[YayJennie]

I know there are some adamantly opposed to pacifiers, and some who swear by them. What are the pros and cons to using them (we're exclusively breast feeding by the way)? What are your personal experiences? So far, my 2 week old seems to have no need for one, but I do have some because I bought way too much stuff for him while I was pregnant. I'd love to hear all your opinions!

 

[jt'smum]

DD #1 used her till she was four! Then one day she decided she didn't need it anymore. It was chaos in our house if we couldn't find dodi(pronounced doe di no clue how to spell it). So we had a stash of like 10. DD #2 uses one but isn't as attached...yet. It serves a purpose but can get a bit annoying when it gets lost or misplaced....Other than that can't say too much bad about them in our situation.

 

[Dahlea]

I wouldn't use one until 6 weeks or it may affect your breastfeeding relationship.
*eta* My kid hates them, and has never taken one, just fyi. We EBF as well.

 

[jt'smum]

: We didn't start till 8 weeks...

 

[Ruthie's momma]

I would also wait until your LO is older before offering one. Beyond that, I think that each child has different sucking needs. DD lost interest in her paci (she was offered one in the hospital...

:...when I was too sick to attend to her) by the time she was about 4 mo. For her, being fed on demand (w/ boob or bottle) was enough to fulfill her sucking needs. On the other hand, I sucked my thumb until I was 8 yo...

.

 

[SundayCrepes]

I saw no need to get my kid attached to a piece of latex (or whatever they're made out of.) I'm not sure if they have a negative effect on mouth shape, etc. like exclusively bottle feeding does.

So baby #1 got through so far (age 3+) without one. Baby 2 is 8.5 months and has never had one. I want baby to receive comfort from me, not plastic.

 

[Devaskyla]

I've used one for a few minutes for very specific reasons (to give them something to suck while sleeping & being moved to a different position) with ds1 & ds3. Ds2 never had one until he was about 2 & for a few days thought they were a fun toy. I'd rather they do all their sucking at the breast, for milk production & lactation amhenorrea (sp?).

 

[AnnaNova]

i agree that all babies are different and have different sucking needs... i wasnt planning to use one, but my son would always fuss and act hungry and then as soon as id give him the boob he'd fall asleep... it was just getting to where id have to spend 24/7 with him at my boob or offer a paci. he takes one now when he's falling asleep and when we put him in the car seat...
we didnt start till at least three weeks after he was born, i also wouldnt suggest giving it to them when they are hungry...
he's now learning to self - soothe, too, so im hoping to wean him off the paci soon (he's 2 months now)
i heard that pacis can promote bad bacteria growth in the mouth, so i wash them often, even when they dont fall and sterelize them several times a week too...

 

[spirit4ever]

I offered dd a paci at 3 or 4 weeks (avent) and she took to it, she was not a comfort nurser at all!!

ds1 never had one and ds2 had one until about 9 months old

 

[Malva]

Dd1 used a pacifier. I had two issues with it: fear of losing the paci (kids get really attached to those things) and it was REALLY hard to get her to stop using it.

Because of that, with ds, we didn't want to use one.

We ended up sticking a finger in his mouth during the newborn phase when he wanted to suck but not drink. He never took to his own fingers or thumbs and outgrew pretty quickly needing our fingers to fall asleep.

 

[tanyam926]

Ds1 used one till he was 2.5, I wasn't planning on using one but bought them after he was born bc he would get so frustrated after he was full from nursing and still wanted to suck but didn't want anymore milk. BTW he is my only kid who seems to have any sensory issues so I feel like it helped him.

My ds2 and ds3 (now 3.5 and 7 mo.) have never used pacifiers. They never had the same frustration w/nursing after full.

I think think that in some cases they can be detrimental to BF, I did notice that my ds1 was latching perfectly since birth, then got the paci at a couple days old and I had to really get him to latch well for a little while after that.

I say they are best avoided but to be realistic, some babies really need to suck more than others. It sounds like your baby doesn't need one so I would pass them on or put them away for another baby.

 

[Smirkin]

I think it depends on the baby and the parent (meaning is the parent able/willing to satisfy baby's sucking needs with anything else), for all of the reasons pp have mentioned.

My dd wouldn't take a pacifier unless you stood there and held it in her mouth, and it became a bit of an issue because she has very high sucking needs/instincts. She had a strong urge to suck so I would offer the breast, but would get so mad when milk would come out and she wasn't hungry, and pretty soon we'd have a screaming baby on our hands. She resolved the situation herself by finding her thumb. She is now a champion thumb-sucker, so I guess she's "pacifying" herself

 

[nwmamas]

We use binkies for our 3 1/2 yo and our 2 yo. They are well-loved. Right now they are for bedtime exclusively, simply because it's getting annoying when they steal them from one another, lose them, etc. at their ages.

The most reliable evidence I can find says that they are not a dental problem until permanent teeth begin to come in, around age 5-6. Many dentists will tell you otherwise, but I just couldn't locate any studies to bear that out so we decided aversion to binkies was our problem and not our kids'.

 

[Therese's Mommy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mybabysmama I saw no need to get my kid attached to a piece of latex (or whatever they're made out of.) I'm not sure if they have a negative effect on mouth shape, etc. like exclusively bottle feeding does. So baby #1 got through so far (age 3+) without one. Baby 2 is 8.5 months and has never had one. I want baby to receive comfort from me, not plastic.

This is our situation. We never had one in the house. I was very adamant about our children being attached to us and not things. And there is no chance we would lose dh or myself, but people are always talking about losing a favorite paci. If they needed to be soothed and I was unavailable (in the shower for instance), dh would let them suck on his pinky. I would also occasionally give them a finger to suck if they were not able to calm down at the breast. Both girls wanted nothing to do with our fingers once they reached about 5mos. I found this interesting because they are totally different in every way, but both seemed to lose this need to suck (except at the breast) at the exact same time. It didn't even correlate to when they got teeth, one got her first at 5mos the other at 3mos.

Beth

 

[Super~Single~Mama]

We introduced a binky at a little over 2 weeks b/c my baby boy hates comfort nursing and would get even more angry when he just wanted to suck and then milk would come out. He's 3 months now and has started refusing to take it.

 

[Jessnet]

I too have a comfort sucker that gets upset when milk comes out once he is done nursing, but he refuses to take a paci. I almost wish that he would becuase now that he has discovered his fingers they are turning red from all his sucking on them.

 

[YayJennie]

Thanks for all the opinions and information.

My main concern is I would much rather have him sucking a pacifier than his thumb. I was a thumb sucker until the age of 10. Yes, 10. And he does suck his fingers/thumb occasionally, but not enough to be a concern, yet. I let him comfort suckle on the breast, and that seems to work fine for him for now. I have no problem with him needing comfort from mom and dad, but I would really prefer him not to get in the habit of sucking his thumb.

 

[jt'smum]

I was also a thumb sucker till the age of 11 or 12. Hid it from everyone. Neither of my babes suck there thumb. The babe isn't as attached as her sister and I have started removing it when she falls asleep. I am not always with her 24/7 so I am thankful there is something that can soothe her when my breast isn't available.

 

[Boot]

I didn't want ds to have one and I held out until 5 months. He used to suck my pinky all the time, even when I was driving! Then he got his first tooth and that was the end of that so I gave in. He still has his 'dummy' at 24 months but only for sleeping. I'm not worried about dental issues at this point.

 

[dolcedaze]

I never had a need for one with baby #1, because although she was high needs, I was content to nurse her (literally) all day long. I started giving baby #2 a pacifier after 6 weeks at nap times, because my now 2 year old still craves lots and lots of mama attention

and a napping baby on my lap doesn't work this time around.