Neither of my two girls have been very keen on a pacifier, but I've really been working with my newborn to get her to take one. I read that they now recommend babies use pacifiers to help prevent SIDS. She's really not into it though.

Do you use one? Does anyone have any tips on getting her to take it? Thanks.

It is probably best to wait until your newborn is about one month old before you introduce a pacifier, especially if she is breastfeeding, so as not to interfere with herfeedings. And try not to let your baby learn to fall asleep with a pacifier, because if she does and it later falls out of her mouth and she wakes up, she will probably cry until you put it back in her mouth.

My son has taken a pacifier since day one. They actually gave him one in the hospital and he has used one ever since. It never interfered with his breastfeeding (thank goodness, because I've heard that it can), and he only really wants it when he gets a little tired or cranky. My pediatrican also told me that it is fine to let him sleep with it since babies who use a pacifier when sleeping are at less risk for SIDS. Once he's fast asleep and it falls out of his mouth, he usually doesn't cry for us, he just finds his hand and sucks on that until he falls back asleep.

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Tigriz
Mom to Alex - 1/21/06

My first son took a pacifier right away and stuck with it far too long - until about 2 years old. My second son wanted nothing to do with it though I tried half-heartedly to get him to take it. He always sucked on his tongue.

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Umbilical Cord Blood Storage | Breastfeeding Advice and Information

I gave my daughter a pacifier after a couple of days, and yes, letting her sleep with it was a big problem as I swear we were always going back up to her room to put it back in her mouth. Hope not to do that, if we can hopefully have a second one. However, we have had her off it since she was about 8 or 9 months old. It was a lot easier to get her off it than I thought.

I have never tried putting a pacifier in the mouth of my kids when they were still a baby. We were taught that pacifiers can change the form of a baby's mouth and so, to prevent it, we never had any. It wasn't a big struggle especially if the baby is breastfeeding.

My first two sons took pacifiers in the hospital. Sometimes, to entice them to take them, we dipped the end in a little syrup or drink to give it flavor. This could be especially helpful when they were very tired or hungry and we were in the car.
My third son REFUSES to take one. We've tried the syrup. We've tried the different kinds. Nothing. He seems offended that we even offer it. So I've given up.

Well my son took to a pacifier right away, but I didn't let him have it too much until we got the breastfeeding thing down. He had it until he was 2 and was nice for settling him down or making him quiet when we were in church or something like that. My daughter on the other hand spit hers out. She didn't want it. It's crazy how one child will take to it and the other won't. The nice thing about her not having one is not having to take her off of it. Sometimes I had wished she had it though because she was just loud and it was a little harder to calm her down, but we got through it.

I had not heard that about pacifiers and SIDS. I don't know if pacifiers are good for it or not but my son never wanted a pacifier. My neices on the other hand loved their pacifiers. I guess it's an individual choice. Even babies know what they want and what they don't like.

My son also used a pacifier from day one. He was a preemie and the ICU nurses introduced it immediately. We never had troubles with it interferring wit hfeedings or nap times. My son found it to be a real comfort. Later, we were able to wean him down to just nap times and bedtimes, so he wasn't walking around during the day with it. I felt it was much better than thumb sucking as I could take it away from him when I wanted, whereas his thumb was always there!