Is alright to have a pacifer in between the feedings

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and agreeing also on sheri's explanation.

there was one stuck in ds's mouth when he was in the newborn nursery.

i think that was one of the contributing factors to our difficulties establishing our nursing relationship.

we have no pacifier here She does nurse a lot, but not all day

dd was a natural born sucker! we gave her a pac earlier than recommended, at about a week old, but we knew this kid had no problems with her latch. She did fine, and now at 4 mo, has weened off of it herself, onto her thumb

She would suck on a breast or our finger all day if she could, but a mama's gotta cook some dinner, ya know

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Because for a brand new nursing mother, that can sometimes lead to bleeding, cracked nipples. That is what happened in my case. My newborn wanted to nurse quite literally 24 hours a day. And the pain was just insane, after a week or two of this marathon nursing. I had worked with a lactation consultant, both in the hospital and at home, so I knew it wasn't a problem with the latch. It was just the frequency of her nursing. So we introduced a pacifier between feedings, to meet her sucking needs, and to give my poor, bleeding nipples a rest. She used it for just over a year (I don't think she "needed" it that long, though), and quit without a problem.

With my second baby, my nipples were already conditioned to dealing with baby-abuse, so I didn't have the same problem, even through the comfort nursing. We didn't bother with a pacifier. And he never did find his thumb.

I can't say what is best, but I can tell my my experience with both of my children.

DD #1 was born 4 weeks early and was VERY sleepy and I had a hard time nursing at first - she wouldn't latch on and when she did it was very painful. It was so difficult, but it finally worked a few weeks in. She nursed beautifully and all was well except sometimes she was very fussy and refused the breast. We offered a pacifier at about 3 weeks and she took it. Just to let everyone know, I was VERY determined to breastfeed and was not sure about this step, but I was exhausted and desperate. Anyway, Carmella nursed exlusively (no formula) and took a pacifier, and when she was about 5 months old, she didn't want/need the pacifier anymore. She self-weaned at 2 years old.

DS had a hard time latching on at first too, but since I was more experienced, I was more relaxed and our nursing relationship was much easier in the beginning. We also offered him a pacifier at a few weeks old, and he took it. He also nursed exclusively(no formula), and started to refuse the pacifier around 5 months old.

I felt that babies have a real need to suck (almost constantly in our case) and I wasn't able to provide this all the time (sore nipples being one reason.) I really felt that in offering the pacifier I was able to keep my baby content and myself in good operating condition for nursing. It worked for us, thank goodness.

for me, I always kept in mind that nursing is a relationship between 2 people, and like any relationship, it has to work and be healthy for both people involved. This is what worked for us