Tell me about introducing a pacifier....

[LadyCatherine185]

So with DS1 I was pretty against using a paci.. I am not crazy about the way they look, the way so many people overuse them, 3 year olds running around with them in their mouths, etc... so we didn't use one, and he had a really high suck need, which was met by nursing every hour day and night until he was well over a year old.... And that was fine (though exhausting) because he was my only baby and I could devote 100% of my time to just him.

Well, here comes baby #2 in about 3.5 weeks, and I am thinking of using a paci, because I know I won't be able to give him 100% of time like I was able to with Liam.. and it would be nice for him to have something else to be soothed/comforted by other than me.. Especially for car rides, so I can take a shower, etc.

So those of you who successfully introduced and used a paci, when did you introduce it? I have heard that you "need" to wait until 6 weeks to establish breastfeeding, but I would think it would be a little "late" by then? And how did you know if they were hungry or just wanted to suck for comfort? How can I keep a balance of only using it when necessary??

Thanks Mamas!

[Calee]

I've offered it to both my kids-DS1 didn't like it, DS2 does.

I have offered them from the very beginning, and neither have had any breastfeeding problems.

As far as hungry vs. wanting to suck, when he was a newborn, I always offered the breast first. If he wasn't interested, or had JUST stopped eating, I gave the pacy. Now, at 8 months, he lets me know which one he is wanting

[smeep]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185

So with DS1 I was pretty against using a paci.. I am not crazy about the way they look, the way so many people overuse them, 3 year olds running around with them in their mouths, etc... so we didn't use one, and he had a really high suck need, which was met by nursing every hour day and night until he was well over a year old.... And that was fine (though exhausting) because he was my only baby and I could devote 100% of my time to just him.

Well, here comes baby #2 in about 3.5 weeks, and I am thinking of using a paci, because I know I won't be able to give him 100% of time like I was able to with Liam.. and it would be nice for him to have something else to be soothed/comforted by other than me.. Especially for car rides, so I can take a shower, etc.

So those of you who successfully introduced and used a paci, when did you introduce it? I have heard that you "need" to wait until 6 weeks to establish breastfeeding, but I would think it would be a little "late" by then? And how did you know if they were hungry or just wanted to suck for comfort? How can I keep a balance of only using it when necessary??

Thanks Mamas!

I introduced it at 2 weeks or so. We used it VERY sparingly. At first it was ONLY when we were out and about and he was very fussy and I couldn't nurse him right that second...the fussing for a few moments (because obviously we can't always nurse them right that very second) was fine at home but I used the binky when those situations came up in public, which was rare. Eventually we started using it at night as well (I felt like Indiana Jones trying to switch out the boob for the binky fast enough that he wouldn't wake and noticed the lack of boob ). He got it occasionally in other situations, but not often. Eventually we stopped using it almost completely during the day (I wasn't fond of using it unless it was going to be VERY helpful at that moment) and then eventually it became more hassle to Indiana Jones it at night; he was more likely to wake up from the switcheroo than if I just took my boob out and left it at that. So that's when I saw my "out" and took it (that's also when all the lost binkies decided to show up, of course! ). I am VERY glad that we used it so sparingly and even happier that DS didn't really care too much.

That said, I don't expect myself to be so lucky again. I've seen mums use it sparingly like I did and their babies still got attached and became monsters about the binkies. I won't be buying any for this baby at all so I won't be tempted. IF it seems that baby has circumstances in which I feel a binky would actually be a good thing, I'll consider buying one then, but I'm not going to introduce it unless it gets pretty bad.

[liberal_chick]

Originally Posted by Calee

I have offered them from the very beginning, and neither have had any breastfeeding problems.

As far as hungry vs. wanting to suck, when he was a newborn, I always offered the breast first. If he wasn't interested, or had JUST stopped eating, I gave the pacy. Now, at 8 months, he lets me know which one he is wanting

This is what we did this time. We offered it from the beginning pretty much and it has been very obvious to me when he wants to eat and when he's just sucking to suck.

[melkaya]

I waited about 6 or 7 weeks to introduce it. It is recommended that you wait to establish your milk supply. All the sucking the baby wants and needs can be done on the breast at that time. It took a couple tries but he finally took it. We only use it in the car when he is fussy or rarely to hold him over til I can bf. Sometimes he doesn't want it but when he does, he usually falls right to sleep.

[mom2happy]

I didn't give it to my first two for the same reason you didn't give it.
So many babies and toddlers are addicted to them.
I'm on baby 3 now and I have other kids that need some attention too, so I use it for about 10 minutes here and there. I only give it to her a few times a week and only if I absolutely cant hold her.
I didn't introduce it until 8 weeks. I waited for that very fussy time to be over. I wanted to be the one to comfort and settle her naturally when she was that tiny. It was a rough time, but we got through it. Now she is 5 months and her suck need is so much less. I think if I were to have given it earlier it might have lead to dependency.
I am totally guilt free about it. Once she has it for a few minutes it distracts her from fussing. I just take it out and she is satisfied.
She wouldnt even know if she never saw one again at this point.

[snoopy5386]

I waited about 3 weeks to try and introduce it to DD1 and she wouldn't take it. I had the same reasons for introducing it to DD2 as you and I wanted to make sure she took it, so she first got one about 18 hours after birth. She took the paci like a champ for 2 weeks straight and then just stopped cold turkey. Went from sucking on it for 2 hours one day to not at all the next. Never would take one again and I tried all different brands/types. You just never can tell....

[sere234]

We introduced the pacifier to our DS at about 1 week to help with his love of sucking. However, it seemed to really interfere with his nursing ability so we held off for a couple more weeks. He is now 7 weeks old and pretty much hates the pacifier.... I try to give it to him in the carseat or when he wakes early from sleeping but he'll only scream harder! So pretty much Mommy is the pacifier!

Not sure what I'll do with my second kid... Probably give the pacifier more consistently around 3-4 weeks, at least once a day when he/she REALLY needs it. I think since I only gave it to him when I was desperate (every 2-3 days) he didn't get used to it....

[JudiAU]

I wait a few weeks to make sure nursing is established and then when I know it is, I offer and offer. Good luck this time with a soothie. I work and I need another way for my baby to be soothed.

[nilatti]

My little guy has a serious need to suck. At 1 week, he was constantly spitting up because he was eating more than he could hold in order to be sucking all the time. I asked a friend, who is a certified lactation consultant, what to do, and she told me it was ok to give him a paci (nursing was already going well), but "make it disappear by 6 months!"

Since then, I use the paci when I suspect that he's not really hungry, or when I can't nurse this second. If he's actually hungry, he'll suck for a few seconds and then spit it out, ENRAGED that there's no milk! I would say we use it successfully only once every few days.

[Marylizah]

Both of my guys use/d pacis. With DS1, I waited 5ish weeks, I think, to introduce it. He never got super attached to it, and it was gone by 9 months.

DS2, I introduced it much earlier, because he would nurse and nurse and get extremely fussy, and even start screaming when my milk would let down. He wanted to suck, not to nurse. He's 8.5 months old, and still uses it occasionally to fall asleep at naptime or at night, but definitely isn't dependent on it. If the two binkies he has were to disappear, I think he would barely notice.

Anyway, it's always been really clear to me when my babies wanted milk and when they just wanted to suck, I've also never had any issues establishing a milk supply, YMMV.

[Lauren31]

I offered her one about 4.5 weeks old and only really used it in the car or when I would sneak away after she went to sleep nursing.

[beebalmmama]

I felt the same as you about using a paci, but then ds 1 turned out to have a really high sucking need and I had a overactive supply and a fast letdown. He would scream about wanting to suck but not wanting any more to eat. I held off for about 4-5 weeks, after having our fingers in his mouth constantly (at night too). I figured I could keep a paci more clean than I could keep my hands consistently.
He used it most a lot for the first year. He definitely needed it for sleeping. We also co-slept and he was an all night nurser, so it certainly never interfered with nursing. During the day I just made sure to offer him the breast before his paci. We started to wean him off daytime somewhere between a year and 18 months and by then it stayed in bed for sleeping.

He weaned from sleeping with it right before he turned 3.

My second ds(10 months) also started taking it for the same reason. He was taking in so much milk that it would all come back up. He uses it much more infrequently than ds 1. Occasionally during the day when he is fussy and for sleeping. I haven't though about weaning him because he doesn't use it much as it is. But I don't see him using it as long as ds 1.

[Parker'smommy]

I've had three different experiences and I tried the exact same thing with all three kids!!

Ds- waited 4 weeks, he was sucking on our fingers constantly before this. He took it for three months or so and then started sucking his thumb instead. He gave the thumb at 9 months.

dd1- waited 4 weeks...also was sucking my fingers constantly. Took paci easily and used it till she was....um....4 1/2 years old...

dd2- waited 4 weeks, she wasn't sucking on our fingers a whole lot but seeme to want to nurse, but not get milk. She also is a lot fussier and HATES the car. She will NOT take any pacifier I've given her. I've tried all brands. She gags when it's put in her mouth and gets more and more upset. She wants her thumb, but can't coordinate it just yet ( she's almost 7 weeks) so we'll see.....

[dearmama22]

wondering about this too

[JudiAU]

I think i waied 6 weeks eith our first; we used fungers I wait 3 weeks or so after engorgement and nursing is going well. Introduce and repeat. Both my kids took awhile but i wft so it was important that they have sucking comfort. We used malm with my first and sootjies with my second. Have a couple of brands in the smallwst sixe available because they'll have a specific one. If too heavy it wont work.

[faeriecurls]

I have always hated them and was sure i would never use one, but DD has such a need to suck that we couldn't move. We introduced one at 7 weeks because DD constantly needs to suck - if it wasn't the boob she was sucking one of our fingers or desperately trying to get her thumb/finger/hand in her mouth. She doesn't always take it, she definitely spits it out when she is hungry. It seems to help reduce her sucking on me or DH by about 50%.

[~Amy~]

I could have written your post, OP. I did halfheartedly attempt to give DS1 a paci, but I think he was like 3 months or maybe even older. He had no interest in it whatsoever at that point. Like your DS, he nursed very often for a long time. I plan to offer one to this baby almost from birth. I'm not nearly as concerned about my milk supply, etc this time as I know that I produce plenty of milk and have successfully BF'd one child already (well, am still BFing, actually & don't see him weaning before this baby comes). If I had to do it again with DS, I would have given him a paci much sooner. Life was rough for DH when I needed to shower, go out, etc. I plan to intro a bottle sooner this time too.

[KempsMama]

Both my boys have used a paci. I introduced them after my milk was in, initially because I had over supply issues and overactive letdown, and neither baby could nurse for comfort because of it. DS1 stopped taking it at around 4 months when he started sucking his thumb. I've backed off how much I use it with DS2 now that he sucks on his hands for comfort, because I'd much rather have a thumb sucker than a paci user a year down the road.

One tip I have is to try different pacis. Both my boys would only take a MAM pacifier. I have a friend whose baby would only take a NUK. Each baby is different.

[amymccabe]

My seven week old was introduced to them at about three weeks. We didn't have any problems with nipple confusion. We mainly use ours during the day if we take Finn out or have guests over, because he generally doesn't sleep at all in these situations. He's very curious and observant and will stay pleasantly awake as long as the guests are over or we are out no matter how long that is, but then have a meltdown as soon as things calm down. The pacifier doesn't solve the problem altogether, but it does make it less likely to happen. He'll use it sparingly during the day otherwise. Unlike most people, we rarely use it at night, as he goes down then without his pacifier without a problem. I find that Finn will be completely disatisfied with the pacifier if he's hungry.