When should you use a pacifier?

The child should not constantly use the pacifier. But there are certain situations when it is simply necessary.

• The sucking reflex in a baby is a way of relaxation and calm. While sucking, the baby falls asleep faster. Therefore, you can use a pacifier before bed.
• Children do not like to get dressed, they begin to be capricious in the process of getting ready for a walk. This is where the pacifier comes to the rescue again. And it won’t hurt during a walk.
• A long and tiring time for a child waiting in line for an appointment with a doctor or in other government institutions will also not be complete without a pacifier.
• Long journeys, travel, forced trips are also a reason to use a pacifier.

Why is it not possible to accustom a baby to a pacifier while breastfeeding?

Babies who are breastfed for a long time (for example, up to a year or more) most likely will not want a pacifier at all. After all, a warm mother's breast is always nearby and it is more pleasant than a pacifier. The older the baby, the better he understands the difference and, most likely, he will not want to take a pacifier.

Unfortunately, many mothers are forced to give up breastfeeding early. This can be for a variety of reasons - health problems, lack of breast milk or its absence, household and financial problems. Then the child grows up on artificial nutrition, eats from a bottle and accepts the pacifier well.

What can a pacifier be useful for?

• A baby who relates well to the pacifier can fall asleep on his own, without prolonged rocking. After all, not every mother has a lot of time and assistants who can devote several hours to this process during the day. The pacifier will help your baby quickly relax and fall asleep peacefully on his own.
• Sucking a pacifier relieves the baby of gas buildup. The sucking reflex helps the intestines work.
• If your baby has a pacifier in his mouth while walking, this will reduce the likelihood that he will put something in his mouth.
• If you choose the right pacifier, it will help the correct formation of the bite.
• A pacifier is a quick way to calm your baby anywhere and in the most unexpected situations.
• A pacifier will be able to soothe the baby even in the absence of the mother. Any adult or older child who is nearby can easily return the baby to a state of calm.
• The pacifier develops skills such as concentration and attention in the child, which will be beneficial in the future in the learning process.

How to teach a baby to suck a pacifier

Experienced mothers constantly share tricks and subtleties about the process of accustoming a child to a pacifier. At what age should you start introducing your baby to a pacifier? Pediatricians believe that this should be done no earlier than the baby is 1 month old.

Simple steps:

1. Hold your baby in your arms as if you were breastfeeding.
2. Soak the pacifier in breast milk.
3. Give it to the baby.
4. If you spit it out, don’t insist, try later with a pacifier of a different shape, made of a different material. Patience and endurance are your main trump cards.
5. You can put the baby on the side, give him a pacifier, put a small cushion under it, so the baby will not be able to spit out the pacifier, he will get used to it faster.
6. If you supplement your baby with water, do it from a bottle, so the baby will begin to respond more favorably to the pacifier.

If all your attempts to accustom your baby to a pacifier do not bring results, then he simply does not need a pacifier, his sucking reflex is completely satisfied. If the baby does not try to pull fingers and other objects into his mouth, relax, you are lucky, there is no need to accustom your baby to a pacifier.

When you begin to accustom your child to a pacifier, think about how you will wean him off it, since these tasks are equally difficult to quickly implement. Doctors recommend weaning your child off the pacifier no later than 2 years.

Disadvantages of using a pacifier

• The process of weaning off the pacifier is very painful for the child. Sometimes this process negatively affects the delicate child’s psyche and can even cause a nervous breakdown.
• A child with a pacifier is fixated only on the sucking process, and for development the baby needs to pay as much attention as possible to studying the world around him and the objects around him.
• Children accustomed to a pacifier are more likely to have problems pronouncing certain sounds. They start talking later than other children.
• Often babies switch their sucking reflex to other objects. These could be toys or your own fingers. It is even more difficult to wean off of this than from a pacifier. This reflex can persist until school age, which will lead to bad habits - sucking pens or the habit of biting nails, sometimes even smoking.

Harm or benefit?

You can still find different opinions from pediatricians regarding pacifiers. Some believe that sucking a pacifier contributes to the formation of malocclusion and delayed speech development, so it should never be given to a child.

Others see nothing wrong with the pacifier and even approve of its use in the first months of a baby’s life. But the truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle.

What are the benefits of sucking a pacifier?

The sucking reflex is the most powerful of all reflexes present in a newborn baby. To satisfy the need for sucking, the baby can suck on anything: a corner of a blanket, the sleeve of a blouse, his own fingers, but the main source remains the mother’s breast.

It is important to understand that a child cannot suckle at the breast all the time, as this is fraught with overfeeding, increased gas formation, intestinal colic and frequent heavy regurgitation.

In cases where the sucking reflex is not satisfied, but the baby is already full, a pacifier can be a salvation.

The first sign that a baby needs a pacifier is sucking on its own fists. This happens at the age of 1-3 months. When the baby grows up, he will suck his thumb. It is very difficult to get rid of this habit; some children continue it until school age.

What advantages of pacifiers do pediatricians highlight?

• Restful sleep.

Children accustomed to a pacifier fall asleep almost immediately as soon as they receive their favorite item. The sleep itself is longer - the baby wakes up less often to feed, since in most cases frequent attempts to suckle at the breast are caused not by a feeling of hunger, but by the need to satisfy the reflex.

• Falling asleep in a crib.

Most babies get used to falling asleep with their mother's breast in their mouth, and all attempts to transfer them to the crib end in failure. As a result, both do not get enough sleep.

The pacifier allows you to put your baby to sleep in the crib. It is enough to give him a pacifier, and in 5 minutes the child will already be asleep.

• Stable emotional state.

Children with an immature nervous system often experience negative emotions (anger, rage, resentment), expressing this by crying. The pacifier helps to calm the baby and prevent children's hysteria, which is important for harmonious development.

• Satisfying the sucking reflex.

With the help of a pacifier, the child will be able to satisfy his needs 100%, since the pacifier is always at hand (unlike the mother's breast). Babies who suck on a pacifier do not do so with their fingers or objects outside.

• Bowel training.

When a baby sucks, the intestinal muscles contract, pushing out excess air and stimulating the passage of gases and feces. This is an excellent prevention of intestinal colic and constipation.

• Normalization of feeding regime.

If your baby has the opportunity to suck on a pacifier, he will not constantly ask for the breast. This will help avoid overfeeding and associated digestive disorders.

• Free time for mom.

If the mother needs to go away for 3-4 hours (for example, to the hospital), the pacifier will help calm the baby.

• Help with teething.

When a baby is teething, he experiences pain and discomfort, which affects his emotional state. You can help your baby get through this period easier by using a pacifier.

It is recommended that bottle-fed babies be given a pacifier from birth, since they (unlike infants) do not have the opportunity to satisfy the sucking reflex with the help of their mother's breast.

Effect on breastfeeding

It is necessary to accustom a child to a pacifier only after the woman has established lactation. Previous use of a pacifier can lead to a decrease in milk supply and even breastfeeding.

The fact is that pacifiers differ in shape from the female nipple. If your baby starts pacifying too early, he can latch on in the same way, sucking only the foremilk.

The consequences may be the following:

• malnutrition and weight loss of the child;
• lactostasis caused by stagnation of hindmilk in the mammary glands;
• mastitis;
• decreased milk production;
• breast refusal.

After a pacifier, the baby may find it difficult to suckle at the breast, and he will simply refuse mother's milk. Therefore, it is impossible to accustom a baby to a nipple until the woman has established good lactation and the baby has learned to latch onto the breast correctly.

Impact on speech development

A delay in speech development can be observed in children sucking a pacifier, but this only applies to long-term use of the accessory. It is recommended to wean your baby off the pacifier before the age of 2 years. If this is not done, the child may pronounce certain sounds incorrectly. Only a children's speech therapist can solve the problem.

Getting used to a pacifier - little tricks

Method one. Infants under the age of three months can be accustomed to a pacifier by replacing the breast with a pacifier. You need to put the baby in your arms in the position in which he takes the breast. But instead of the mother's breast, give the baby a pacifier soaked in milk. This method causes 100% affection. Children older than this age are more difficult to deceive.

Method two. Babies after six months of age put everything into their mouths, chew, suck and bite to scratch their gums during teething. At this time, pacifier training will not be difficult. Your baby will see the pacifier as another new and interesting thing to try. At the same time, at his own discretion, he will take it into his mouth and take it out whenever he wants.

Note to parents! In no case should you accustom your baby to the nipple by lubricating it with various sweets (for example, honey or jam). At this age, a baby may experience numerous negative reactions to sweets. This could be a serious allergic reaction or diathesis. For the same reasons, you should not smear the pacifier with bitter substances when parents are trying to wean their baby off the pacifier. You should not give a pacifier to a baby without licking it first. An adult's mouth contains a large number of bacteria that are dangerous for a little person. This can lead to the development of various infections.

How to teach a child to use a pacifier?

Accustoming an artificial baby to a pacifier is quite easy, since such a baby has already become familiar with the bottle. But training a baby who is breastfed is much more difficult. Here are some useful tips to help make this process easier:

1. Try offering your baby the pacifier in the position in which you are used to breastfeeding.
2. You can give a pacifier at the moment when the baby is already full, but the sucking reflex is not satisfied.
3. Many parents advise lubricating the nipple with breast milk or artificial formula. The familiar taste and smell will make it easier for your baby to get used to the device.
4. The first experiment with a pacifier can be timed to coincide with teething. In this case, a rubber product is more suitable.
5. To help your child get used to the pacifier, use a bottle of water for supplementation. After drinking, change the container to a regular pacifier.
6. If the baby requires the breast for comfort, and not because of hunger, try offering a pacifier every time. However, you should not leave it in your mouth for a long time, so as not to form a persistent habit.

On the Internet there is a recommendation to lubricate pacifiers with honey or jam. However, this method is quite dangerous, since these products can cause a serious allergic reaction.

How to choose a pacifier?

Nowadays, pharmacies offer a wide range of pacifiers. They vary in shape, size (for different ages) and material (rubber, silicone and latex). You can give your baby a pacifier from the first day.

Round nipples are the most common, but it is believed that prolonged use can affect the correct bite. A popular new product is the orthodontic nipple, which copies the shape of the mother's breast nipple and is most comfortable for the baby.

The size of the pacifier can be determined by the age and height of the child. Up to six months, use a smaller size, and after six months, it is worth replacing with another, slightly larger one. Pharmacies can offer nipples in three sizes, according to the approved classification. There are special nipples that form the correct bite. They should be given to a child after seven months of age.