pacifier use in infants

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My 4 month old takes the pacifier before naps and bedtime. Is this a bad habit to have even for sleep time only?

If i dont get rid of it now, is it going to bite me later or can i hope that she will eventually decide herself when to wean off of it?

If i should wean, how can i do it with minimal fussiness?

Is it harmful in some way to her teeth or gums? (will also ask her ped about this at the next appt inshaAllah).

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i also hve the same question......

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i wish aariz would take the pacifier in between feeds and when he gets up at night time... he spits it out.. i have a whole box full to the brim of every kind of pacifier.

ira.. i asked my doc and she said that pacifier use should be toned down to no use at all when the child has got some teeth out.
its good during teething... its just when the teeth have popped out that its not good.

she also said that its not a good technique to get the child accustomed to falling asleep a certain way cuz then they expect it always.. like aariz was so used to falling asleep with the bottle at night that he expects it now.. so i have started to feed him.. he plays around and then when he wants to sleep i just pat him to sleep with no feeder. it was hard at first. so she said its actually good that he doesnt accept the pacifier cuz u spend a good amt of time tryin to get them to take it and then when they are a bit older u spend time tryin to get them to stop taking it :D

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i never give my daughter pacifier..so if u start kids with pacifeir they would want it

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in my childbirth class, they did not recommend giving pacifier at all...follow methods similar to what Khawa said, it's hard to get rid of the habit once it starts...so they say. In any case, if you do give it sometimes, I have seen pacifiers that say they are approved by orthodontists for teeth...so it shouldnt be so bad.

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There are mixed feelings about this. Since babies find comfort in sucking, a lot of people recommend it, so that they don't have to be a human pacifier, or have the baby suck on a bottle all the time. As a baby, i was addicted to the pacifier, and my mom had a tough time cuz I'd throw it and then cry bloody murder. My mom scared me off so much that I had decided not to use the pacifier for Izzah. A few times (during the first month or so), I did give it to her to calm her down. It was a combination of me not wanting to give it, and Izzah not being all that interested in it, that it didn't work out. In the later months, even when I tried, she didn't know what to do with it and would spit it out.

Now, after all these months, I've realized it wouldn't have been that bad if I'd used the pacifier for naps or sleep time. Babies need to be calm and soothed to be able to sleep, and if a pacifier is what they need, I don't see a problem. As long as it's not stuck on her face 24/7, it should be ok.

Second, I don't think it would be THAT hard to get rid of it when the time comes. My nephew was completely addicted to it up until he was a little over 1. My sis and bro in law cut the tip of the pacifier, and voila, within a day or two, he had no interest in it. Even if he cried wanting the pacifier, they'd give it to him. He'd "suck" on it for a few seconds, and just throw it away. :D

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I didn't give up my pacifier until well past the age of 2.
Was it insecurity or a habit?? I don't know. And I don't think my parents knew any better.

Hearing about how I would cause all hell if I didn't have it scared me away from giving it to Noor.

I've seen many kids addicted to it and many that have had a bad impact on their teeth because of it.

If someone can outline more benefits than disadvantages I would change my position on it otherwise I am not in favor.

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Thank you ladies. It seems to be the general consensus that its not good for the child, period. Although like Seebea said, mine only takes it for naps and bed times, not in between. I will also ask her ped at the next appt for her view on this but meanwhile can someone share ways to wean her off of it? How else can i soothe her for naptimes? I tried once and it was the most horrible 30 minutes ever of constant crying adn once i gave in and gave it back to her, she fell asleep within seconds of exhaustion. I felt horrible afterwards.

Time Pass-August 2013
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Well I was her human pacifier, if you know what I mean ;)
After that she didn't like the rubber thing and never took it.

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I would NEVER recommend a pacifier for babies.. I totally hate the idea actually...
I strongly stood against my MIL for giving my son pacifier. Never even thought of using it for the second one as well, halanke I was alone at that time and lots of people gave me mashwaras to have her addicted to pacifier. I mean okay babies can be cranky at times but I dealt with it.. neither of my kids had any habits of sucking thumbs or pacifier. Thank God!

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Yar Ira. my mashwara to you would be BE STRONG.. she'll cry and cry.. but if she doesnt get it she'll get used to sleeping without having a pacifier. Trust me, its hardly going to be 3 days she'll adjust.
She cries because she is used to sleeping with it.. When she cries just calm her down with loud shhhhhhhhhhhhh sound in her ears.. when she calms down and isnt sleeping .. try to sing her a lori or something.

But just get rid of that thing

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ira.. like i said.. aariz was used to sleeping with the bottle in his mouth. he would take his feed, play for half an hour and get groggy with sleep... but wouldnt sleep until i gave him more milk.. BUT, he wouldnt drink it.. everytime it was the same thing, just take a few sucks and then fall asleep. but he still wanted it.

so i started to give him just an oz cuz i knew it was not gonna get finished. then i thought i would give him a pacifier cuz he isnt hungry or anything, just wants something to suck on.. WRONG. he hated the pacifier, he hated me giving him water instead.. he wanted his milk bottle.. i found it really really stupid .. bhai demand milk if u are hungry and wanna drink it..

so then i made him go cold turkey.. it was HELL. he would cry, suck on his hands.. squash them together as if begging... suck on the bedsheet and then cry cuz it wasnt his bottle.. he would suck on anything and continue crying .. the first day i gave in when i couldnt handle the hand squashing.. but the next day i got strong. he cried and cried.. BUT... he got used to it very fast.. i think i started it in the morning and by nighttime, he was ok not getting anything to help him fall asleep..

all i did was hold him close to me in the breastfeeding hold.. and swing him or rock him with me back and forth.. and sing anyting to him.. i remember by the end of the day i was so tired of typical loris that i made up a song bout how much i hate u baby and he smiled back at me :D hehehe...

but ya... gotta be strong.. its so so worth it.. for the baby and for the mommy. mashallah he can sleep by himself now with some hand sucking which he can knock himself out with..

has kanzah started to notice her hands yet? she may like sucking on them .. shove them in her mouth.. tahts what i did with aariz. he loves them now

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I just wanted to come back and update you guys. This is day 5 for my DD without her pacifier. I had been thinking of weaning her and couldnt find the courage. And over the weekend it just so happened that we were putting her to sleep and her paci was in the other room. We didnt wnat to go get it and she went to sleep without it. We havent looked back since. I think since she would only take it before nap and bedtime, it wasnt so bad a shock for her. I nurse her before bed time a bit just to comfort her but she goes to sleep without anything in her mouth. I have also introduced a lovey to her and even though she isnt attached to it yet, she does suck on it a bit and hugs it to sleep and that is fine by me.

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At least you can take it away when you have to. It’s better that than have your child suck its thumb into its teens.

Not that I did that of course. :halo:

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^ lol! of course not :p

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my son used the pacifier..
i would give it to him during the night sometime and wnehever he was being fussy
it was very easy to get him out of the habit..
i just cut the top of the nipple and i guess he didnt likethat and just stoped asking for it

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One of my sisters used a dummy till she was 4!!! She was a nightmare if she didnt have it. One of my younger uncles used to put salt on it as a technique to get her to stop using it...didnt work!

I think when she went to Pakistani my Nani ma sorted her out. I have no idea how.

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lol at salt on your sis's paci, Milly. She probably got addicted to salty stuff then :D

Sahar, thats the idea behind a lovey i think that she can take it wherever and just in general comfort herself with it. She tried to put the paci in her mouth herself too when she was awake but not during hte night when i had to replug it every hour or so. It got old pretty fast.

Jhanjariya: how old was yoru son when you cut the tip of his paci? I think my DD is too young for that since i tried it and it didnt work. Cold turkey quitting worked better although i never thought it would. Really, i am amazed at how easy it was.

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pacifiers are prohibited medically.