Baby Pacifiers, I Would Have Been Lost Without Them!
Today’s baby thing item is baby pacifiers. All three of my children used them. I really don’t know what we would have done without ours. My oldest was very colicky, my second has multiple health issues and was very uncomfortable as a baby, my baby well she just really needed to suck. So, the pacifier really was a life savor for us. That being said two of my three of my kids did become so dependent on them that they were very difficult to break them of that habit.
If you look you for information you will find all kinds of opinions when it comes to baby pacifiers. I will share what was told to me by my pediatrician and my pediatric dentist and why I made the decisions I made.
My first born I really never consulted with anyone about using it and did not read about the pros and cons. He had become very fussy we decided to try it and it worked. I took it away from him at about 18 months old. He was cranky for a day or so and got over it.
My second son was born in late December by mid January he was covered in head to toe eczema and was miserable. He was miserable and we were miserable. The pacifier did help him to some extent. Now most pediatricians will recommend getting rid of it by about 4 months old. However, my son had so many issues going on that even the pediatrician thought that I should let him use it for a while. Unfortunately, since he did have so many things going on that we kept using that as our excuse to not take it away and he had it until he was 2 and a half. At that point the pediatric dentist showed me how using the pacifier was actually pushing his teeth forward and said we really needed to stop. Taking it away from him was very difficult and he cried for a long time.
When we knew baby number three was coming we decided against using a baby pacifier. Then I had read some of the latest studies that said using a pacifier in the first few months actually decreases the chances of SIDS. That caused us to rethink our decision to not use it. So, we decided to use the pacifier again. Well, my daughter wanted it all of the time. I started to think that maybe we had made the wrong decision with her because she became so dependent so fast. My pediatrician actually said that some babies really do need to suck more than others and that she really might need it, but that we should try to take it away by six months. So, at six months we decided to take it away because we did not want it to start to shift her teeth. We took it away and she replaced it with her thumb. I spoke to the pediatric dentist and he said give it back to her. His reason was that the thumb actually does more damage to the teeth. As babies get older they tend to get even more attached to the thumb and you can’t take it away. He wanted us to continue with the pacifier until her desire to suck passed so that she would not continue using her thumb.
So, I am fine with our decision to use the baby pacifier. If you decide to use a baby pacifier, I strongly recommend you use one with a silicone nipple. They are healthier for your baby than the latex. Below you will find the baby pacifier that worked well for us. See you soon with more baby things.
