Pacifier??

[ArtsyHeartsy]

How many of your July babies are taking the pacifier?

DD will take it for about two minutes and spit it out, she hates it, every single brand! I've tried them all I think!

I would prefer if she didn't want one and didn't need one, the problem is I think she does. She has a very strong need to suck and I am a walking pacifier! some days I get so sore because it's the only way to keep her calm. I am the only one that can calm her down, DH tries but usually I have to take her and there are days where I can be nursing her for hours because she is so fussy.

She also tries to suck on her hands and arms constantly (she even gives herself hickeys on her arm!) but she doesn't really know how to get them to her mouth on purpose.

[craft_media_hero]

Awww, that is kinda cute about her self-hickeys.

Sorry you're a human paci! Some babies really do have a greater need to suck than others.

My oldest had a paci for about the first 8wks then she just quit taking it so we stopped--and I'm glad because they can be hard to take away when the lo is older.

This little boy doesn't get one. I don't want him to thumb-suck or paci, so when his hands start going to his mouth, I pop a boob there instead But he has just an "average" need to suck for hunger/comfort, and is okay without sucking most of the time.

I totally understand why you'd want your little one to suck on something else and give you a break for a little while! Good luck!

[somegirl99]

Aww, sorry to hear that.

DS has only taken it in the car, and I only give it to him when he is upset and I have to hold it for him for a few minutes.

But he gave up on comfort sucking a few weeks ago because it never ended well with my oversupply/OALD issues.

[Surfacing]

That's some STRONG sucking your baby does!

I am a walking pacifier too. I use my ring sling a lot and nurse him in that.

Ds is persuaded only for a brief time to take a paci, he doesn't like them much either. When he uses me as a pacifier, he tends to do a lot of licking and mouthing in and out, nuzzling into my breast, etc. So when he has a paci, he pops it out a lot unless we gently "hold it in" with our fingertip... because he's treating it the way he treats my nipple. I always let out a "Phew" when he takes it and falls asleep.

Arsty good luck on this one. I wonder if the pinkie would be an acceptable decoy to your dd? Or a knuckle? I remember seeing the midwives do that. Also do you put her in a sling throughout the day to nurse?

[Terrilein]

Mine has been needing a paci from the get go. While he does spit it out often, he'll just as often clamp down on it barracuda style. Wish I could run around with im in my sling. Stupid back.

[KatWozBlue]

Only while we are in car line waiting for my ds to come out of school so that she can relax while we are sitting there. I have no problems with pacifiers in general, some kids need them, some don't.

[MJB]

Edie takes one. She doesn't love it but she'll sleep with it or take it in the car. It took a lot of persuading. The only kind she will take is the Soothie brand, which has got to be the UGLIEST pacifier ever invented.
My first didn't have one and my second had one until about 11 months when we took them away. I was totally against them until my second was born and I had a 3 yr. old to take care of along with a newborn. Then it was awesome how daddy could get the baby to sleep without nursing. Yay paci!

[lrgs]

I said A wasn't getting a pacifer (Mya had one) and that lasted about 3 days. She is a baby who really needs to comfort suck and she loves her soother and so do I because it helps both of us stay sane. When my milk came in she had a very hard time because she was really wanting suck but couldn't handle all the milk. One night it caused hours of nursing, gas and puking.....I finally gave her the soother and she fell asleep. Now she can better manage the milk so if I have the chance to sit down and be a human pacifer I do.......I like our evening snuggle (when Mya is in bed) on the couch when we can just sit and cuddle/nurse. Then there are times when I can't do that so the soother fills the void, it helps her sleep too and is really useful in the car.

[neonalee]

Aden does a lot of comfort sucking and does not yet take a paci. Honestly it drives me nuts. He's usually crying 15 minutes after I put him down too, so I just sit on the couch with him most of the time. I ordered the gumdrop paci online, gods I hope he takes it! Thankfully he will fall asleep on DP so I do get a small break in the evenings.

[Love Wins]

My DD is the same; gives me hickeys, and herself. She wouldn't take a pacifier for weeks, then around 8 weeks, I decided to try it and she loved it! It gives me a break from the human-paci CEO I previously was, and because of it, she is finally taking naps!! I LOVE the pacifier!

[majazama]

alistair has one in his mouth as I type. I used to be totally anti-paci, but hey, some kids are just good with one. He seems to love his, because he doesn't like to nurse that much so the paci is a perfect replacement. He tries to suck his hand and arm sometimes and it's so cute, but he swallows a lot of air. until he knows how to suck on his thumb or a finger or two, I'm using the paci.

I use the Hevea natural rubber brand.

[mummy marja]

DS has a very high need to suck--but he will take my finger which I'm grateful for. I wish you would take a soother though. He nurses very hard for about 5 minutes and then he is done--if I continue to offer the breast he gets really upset. What he wants is a finger to suck on. I often walk around with him in the wrap with my finger in his mouth, literally for hours a day. What's great about the finger is that DH can 'nurse' him to sleep with his pinkie.

What paci brands do you recommend for hard-to-please babies? I think this guy needs a fairly large one, since he likes my middle finger but not my pinkie.

[ArtsyHeartsy]

Originally Posted by MJB

The only kind she will take is the Soothie brand, which has got to be the UGLIEST pacifier ever invented.

I would have to agree with that! They are funky! I tried those with one of the worst responses yet (aside from the playtex so-called nipple shaped ones) I was actually surprised at how soft they are though!

Originally Posted by majazama

I use the Hevea natural rubber brand.

I will have to check that one out, I noticed she does prefer rubber to silicone, she basically won't even entertain the idea of that hard stuff.

Originally Posted by Surfacing

That's some STRONG sucking your baby does!

I am a walking pacifier too. I use my ring sling a lot and nurse him in that.

Ds is persuaded only for a brief time to take a paci, he doesn't like them much either. When he uses me as a pacifier, he tends to do a lot of licking and mouthing in and out, nuzzling into my breast, etc. So when he has a paci, he pops it out a lot unless we gently "hold it in" with our fingertip... because he's treating it the way he treats my nipple. I always let out a "Phew" when he takes it and falls asleep.

Arsty good luck on this one. I wonder if the pinkie would be an acceptable decoy to your dd? Or a knuckle? I remember seeing the midwives do that. Also do you put her in a sling throughout the day to nurse?

I have tried my finger, if I hold her right she will sometimes take it, but not usually. I have to trick her! Same with the times I have been able to get her to take a paci. I wish I could nurse her in the sling or wrap, but uh...I am too big, I would smother her, when I did my measurements for a nursing bra I was at a F cup!!! I'm normally a DD...

BTW Surfacing, what is your pic? It looks like a turtle, but it is it made of clay or something? It's so small and I have wanted to ask so many times!

Originally Posted by mummy marja

DS has a very high need to suck--but he will take my finger which I'm grateful for. I wish you would take a soother though. He nurses very hard for about 5 minutes and then he is done--if I continue to offer the breast he gets really upset. What he wants is a finger to suck on. I often walk around with him in the wrap with my finger in his mouth, literally for hours a day. What's great about the finger is that DH can 'nurse' him to sleep with his pinkie.

What paci brands do you recommend for hard-to-please babies? I think this guy needs a fairly large one, since he likes my middle finger but not my pinkie.

Well, I'm not much help here but the ones I have gotten her to take when it does work are the mam ones (but I wish I could find them in rubber) and the Gerber Nuk ones. They do make the Nuk ones with a fairly large rubber part.

Originally Posted by Love Wins

My DD is the same; gives me hickeys, and herself. She wouldn't take a pacifier for weeks, then around 8 weeks, I decided to try it and she loved it! It gives me a break from the human-paci CEO I previously was, and because of it, she is finally taking naps!! I LOVE the pacifier!

Oh wow! I hope that happens with my baby! She is 8 weeks now, so I will hope! She doesn't like pacifiers or naps!

[ProtoLawyer]

Ellison thinks pacifiers are poison. But he doesn't really seem to have a high suck need--he doesn't seem to go to the breast unless he's actually eating. Occasionally, he'll suck his hands--he may end up as a thumb sucker. Dunno.

We'll see what happens if/when I make it back to work and he can't nurse a million times a day. (I have an interview on Monday, and Dad will try to give him an actual bottle, as opposed to the syringe feedings we had to do at the beginning. Wish us luck!)

[CorasMama]

Originally Posted by MJB

Edie takes one. She doesn't love it but she'll sleep with it or take it in the car. It took a lot of persuading. The only kind she will take is the Soothie brand, which has got to be the UGLIEST pacifier ever invented.
My first didn't have one and my second had one until about 11 months when we took them away. I was totally against them until my second was born and I had a 3 yr. old to take care of along with a newborn. Then it was awesome how daddy could get the baby to sleep without nursing. Yay paci!

look up Gumdrop pacifiers on amazon. They're awesome for us. Fiona got hooked on the Soothies at the hospital, but they get in the way of her ng tube, and I worry about rebreathing if she's got a Soothie in and is cuddled in close or in the sling (though that's just me being neurotic, we did a half-hour test with her in the sling with a Soothie and a pulse ox monitor, and her sats were great!)

We use a binky trainer to try to get Fiona to take oral feeds. It's a Soothie with a wee hole in the tip, through which a tube is fed that connects to a little 5ml syringe that we fill with milk. If we can get her to suck on it, she will take 3-5mls. But that's not every time we try.

For those of you who wish yours would take the paci less, it could be worse. One of the four horsemen of the oral aversion that seems to be galloping our way is that Fiona is taking her pacifiers less and less.

[evjolin]

i second the gumdrop brand, bought mine on amazon too. lifesavers!!

[chattyprincess]

Well this baby was born with 4 suck blisters on her hands...literally out of the womb and onto the bed next to me and dh was asking what the "bleep" happened to her hands...she has a VERY strong need to nurse and gets really pissy when she can't just suck with nothing coming out! so I love the pacifier...she takes the mam brand pacificer. dd1 took the mam brand 6month nonsilicone (latex??) kind (the brown one) from about 2 months on (before that it was whatever we had) but that one is bigger and softer so its easier to use...mam brand 2month stage for this dd2.

Originally Posted by mummy marja

What paci brands do you recommend for hard-to-please babies? I think this guy needs a fairly large one, since he likes my middle finger but not my pinkie.

I like the mama brand 6months (brown plastic not the clear silicone).
I am a huge fan of soothers in general...some kids don't need them but my two dd's NEEDED them!

[mamakaikai]

Gumdrop or bust over here!! I have some lovely havea pacifiers, some born free pacifiers and some others too. But little miss thang over here has a preference for the gumdrop soother This coming from a mama who swore her babies would never be sootherbabies. haha My kids have high suck needs. This one goest nuts over her hands trying to suck on them but is completely dissatisfied with them, since she can't latch onto her hands.
My first kid was happy with me being her human pacifier. This new babe, hates latching on to milk when she's not hungry. So paci it is.

[Yaliina]

Just my 2 cents, but my oldest DS never took a paci for a minute, and I was somewhat opposed to DS2 taking one, but it does seem to work sometimes when he just doesn't want the boob, but needs something, or when we're in the car. But, like some others, he pops it in & out a lot, so one of us winds up holding it for him pretty constantly until he either soothes down or falls asleep, at which time it usually pops out anyway.

As for the finger, my DS loves to suck/chew on the finger. My nails are too long to stick in his mouth without fear of harm (they're not THAT long, but...), so he takes my nuckle & it works pretty well. He loves his daddy's pinky finger, though.

[SeattleRain]

Originally Posted by mummy marja

What paci brands do you recommend for hard-to-please babies? I think this guy needs a fairly large one, since he likes my middle finger but not my pinkie.

Love the Gumdrop pacis! The hospital here had them and he really dug them right away. If you like the Soothie brand, you'll love these more as they'e more tailored to the face and they have to suck the way they would suck on a bottle or nurse, with lips open instead of clenched like most pacis. We also have born free pacis and Dr. Browns pacis which are all fine enough but the Gumdrops are the real soothers.