pacifiers - good or bad?

[preciousstone]

is it true that pacifiers make bf difficult. do you bf mama's never use paci? when is an ok time to start using one and are there any particular kinds/features that are best?

[lisalu100]

At three weeks, I had a very grumpy baby, who would cry with frustration, because she wanted to suck, and kept getting milk when she didn't want it. The paci solved this problem very well, we waited until 3 weeks, and bfding was well established. Now though, I have a very happy baby with a suck-to-sleep association. When she falls into a deep sleep, her paci drops out, but she wants it back later. Since she still needs to be swaddled, at 15 weeks I am waking up about every hour through the night to replace a paci or feed her. Would I still introduce the paci? Probably. I have a toddler to care for and comfort nursing a heavy baby in a sling all day isn't what I personally want to do.

[curious&eager]

I tried to use one when he just wanted to suck and not eat. He would take it only if I held onto it because he thought of it as a chew toy instead. I quickly gave up because it was too much effort. I can keep my finger in his mouth just as easy as a paci.

Since then I encouraged him to eat his fingers and it works great because in the night when he stirs, he can put his own fingers in his mouth and go back to sleep. We used the pacis for about three weeks and now they have dust on them.

I'm not anti-paci. They have their place I'm sure. But for us, chewing is the sport and not sucking.

[charleysmama23]

We made sure we were doing well with nursing and then gave dd the paci at a few days old (earlier than is usually recommended, but I was a lucky first-timer in that dd never had any nipple confusion between paci, breast & bottle). As a previous mama said, she would drop the paci early on and I'd have to give it back to her, it was roughest between 3-4 months, but around 5 months she stopped being swaddled and for some reason didn't mind the paci falling out as much and by 7 months it was a total non-issue. She's 16 months now and never cries at night JUST for her paci, kwim?
So for us it didn't hurt BF at all, and has been a very good thing.

[mamazee]

I love pacifiers, and i think if they were sold on Etsy and made out of hemp or Romanian amber and kept babies so happy, everyone on MDC would be singing their praises. But they are "mainstream" and therefore suspect. Phooey on that. It relieves a baby's stress with no medicine. IMO, that's a good thing.

[Carolyn R]

First off, I will say that we used a pacifier with our babies as needed, especially for car rides. So I am not anti-pacifier. The brand we found to work nicely is Avent (we found them at our local Target store)

On the other hand, there has been some pretty sound research that shows that babies who use a pacifier nurse less, which can have implications for your supply, etc. Here's a link to an article on La Leche League's website:

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBNovDec07p279.html

There are other concerns also, as this article points out.

What it boils down to, IMO, is pacifiers can be useful, but if not used correctly, can cause problems.

Best of luck to you! I'm sure you'll make the decision that is right for you and your baby!

[leigh09]

i'm anti-pacifier when moms use them just to shush their baby instead of holding, rocking, nursing, etc.

however, i do use them -- they are great for helping calm a crying baby during a car ride, when babies just want to comfort nurse and you have to also chase around your toddler and preschooler, when i've run to the store for a moment and dad is home with baby and obviously can't comfort nurse, etc.

[Michigan Mama]

We started using a paci after a week or two after ds2's birth because there were times when he wanted to suck and didn't want milk, or was spitting up because he'd had more than enough. But he still wanted to suck! So the paci was helpful. Now he's discovered his succulent thumb and he is very happy with that so we don't use the paci anymore. Nice thing about the thumb is it doesn't fall on the floor. It might be hard to take the thumb away later, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Pacis never interfered this time or with ds1 either. I like the soothies this time around. I've heard recommended to get one that is symmetrical so that when they are learning to put it in themselves, they don't have to worry about it being sideways or upside down. I thought that was a good idea.

[rivkah]

I've had three babes and all three have spit out the pacifier like it was battery acid, including my avid thumb-sucker.

I wouldn't worry about it too much until you know if your child will even take one.

[AnnR33]

I've had 4 babies that never took a paci for 2 reasons:
-I hated the idea of all the germs they could pick up (I'd see kids drop one at the store and then pop it back it and it grossed me out!)
-I didn't want to be constantly putting it back in their mouth when it fell out (I saw this so much with my friends and I'll never forget a playdate where the mom must have reached over and popped it back in 20x in an hour!)

I did try to offer it to baby #1 after about 6 wks since he liked to suck but wasn't hungry but he wouldn't take it at all. I was later quite relieved that he didn't take it.

I did have one thumb sucker that I thought would get sick alot from all the germs she probably picked up just like a paci but she was never sick.

It boils down to a personal preference of the parent if they will offer it or not and a preference of baby if they want it

[Chloe'sMama]

we introduced the paci at 6 weeks and she took it for a few weeks but then dumped it. I reintroduced at 6 months and she still loves it at 17 months. She just gets it in bed now. I didnt want to introduce it, but she wants to suck all night. We are still BF and going strong.

[anj_rn]

2 EBF babies - DS used it for first few months, but then preferred his thumb. DD LOVED the paci, but was done at 4 months. If you go for the paci, I would recommend taking it away by 1st birthday, or they might get emotionally attached and it will be very hard to get rid of. My BFF's son was 3 before they got rid of the paci, the dentist was not happy.

[curiouscanadian]

What it boils down to, IMO, is pacifiers can be useful, but if not used correctly, can cause problems.

I didn't plan on giving DS a pacifier, but at around 2 months I just couldn't handle how much comfort sucking he needed and caved on my "no pacifier" mindset. It's been fine. The only rule I made myself was that he only got it when I was ABSOLUTELY sure there was no way he was hungry (so usually AFTER I had nursed him for ages). He mostly needed it to get to sleep, although not necessarily to stay asleep.

Closer to a year however, I had a nasty realization that I was using it more for MY sake than for HIS. So I instituted a rule that if unless he was tired & wanted to sleep, he didn't get it. If he was just awake and playing, he didn't need it and if he was awake and unhappy, well, we did our best without it. (Also because I personally hate when kids are walking around with one in their mouth all day long).

So now he basically gets it for naps & bedtime. But I can already see his need for it waning.

[raelize]

nope. 2 kids through and i haven't used a pacifier. would i NEVER? i don't know, but i would try my hardest not too. breast are for babies. now, of course, if i had to work out of the house, i might introduce it for when i'm not htere, but i would rather not use it. it affects the bfing relationship too much.

[littlehoneybee]

With my first, I was initially anti-paci because of all the reading I had done about nipple confusion. I caved because he wanted to suck all the time. Then I developed yeast and it was recommended to get rid of them until the yeast cleared. Unfortunately, my baby then refused the pacis

With my second, I have used them from birth. She uses them in the car and at night when I first put her to sleep. She has had no problems with nursing.

I've used the orthodontic shaped pacis with both. They didn't like any others.

[Rivka5]

I waited to introduce a paci until my baby was a month old, and by that point he just wasn't really into it. It was such a disappointment to me because I had gotten through a month of near-constant nursing by promising myself that soon I would be able to use the paci to get a bit of a break.

Eventually he would take a paci sometimes, and then he stopped ever being willing to take one from me. Still will take one from his dad or nanny, though.

[Carma]

I have two kids and no pacis, they were/are comfort nursers. But now I am pregnant with #3 and I am seriously considering it. Just to give me some extra flexibility when I have a baby with two other small children. We'll see. My PIL tried a paci with my DD when she was about 8 weeks old and she spit it out.

Carma

[Doberbrat]

I think it depends on baby. dd had lots of latch issues and every single time I tried to introduce a paci or bottle, her latch deterioated.

add to that the frustration that my doberman seemed to LOVE to steal them and suck on them herself and we quickly got rid of them.

when dd turned 2 there must have been a few kids that used them I dc b/c she started to ask for them. and I gave them. dh was mad but it didnt bother me in the least. she used them off/on on occasion then handed them over to the dog who still like to walk around with them in HER mouth.

[StrongFeather]

what I have learned about pacifier use, is each and every child is different and each and every situation is different. Take peoples advice, but alwasy trust your own instinct.

I introduced a pacifier (at DH's begging) and now I am cutting back on it. I am worried about my supply being low (after it was too high) and need my LO to only use my breast for his sucking to help my milk supply stay up.

I hope you can easily decide what is best for you and your LO

[coldandsleepy]

My little guy has been growing like crazy since he was born-- he has literally gained a pound or more every week since he was born. And he was 9 lbs at birth, so... he's really really high on the growth curve.

Because he is very obviously thriving (he's a champion breast feeder ) and also obviously has a REALLY strong need to suck, the lactation consultant who runs our local baby support group suggested we go ahead and introduce a pacifier around 4 weeks. We did so with no big negative impacts on breastfeeding.

I DID notice that after he would use one of the two types of pacifiers we tried (the Nuk... or "evil binky" as we now call it), he would CHOMP my nipple when I'd feed him. The other kind (the Soothie) didn't seem to make him do this.

Ultimately, pacifiers aren't his thing. I'm as shocked as anybody because like I said, he seems to NEED to suck a LOT throughout the day and night. He's discovered his own hands over the past week or so and will no longer take either pacifier-- he'd much rather jam his fingers in his mouth instead.

So yeah... I think it's definitely going to depend on the baby. I wouldn't want to give a pacifier to a baby who is having any difficulty with breastfeeding or who is gaining too slowly already. But I don't think that pacifiers are necessarily eeeeevil or likely to damage an already successful breastfeeding relationship.