Poll Results: Pacifiers

 

Our last poll was on pacifiers. For the full answers, see this post. Here are the results.

 

  1. Did/does your child use a pacifier?
    1. Yes: 14
    2. No: 4
  2. What age did you start using a pacifier?
    1. Birth-1 Week: 7
    2. 2-4 weeks: 6
    3. 3 Months: 1
    4. N/A: 4
  3. Do you think the pacifier ever interfered with breastfeeding or bottle feeding?
    1. Yes: 2
    2. No: 12
    3. N/A: 4
  4. Do you think the pacifier ever interfered with sleep?
    1. Yes: 7
    2. No: 6
    3. Unknown: 1
    4. N/A: 4
  5. If it did interfere with sleep, how did you solve that?
    1. N/A: 9
    2. Stop Using: 3
    3. Put More in Crib: 1
    4. Glow in the Dark Pacifier: 1
    5. Try to encourage self-soothing by letting him cry a bit. Sometimes we would go in and reinsert it. He then got old enough to find the paci and reinsert it himself. That was a huge relief!
  6. Did you have any “rules” for pacifier use (for example, how often would you reinsert it, was it allowed out of the bed, etc.)? If so, what were they?
    1. No: 3
    2. N/A: 4
    3. Allowed only in bed, in church, the carseat if needed, and in stressful situations. I would reinsert as much as needed.
    4. Not until 18 months, then limited to carseat/bed unless teething.
    5.  I would only go back and reinsert the paci one time when he was too little to do it himself. I felt he had to learn to self soothe without the paci. When he was an infant it was definitely used more- now we only allow it at naps and at night. 
    6. We spent the summer at a university for summer classes and it was not a situation where you can have a crying baby. So I started using the pacifier when we got there (3 months old). We used it to put her to sleep and in the middle of naps. When we left she was 5 months and I could totally see a huge sleep problem developing. So we ditched the paci. 
    7. I used it during her colicky times and witching hour only.
    8. Basically only during our pre-sleep routine (story, song, pray, kiss), and at church when we wanted to encourage him to stay quiet.
    9. I don’t recall reinserting really being an issue because she learned to reinsert it before she was five months old. We only allowed binkies for sleep times and in the car, with occasional other exceptions like to help keep her quiet in church or to help with pressure changes during airplane flights.
    10. Yes, as child got past 15 mo we reduced the use to car and nap/bedtime only.
    11. Only for nap/sleep and car rides or at dr office.
    12. We would try to only reinsert twice during the same sleep period. We also would not retrieve paci if it was thrown out of the crib. He was allowed to use it outside of the crib, but we tried to hide it and only use it if needed. Jake wanted it if he saw it, so we really wanted to discourage use if possible.
    13. Only allowed in car and bed, then just bed, 
    14. We tried to mostly limit the pacifier to naps & bedtime, even as a small infant. We became more strict with that “rule” around 6 months. We also let her have it on trips, during stressful situations, and while sick/teething. We reinserted the pacifier as much as needed before 5/6 months and then after that, if it fell out (during sleep), it fell out. She learned to sleep without it.
  7. At what age did you wean the pacifier?
    1. Not Yet: 5
    2. 1 Month: 1
    3. 3 Months:2
    4. 5 Months: 1
    5. 6 Months: 1
    6. 1 Year: 2
    7. 15 Months: 1
    8. 18 Months: 1
    9. 21 Months: 1
    10. N/A: 4
  8. How did you wean the pacifier?
    1. N/A: 9
    2. Cold Turkey: 7
    3. CIO: 1
    4. Wean slowly: 2
    5.  At about 6 months when we were sleep training she ended up not really using the pacifier any longer. We were no longer swaddling her with her arms wrapped up, and for some reason she was able to go without it. We had been rocking her with the pacifier in her mouth, but when we just put her down and let her fall asleep on her own, she didn’t seem to mind not having it.
  9. How did your child handle weaning?
    1. N/A: 7
    2. Great!: 4
    3. Slept well after initial adjustment: 3
    4. Good, but developed other habits: 1
    5. Took a long time to get over it: 1
  10. Any pacifier tips?
    1. I think we got along great without them with both kids! I loved the simplicity of not using them as well. My first did have a high need to suck but that passed by 6 months. 
    2. Just highly recommend the Wubbanub pacis as they have worked so well for us.
    3. Just highly recommend the Wubbanub pacis as they have worked so well for us.
    4. I think pacifiers are great. My first 3 kids just didn’t seem to want one. But, I think it helps kids fall asleep a lot more easily, and they need a soothing device at times. But, I agree that for many, weaning from the pacifier is quite a trial!
    5. I am obviously not a paci fan… anyone I know that uses them has sleep issues wih their kids and I experienced it myself. They can come in handy in some situations,but I would weigh the pros & cons carefully. 
    6. Pacifiers are definitely handy and I wanted this baby to take one for those times when you just really need one, but when having to choose between breastfeeding and pacifiers (which I had to in the case of this baby), I mean, that’s not even a real choice to me 🙂
    7. I would say only try to use it when absolutely necessary. I would advise against just letting them have it all day whenever. 
    8. I am not anti-pacifier because I do think some kids genuinely need more oral stimulation, but I also don’t like it when kids have them in their mouths ALL. THE. TIME. because binkies can delay verbal skills and create dental problems in older babies/toddlers. The dental concerns were the main reason that I wanted to be done by about a year and a half.
    9. Using a pacifier with a child is a decision that can be based on many factors. I think it can be appropriate to use them.
    10. Get ones that glow in the dark if you plan to use them overnight so you don’t have to get out of bed. Set rules for when you want them to have it. If they see it, they will want it.
    11. Have more than you think you will need. We tried to stick with one paci per day, but sometimes they get lost or dirty. We would sterilize the pacis with the bottles at the end of the day. Also have paci wipes for those occasions when you don’t have quick access to a clean paci (ie: restaurants). 
    12. Try to wean sooner rather than later. We did not push taking it away at an arbitrary age, but instead used a natural event (staying with her grandparents, where she rarely used her pacifier during visits) to really start the process. I have friends with 2 & 3 year olds that are absolutely hooked on their pacifiers and weaning them is going to be a big struggle.
    13.  I would wait until 1-2 weeks after birth if possible. I learned after-the-fact that sucking a pacifier burns calories/consumes energy and my little one had trouble nursing. I think if I had nursed instead of letting her have the paci, we would have had more success feeding. But she would wear herself out with the pacifier during sleep and be too tired to nurse (so I had to pump & bottlefeed).
    14.  don’t start it!
  11. Would you use a pacifier again?
    1. Yes: 6
    2. No: 2
    3. Maybe: 6
    4. N/A: 1

See Also:

1 thought on “Poll Results: Pacifiers”

  1. What really needed to be asked is, HOW do you get a baby to take a paci? We tried with all three of ours and they wouldn't, but they seem so handy to me for things like car trips, church, etc!!

    Reply

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