, but my breasts never seem empty and it seems to upset her sometimes... suck, fuss, suck, fuss, suck, fuss. At first I decided I would just let her stick with the thumb... seems very natural, don't have to worry about it getting lost, falling out, etc.. But we have also been giving her the paci sometimes to get her down for daytime naps... which are a big challenge for us! I'm still okay with the thumb but she isn't consistent enough with it yet... she starts sucking her fist, her arm, two fingers... sometimes she gets the thumb in there and seems to choke herself!! Sometimes I feel bad about using the paci, but it seems to make her happy so I'm going with it. I'm really restricting its use though to daytime naps.

Sounds like my son! Sometimes when he is fussing he makes his "I want to eat" sound, but when I put him to the breast he gets mad that milk comes out! (He has usually eaten recently so his tummy is quite full). He is a very oral baby and tries to suck his hands, but doesn't quite have the hang of it. All of our ultrasounds showed him suck his fist! He's never had a pacifier (or bottle), so I may try introducing it today. Poor little guy just wants to suck on something sometimes and I would like to help calm that craving!

[felix23]

I've been trying to get her to take a paci since the day she was born, but she hates them. She really wants her thumb, but she just can't get it yet. I hope she does soon.

[THANKFULFORFIVE]

Love 'em. We never used them during the day... but they were wonderful in the car, naptime and bedtime! I still keep 3 or 4 in the crib so if dd3wakes...she can always find one and soothe right back to sleep. When ds2 turned two years old, we let him cut the binky up and throw it in the trash and said bye-bye....he never asked for it, just started sucking his blankey instead! Some babes just need to suck more than others.

[Starfish11]

Chalk this up to another lesson we've learned about doing what works for your baby. We were not going to use a pacman b/c we thought it would work better for her to suck on our fingers, her fingers to soothe. BUT she is incredibly oral and one night, after hours of crying/screaming we popped on of those suckers in her mouth and she was relieved. Immediately stopped crying, closed her eyes and went right to sleep. She doesn't fall asleep while nursing so this is the perfect remedy for that.

WE alternate between her pacman and her fingers.

She's actually figured out how to pop her pacman back in her mouth when she's in need of it and it falls out.

[Phoenix~Mama]

We try off and on... sometimes Mama needs a boob break. lol She hasn't quite figured out how to suck on a paci though... it's almost like it's too big for her mouth. We have two different kinds in the smallest we could find. She loves to suck though, and will suck on her wrist, her whole hand, any fingers she will find, our pinky's... she just loves to suck on things to calm herself down. I kind of wish she would get the paci figured out a little more, cause as others said it is easier to take a paci away than a hand. And I am terrified of DD picking up DSD's habit of sucking her thumb and picking her nose at the same time... the picking the nose thing grosses me out so much!

[Starfish11]

Originally Posted by JSMa

We try off and on... sometimes Mama needs a boob break. lol She hasn't quite figured out how to suck on a paci though... it's almost like it's too big for her mouth. We have two different kinds in the smallest we could find. She loves to suck though, and will suck on her wrist, her whole hand, any fingers she will find, our pinky's... she just loves to suck on things to calm herself down. I kind of wish she would get the paci figured out a little more, cause as others said it is easier to take a paci away than a hand. And I am terrified of DD picking up DSD's habit of sucking her thumb and picking her nose at the same time... the picking the nose thing grosses me out so much!

Wow, that's an advanced manuever!