Pacifier Introduction

[poorlittlefish]

My DD is 3 weeks old and we are BF'ing. I have had low supply in the past due to a breast reduction surgery. I have not introduced a pacifier yet because I want her to satisfy that need on me to boost my supply. I do have a short maternity leave though, 7 weeks. I want her to have a pacifier to help soothe her at daycare since she seems to have a strong sucking need.

When is it safe to introduce one? i don't want to sabatoge the good thing we have going with BF but I want her to have one for daycare.

Thanks!

[crystal_buffaloe]

I'm sorry you have to go back to work so soon. Since she'll be so small, there's a really low baby to caregiver ratio and she should be able to get tons of individual attention. You might just talk to your provider and ask them to work with her on the pacifier. I think a couple of days at home before you're scheduled to go back would be plenty of time to kind of find one she likes (I think Avent and Nuk are supposed to support breastfeeding, but you could even look to see if you can find one that somewhat matches your breast/nipple) and help her figure out what to do with it -- pull it gently away to help her suck harder and keep it in her mouth, etc. Especially with BFAR, though, I wouldn't want to mess with stimulation/supply when you're with her.