pondering pacifiers

[chhotii]

Just very recently I have been giving Sophia a pacifier now and then. The word "pacifier" is somewhat a misnomer, I don't give it to her to shut her up; babies should have their needs attended to when they cry, and it doesn't work anyway. I have 3 motivations: 1) the hope that if she gets used to sucking on this kind of rubber nipple, she will start sucking on a bottle; 2) to frustrate her attempts to put things in her mouth that I let her play with with her hands but would prefer that she not mouth; and 3) she really likes the pacifier.

Lots of parents give babies pacifiers all the time, they've been doing it for a long time, and nobody alleges that it does any harm-- other than trouble getting a newborn started with breastfeeding, but we are way past that point now; and possibly crooked teeth, doubtless fixable with braces. Even Dr. Sears, the biggest champion of doing things the hard way to make parenting a more "natural" experience, doesn't seem to object to pacifiers.

Queries in my mind, though:

1. If a baby sucks on a pacifier all day, when do they get to babble? How are they going to practice speech sounds?

2. So babies put things into their mouths to learn about textures and 3D shapes and the properties of materials, I guess. Is anything lost when they can't do that? Like, do babies with pacifiers not grow up to be materials engineers?

3. Babies swallow a lot of air when sucking on pacifiers. Sophia seems old enough to burp herself, but this is generally problematic for babies. Wouldn't pacifiers lead to a crankier baby overall because of the gas?

Comments

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Everything I've ever seen of babies is that they will feel perfectly free to spit them out to babble, cry, or whatever they like at any time. :)

[gingicat]

And lose them in all sorts of interesting places. :)

[aelf.livejournal.com]

1. If a baby sucks on a pacifier all day, when do they get to babble? How are they going to practice speech sounds?

Babies take pacifiers in and out. Most babies will not suck constantly, even if it seems like it. One of the biggest complaints pacifier-using parents have is how often the silly things get lost. If you're worried, you can limit the pacifier use. Some people take away pacifiers entirely the same time they take away bottles, around the first birthday.

2. So babies put things into their mouths to learn about textures and 3D shapes and the properties of materials, I guess. Is anything lost when they can't do that? Like, do babies with pacifiers not grow up to be materials engineers?

But they can do that. If there's something they want in their mouth, they spit out the pacifier. You're not cementing the pacifier in there, the baby'll decide when to replace it with something dirty or dangerous. :)

3. Babies swallow a lot of air when sucking on pacifiers. Sophia seems old enough to burp herself, but this is generally problematic for babies. Wouldn't pacifiers lead to a crankier baby overall because of the gas?

Gas only leads to cranky babies when the baby can't expell the gas. As long as the baby can burp or pass gas effectively, you shouldn't have a problem.

Remember, you aren't forcing your child to use the pacifier, you're providing a sucking &/or soothing tool that makes both you and your child happy. Your child won't use the pacifier unless *she* wants to. (Go ahead, try and make a baby who doesn't want one keep one in her mouth. :) ) If you worry she's using the pacifier "too much" then limit the use (bed time, nap time, times that tend to be fussy / stressful), although really I wouldn't worry about that. Make sure you have plenty of extra pacifiers, and remember that they're *excellent* for teething (we kept a few in the freezer for my daughter to chew on, she never accepted a pacifier as a sucking device).

When we were having trouble getting our daughter to use a bottle, we tried a sippy cup. Avent makes soft spout sippy cups that are great for babies (Zoe was a pro with hers by around 3 months, IIRC).