Pacifiers

     Pacifiers can be very helpful for parents with young infants and they won’t become a problem if they are used correctly. Babies love to suck and, along with being the way babies obtain food, sucking is a normal, self-quieting behavior. Between birth and six months of age, parents can allow the baby to have a pacifier anytime he wants to have it, day or night. Don’t worry about pacifier size or shape and don’t worry about the baby’s teeth – there aren’t many. The first six months of life is a very difficult time of life for infants and parents so anything that gives a little comfort and quiet is good. Use the pacifier as much as you want to.  In fact, there is some evidence that infants who use pacifiers have a slightly decreased risk of Sudden Infant Death, although we don’t know why. At six months of age, the infant is chewing on anything that comes within a foot of his mouth.  This is the time to start only using the pacifier when the baby is tired and trying to go to sleep.  The simple rule is that, after six months of age, the pacifier never comes out of the crib. The baby can use it for naps or nighttime to fall asleep, but never during the day.  Parents can use the pacifier strap to attach a small teething ring to the baby’s shirt during the day (but remove it when the baby sleeps).  The child will happily chew on the teething ring, his fingers and everything else and never miss the pacifier.  The pacifier can stay in the crib for as long as the child wants to use it. It falls out of the infant’s mouth soon after falling asleep and will never cause a problem. Never taking the pacifier out of the crib is also an effective way to break a child of the pacifier habit if he has been allowed to use it during the day, but why get into trouble in the first place? After six months of age, when the baby comes out of the crib, the pacifier disappears and to do all pacifier problems.