Baby Pacifier -
Should It Be Used?

This is perhaps a common question asked by mothers to be. I have two children; my first went on the baby pacifier while my second went without. It was a deliberate choice not to use the pacifier for my second child.

My husband and I decided on using a baby pacifier for my first child mainly because she cried quite a lot. It is the main declared reason why most mothers resort to using one. We didn't want to disturb our neighbours too much especially at night and thought that a baby pacifier would help, and it did. However, the unsaid truth is our inability (fear) and frustration of not being able to stop our baby from crying.

At first we planned on limiting its use but we never did because our little girl would cry without it. Soon enough, it became an addiction or habit, she couldn't sleep without it.

That wasn't our only problem, the bigger problem with using a baby pacifier was weaning her off it, not to mention that it affected the alignment of her front teeth. We didn't manage to wean her off the pacifier until she was over 2.5 years old.

With our son, we decided against the baby pacifier because of our experience with our daughter. We was somewhat more patient and tolerant towards his crying because we were determined not to give him the baby pacifier. Our patience paid off, after several weeks we were able to pacify him without the pacifier.

If you plan against using a baby pacifier, focus on how to reduce a baby's crying and there are several ways you can achieve that. In Why Babies Cry - Four Preventive Things You Can Do, it list suggested things you can do to reduce your baby's crying. A baby pacifier is not the only way to stop and comfort a crying baby. You will never be able to stop a baby from crying completely, that would be abnormal.
 

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