Have You or Do You Use a Pacifier?

Hello - the best thing I had read is this : you can wean a child from a pacifier but not thier fingers. I have given both my children pacifiers and with a little luck and creativity it wasn't that hard to take them away. My little one will only such on her binky if she is bored or tired, it will hold her for a couple minutes if she is hungry but I don't find that it keeps her from letting me know she is hungry. I like the playtex nuk ones, she has a little mouth and so it isn't one of those long ones, it forms more to the shape of her mouth. Hope this helps...

Athere is nothing wrong with a pacifier get it the will give ot up when he is ready good luck A. raised 4 andnow hhave 7 grandchildren no hills

My father was a thumb sucker as a kid and has terrible teeth! My daughter got a pacifier, and it proved to be sanity saving for me. She wanted to nurse all the time, which drove me a little crazed, but I could give her the pacifier when I needed her off, and that helped... She still has the pacifiers at three though, and I hate them at this point, but she is very strong willed and insistant on keeping it. It is not a battle I wish to engage in yet. Her teeth look fine, but we haven't been to a dentist yet...
Good luck with whatever you decide.
R.

I took my first son's paci away when he was 8 months old just when he started really liking it.
My 2nd son was a thumb sucker. I ended up keeping him on the paci on purpose. Every time I took it away he would go back to his thumb. So I let him get hooked on the paci instead with the thought that I can take away a paci and not a thumb ")
It worked. I let him keep the paci until he was almost three years old. Yes he didn't like it and it took away, about two nights of him being unhappy but no problems with sucking his fingers ever again :)
I also contacted a pedi dentist in regards to tooth damage. They told me that it wouldn't cause problems until he was about 5 years old.
Best Regards,
C.
Also wanted to let you know that I did some research on the subject of adult finger sucking. Seems it's more common than you would like to think. I personally can remember some teenagers that still did it. A habit is a habit and it's hard to break the longer it is done. lol Best Wishes to the route you choose to take :)

All three of mine have used them and I wouldn't have it any other way! It's easy enough to wean them when it's time. Once you find the 'right' paci for your baby (each of mine liked different ones) it can be a real sanity saver.

My son uses a pacifier. He used it whenever he wanted it until he was about 14 months old (he is almost 18 months now), and then we weaned him so that he now only uses it for naps and sleep (it never leaves the crib!) His teeth so far have come in straight (he has 13 teeth and 3 more coming), and he doesn't use it often enough for it to interfere with talking since he doesn't have it during the day. I asked my pediatrician about using a paci and she laughed and said she likes pacis better than thumbs because you can take a paci away. I have friends who hate them, and I've known kids who won't take them, but for us, it has been heaven-sent. I haven't had to wean him off of it yet, and that is the biggest problem I can foresee. I'm not in any hurry, though. I think it's a personal choice.

Everyone recommended the Soothies brand to us, but my son didn't like them. He prefers Nuk.

How old is your son? My oldest used one from birth-6months, and my youngest was weaned off a few months ago, he is now 18months. I posted a question about weaning off the pacifier and did it cold turkey, was not hard at all, so if he is looking for that comfort, there is no harm in doing it, in my opinion. But depending on his age, if he's older, I probably wouldn't start him on one because it may be harder to wean him off in the future. Good luck.

Neither of my girls would ever take one. My 2nd sucked her thumb, but she quit on her own at 24 months, so if he won't take one, sucking his fingers isn't a bad thing.

Pacifiers reduce the chances of SIDS and also will give you some much needed peace if he likes the pacifier. I don't think there is any negatives of giving a pacifier except at about 12-18 months you need to take it away.

I think it all depends on the kid.

My experience... when i was pregnant with my 1st son I KNEW i was going to breastfeed only. Unfortunately for me, after he was born the hospital gave him a pacifier before I got a chance to breastfeed for the 1st time. For my son this caused A LOT of latching issues. For the first 2-3 weeks I got NO sleep and it was HELL trying to get my son to latch on. Thankfully I didn't give up. I was also told that instead of a pacifier to use my finger, pad side up, for him to suck on because it is the closest thing to a breast.

My son never had pacifiers after that. He started to suck his thumb a little while after, but broke himself of the habit before he was one. Basically he got a blister on his thumb and never sucked it again.

I think it can be hard to ween off of pacifiers but my situation was very different. And It can cause teeth problems but so can sucking fingers, thumbs etc

Both my kids used a pacifier and I will admit that I was originally opposed to using them. I am glad that I changed my mind! My cousins kids all sucked fingers/thumbs until they were 7 or 8. That can cause buck teeth far more than a pacifier. My kids were super content as newborns to suck away on a pacifier. It really kept them calm. I read somewhere that a study was done and the conclusion was that sucking a pacifier reduces chances SIDS. (It had something to do with the way they breathe)

With that said, both my kids were completely weened by the time they were 8 months old. I started to only give it to them for naps and then eventually took it away. It was a pretty smooth transition. You really don't want them to use it after around a year because they get super attached to it. It is true, you can always take the pacifier away, you can not take their fingers away.

I gave my son the pacifier in the hospital when he was 1 day old. It calmed him down and kept him quiet on car rides and in public places. I forgot what brand I had... they come in different sizes depending on age so just see what looks good to you to try. They have different types of nipples and your son may like one over the other. My son used the pacifier until he was about 2 1/2. At that time we had lost all but one of them and he took that one out in a movie theatre and threw it away. I bought him a new one and he didn't want it. He told me to take it back to the store! One of the benefits of kids who sleep with pacifiers is that it helps prevent SIDS. I think it's easier to get them to stop the pacifier than finger sucking because you can't take away their fingers! However, when you do take away the pacifier, you have to do it gradually - first take it away during the day but let him sleep with it. Then gradually stop using it to sleep.

Good luck! I hope this helps!

My son used a pacifier from a few weeks old until he was 2. When he was a newborn he would want to nurse for hours on end, so a pacifier was the only way I'd get a moment of peace. By the time he was 1 year old, he only needed it to fall asleep. It never made his teeth crooked, but after he turned 2, our dentist told us he need to stop using them soon. We went cold turkey and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be! We're expecting our second baby, and still undecided if we'll let this one have a pacifier, but it sure made things easier for us. Our favorite was the Sassy brand, because they are straight and easier to get in the baby's mouth.

I used one with my younger son, my oldest would not take one, and getting him to stop sucking his thumb was a huge struggle. The only time I never let my son use his pacy was when he was going to bed at night. The reason for that was because that is the hardest time later when you try to take it away. When it was time to ween it away, I went down to letting him have it in the morning if he woke only, and then it was gone. It was so easy because he had never learned to rely on it to fall asleep. I always put him to bed awake at the same time each night (from about 1 month old), and falling asleep on their own came natural to both boys since they had never learned bad habits.

Yes, a pacifier is good. It helps satisfy the sucking urge You did not say how old the boy is. Check with you Dr. and ask which one is safe.

for the first 2 months after my son was born a pacifier was a wonderful thing for me. he loved it i have nothing bad to say about a pacifier my son just decided one day he didn't want it no more.i say try a pacifier, thereare different kinds so you would have to find the one that works for your son.

My 5th child is 3 months old now. I have a special ortho pacifier for him but I only use it in "emergencies", like driving down the road and he's screaming, etc. None of my children used pacifiers but one daughter sucked her thumb until she was 8. If you do use one, just have him use one for the first 6 months. After that, he won't need it. They sell the ortho ones at places like Safeway, Fry's, Kroger's etc. It's only $4.

We always used the Nuk orthodontic pacifiers for my daughter. They are designed to not interfere with their teeth. Sucking on fingers/thumbs is bad for their teeth if they do it long-term.

My kids loved the binky (pacifier) and we used the Gerber Nuk. I would way rather have them use the binky and not their thumb because it's so much easier to get rid of. I only used it in emergencies, like when we were at dinner or somewhere where they had to be kind of quiet, and I would let them have it. It also helped them take longer naps. I wasn't one of those moms whose kids had it in 24/7. I can't stand that. Anyway, for both my kids, they were 22 mos. when I got rid of it. By then, they only had it for nap or night to help get to sleep. We told them they were big girls now, and we had to send them to binky land. They helped me throw them away. Some people send them away with balloons to the binky fairy. Anyway, the first few days were hard, but they got over it. So much easier than trying to have them stop sucking the thumb! And my kids are older now, and they didn't get ruined teeth from it.

Oh my Gosh... YES! It makes everyone's life so much easier! Babies have that natural instinct to suck...
With that being said, my daughter's 2 front teeth were a MESS from that darn thing... (looking back at the photos from that time are hilarious!!!) We finally gave it to baby Shamu when she was 2 1/2. Once we got rid of it, her front teeth grew in normally, and she is perfectly normal and beautiful now at 7!

We used a pacifier from the beginning. It helped my DD settle down for naps and at night. It was a huge help when we fly as the sucking helps release the pressure during take-off and landing. She is 30 months old and her teeth are nice and straight, we did talk to the dentist about the pacifier and she said that it was fine but that we would want to wean her soon. DD uses her pacifier to start her nap and bedtime and it usually is out of her mouth minutes after she falls asleep.

We use the Playtex Natural Nipple latex pacifier. The best thing to do is try a couple different types to see which one your son likes and then buy at least 6 of the one he likes (or more). You should change pacifiers after 3-4 months due to wear and tear. Plus if you lose one it's always nice to have backups!