Baby pacifiers can be a lifesaver for the parent of an infant and even for a baby! However, keeping the pacifier in your baby’s mouth can be a tricky thing, especially when they start to figure out that spitting a pacifier out, across the room, into the dark crib at night, or in the car seat can be a fun game of fetch for their parents.
This article will give you lots of pacifier facts, as well as tips on how to keep a pacifier in the mouth of your baby right where it’s supposed to be.
Can a newborn sleep with a pacifier?
First of all, you need to know when the right time is to introduce a pacifier to your baby. When you’re in the hospital for delivery, the labor and delivery nurses will usually ask you if you want your baby to have a pacifier. This choice is yours, and giving a baby a pacifier will most likely help your baby sleep better and longer out in the big new world the little one just entered.
However, there are times when you may want to wait to introduce the pacifier.
Breastfeeding Infants and Nipple Confusion
Because a pacifier is shaped like a nipple, many lactation consultants and doctors recommend that you wait about six weeks after birth before giving your baby a pacifier if you are breastfeeding.
Building a pacifier habit before six weeks can cause nipple confusion, and you may have trouble latching and nursing because the baby is so used to having a nipple-shaped device in its mouth.
Formula Fed Newborns
If your baby is formula-fed, or you don’t intend to nurse your little one, it is fine to use baby pacifiers. Pacifier use can help your baby reach deep sleep faster, and young infants find having something to suck on soothing and calming.
Pacifiers and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Also known as SIDS, this scary and largely mysterious tragic affliction of infants is reduced in infants who use a pacifier during night sleep. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents introduce all newborns over one month of age to a pacifier to reduce the risk of SIDS significantly.
While there is no known way to prevent SIDS completely, the pacifier falls into the category of known reduction tools in the battle against this awful syndrome. Pacifier use and following safe sleep guidelines (such as back sleeping, no loose bedding in the crib, and no stuffed animals in the crib) can help you keep your baby safe and give you peace of mind.
Of course, this is only effective when parents are aware of and follow pacifier safety practices. Such as keeping the pacifier clean after the pacifier falls, regularly replacing the pacifier, and ensuring there are no loose pieces of the pacifier nipple after the baby chews on it.
How to Keep a Pacifier in the Mouth of Baby Longer
If you have some experience with a pacifier-obsessed baby, you know that a pacifier falling out of the baby’s mouth, out of the crib, or getting lost can produce some of the shrillest screams known to man. It makes the baby cry, and the parent wants to cry.
There are several tips and products available to ease the misery you might experience when baby spits the thing out in the middle of the night.
Pacifiers with Stuffed Animals Attached
There are some charming pacifier attachments that you can purchase that are large enough for even a small infant to grasp and find that look like cuddly stuffed lambs, bears, cats, dogs, and other animals. They aren’t large enough to be too heavy on the baby with the pacifier in the baby’s mouth, and they won’t cause your baby to suffocate.
When a baby spits the pacifier out or loses it at night, chances are, if they have a little stuffed buddy attached to their favorite soother, they’ll be much more inclined and able to find it and put it back in their own mouth with more ease.
Glow in the Dark Pacifiers
There are many brands of pacifiers that glow in the dark, making them much easier to find at night when you have pacifiers scattered on the floor or in the crib. They don’t glow brightly enough to distract the baby or keep the baby awake, but they are bright enough that the baby can usually find the pacifier easily.
Pacifier Clip for Daytime Use
There are many colorful and patterned pacifier clips that attach to baby’s clothing that you can purchase so that if your little one spits the pacifier out or drops it, it remains there, hanging from their clothing.
Much like a lanyard that clips onto the outfit of a baby, the pacifier stays attached by using a string that you tie onto the pacifier.
Only use this sort of product when the baby uses a pacifier during the day. Allowing them to use the clip in bed can lead to terrible consequences like strangulation and the clip coming off, turning it into a choking hazard.
Pacifier FAQ’s
The following are some common questions that parents have about pacifier use, pacifier safety, and pacifiers in general.
How Often Should I Clean A Pacifier?
Pacifiers can get pretty gross. Think about it. It’s an accessory meant to be sucked on by a baby almost constantly. However, babies aren’t the most coordinated creatures, so they tend to drop them. This also makes pacifiers havens for germs, which can make a baby sick. It’s best to clean the pacifier at least one time each day. This can be done by washing it by hand when you do dishes, sanitizing it in a bottle sanitizer, or running it through the dishwasher.
What if My Baby Resists Taking a Pacifier?
Babies may resist a pacifier for several reasons. One could be a tongue tie, which makes latching and sucking harder. Pay attention to baby’s cues when they start to refuse the pacifier. It could be that your baby is having trouble getting a strong suck on the pacifier or their mouth is too small or too big for the pacifier you’re using.
If your little one doesn’t take to the pacifier, but you want them to, just keep trying. Remain active in the struggle, and work towards finding the best pacifier for your baby. Many babies do have a preference. It’s just finding it that takes a little bit of work.
Does Pacifier Use Help with Ear Infections?
Ear infections are terrible for babies. Infants don’t understand why they hurt, and the pressure they feel in their heads can get pretty intense. This can result in some aggressive sucking on a pacifier in an attempt to relieve that pressure.
If you notice that your little one seems to be sucking harder on more on things like their hands or toys or bottle nipples or that they gently tug on their ear or faces, they may have an ear infection. Along with a visit to the doctor, medicine, and some cuddles with your baby, a pacifier helps soothe the pain and pressure and can provide temporary relief of the symptoms.
Should I Only Give My Baby A Pacifier to Sleep?
Many parents assume that a pacifier should only be used as a sleep aid for their baby. Once babies fall asleep, it’s best to take the pacifier away until the next time you want your baby to sleep.
While this makes sense to a new parent, the Good Sleep Association does not recommend this practice. Relying on a pacifier for an infant to encourage sleep can result in the pacifier being used as an emotional crutch for your child rather than teaching a child when is an appropriate wake time and sleep time.
Should You Wean Cold Turkey?
While a pacifier can certainly be used for sleep association early on, it’s best to start to night wean your baby as soon as you can. If your baby falls asleep with a pacifier but spits it out and starts crying, slowly wean them by not immediately sliding the soother back into their mouth. This can help them break the habit of using the pacifier to go to and stay asleep.
Eventually, stop going into the room and giving the pacifier back, and babies will learn that they can and should fall asleep without one.
Is a Pacifier Bad for Teeth?
Most parents have probably heard from someone, at some point, that allowing a child to use a pacifier for longer than they deem necessary will hurt their teeth and cause their mouth to suffer devastating consequences.
While babies find a pacifier soothing, and no one likes to hear babies cry, there is some truth to this dental warning.
Allowing a baby to use a pacifier past the age of 36 months or three years can introduce dental issues that are hard to reverse. You can enable your little one to keep a pacifier up to this age, but any longer risks issues.
Cavity-causing germs in the mouth due to a three-year-old eating table food can stick to the pacifier and make it a haven for germs and cavities that can cause pain to the child and be expensive to treat.
Do Pacifiers Cause Gas?
It may seem like your baby passes more gas when using a pacifier. This is because the constant sucking and that babies suck harder when there is a pacifier in their mouth causes the air bubbles in the tummy.
Your baby doesn’t have any more or any less gas with a pacifier. You may hear it more because the tool helps the gas to work its way up.
What is a Good Age to Take Away a Pacifier?
The honest answer to this question is: You can take that thing away as soon as you want to, but be prepared for a fight.
Babies get addicted to pacifiers because it soothes their sucking reflex, soothes them while they wait for their next feeding, and keeps them calm during a diaper change. However, you take the pacifier away at any age.
While doing it all at once can be a little much for a small child or baby, there is a simple trick or two you can learn which will make the transition go smoother.
Get Sneaky
Some parents opt to take the sneaky way out by slowly cutting the end off the nipple of a pacifier until there is nothing but a stub left, and the baby loses interest and will abandon the thing of it’s own volition.
Make a Little Game of It
Some parents of toddlers who want the pacifier to go away turn it into a game. You can bury the pacifier in your yard and replace it with candy, snack, or small toy the next day, telling your toddler that you planted the soother, and this price grew instead. This is a fun way to reduce the cries, helps keep the child calm, and can take the fight to keep a pacifier less traumatizing for you and the little one.
