1. WAIT A FEW WEEKS
Don’t introduce a pacifier until breastfeeding has started to work if you plan to breastfeed. To suck on a pacifier and to breastfeed are two different techniques, so the baby can get confused.
The general recommendation is to wait for a month after birth with introducing the pacifier if you plan to breastfeed.
2. BE PATIENT
Even when the baby is old enough for a pacifier according to the recommendation, there is no guarantee that the baby is ready. It may work immediately, after some time, or never. All kids are different.
Try every other day or so and not when your baby is crying hysterically.
You are much more likely to have luck with the introduction if you go slowly and think of the pacifier as a toy at first, not as something to immediately soothe your baby.
3. TRY WHEN YOUR BABY IS CONTENT
It is very tempting to try the pacifier in some desperate situation when your baby is crying at the top of their lungs.
Forget it!
No one, baby or adult, appreciates having an unknown object shoved into their mouth when upset. You can be sure that your baby will refuse the pacifier in such a situation!
Let your baby get used to the pacifier when he/she is a little bit tired or showing signs of wanting to suckle or even just as a fun interaction with you! But not when he or she is starving or too tired!
4. TAP IT
Some parents notice that their baby immediately starts to suck on the pacifier if they put it in his mouth and then tap it lightly with a fingernail.
Another trick is to shake the pacifier a little bit inside the baby’s mouth.
Both these tricks trigger the baby’s instinct to suckle.
5. MAKE IT TASTY
Another trick is to dip the dummy in breast milk or formula. This way, the pacifier will taste good at first and possibly make your baby at least accept keeping it in the mouth for a few seconds – may be enough to associate the dummy with a good feeling.
6. TRY DIFFERENT KINDS
So, which is the best pacifier? Well, the answer is that the best pacifier is the one that the baby likes!
There are all sorts of different pacifier styles and materials that you can offer your baby. He or she might not like the first one you choose.
All my children have preferred pacifiers made of latex or natural rubber, rather than silicone. I don’t know why, but maybe it is because they are slightly softer.
But there are really no baby pacifiers that are harmful to your baby’s teeth today. Just pick and choose the style you (and your baby) like.
Post time: Mar-27-2023
