Did you use a soother/pacifier for your baby(s)?

I was reading the thread about foaklore type tales...and it got me thinking about pacifiers. With our first daughter we used a pacifier for off and on again at bedtime and at naps. We never used it while out of the house.

Now with our second daughter (now 1) we have never given her a soother. I wanted too, but my wife said that she didn't want to, because of some things she read.

Basically the soother ends up being used for the parents benefit and not for the child. You see it all the time...I see kids that have to be at least 3 years old...or maybe even older with soothers in their mouth!

Personally I'm glad that my wife decided not to use the soother. Our second daughter (my wife taught her how to sooth her self with her thumb and also to put herself to sleep so she goes to bed awake with a "lovie" (small plush cat)) and she has slept through the night since she was about 8 weeks old. My wife for the first 6 months would but her to bed at 8:00pm and then wake her up at 11:00-11:30pm to fed her quick and then put her back to bed. She would wake up around 6:00-7:00am. From about 6 months old she has consistantly slept through the night from 6:30-7:00pm until 6:30-7:30am.

After this expereice compared to our first child...I would say the number one thing is too have a consistent routine...babies thrive on routine!!!

Anyways, how do you feel about soothers and there effectivness/necessity and have you used them for your children?

By 12 months our daughter refused a soother .We only used it ocasionaly at bed time or nap time.

We rarely use the pacifier.
Maybe just to interrupt a cry.
We find our baby doesn't take to the soother quickly so we end up trying other methods to sooth her.

A friend uses a small ziploc container with rice in it as a white noise maker.
You can also pat the bum with it to sooth the baby. Works wonders for their boy. I just started using it but it doesn't work that well yet.

Tried to use it. Daughter didn't like it. She doesn't like the bottle either.

She's probably too young to be hitting the bottle

(couldn't resist)

I'd say that once in a while is ok but when I see kids over 1 - 2 years old with a pacifier I'm like

We didn't use it at all... we have an 18 month old and an 8 week old...

Have seen that some kids have weird jaw shapes due to the use of pacifiers...

Given the choice between a pacifer and a thumb, I'd choose the pacifer. A pacifier can be easily taken away, a thumb can't. For those with thumbsuckers be prepared for orthodontist bills in the future. If they are still sucking their thumbs around age 3/4 get them into an orthodontist to prevent future structural damage. Been there and doing that!

With that said, our boys both used pacifiers but our daughter wouldn't touch one (or a bottle) and was sucking her own thumb within a hr of birth. Pacifiers can be a means to self-soothing which isn't a bad thing in itself. But there are definitely limits, it's just not appropriate to see a 5 yr old walking around with one stuck in their mouth.

Voted: Yes but rarely.

I agree that I prefer the pacifier over the thumb...
My son uses his when he goes to bed or when his teeth/gums hurt and he wants to chew.

Originally Posted by CSK'sMom

Given the choice between a pacifer and a thumb, I'd choose the pacifer. A pacifier can be easily taken away, a thumb can't. For those with thumbsuckers be prepared for orthodontist bills in the future. If they are still sucking their thumbs around age 3/4 get them into an orthodontist to prevent future structural damage. Been there and doing that!

With that said, our boys both used pacifiers but our daughter wouldn't touch one (or a bottle) and was sucking her own thumb within a hr of birth. Pacifiers can be a means to self-soothing which isn't a bad thing in itself. But there are definitely limits, it's just not appropriate to see a 5 yr old walking around with one stuck in their mouth.

Daughter doesn't suck her thumb either. She does put her finger in her mouth when she's hungry. But that's usually accompanied by yelling at mommy demanding food.

Originally Posted by Shaf

...Have seen that some kids have weird jaw shapes due to the use of pacifiers...

Where did you see that? I have never heard of anything like that...

My son had one. We tried the silicone ones, but he couldn't keep them in his mouth, and they'd shoot across the room, so we just had to keep a close eye on the rubber ones, and replace them when they started to wear down a bit.

My daughter never used one. She has always had her two teddy bears to comfort her. Their names are "Bear" and "Other Bear" - I think that's great. We didn't realize she had named them that until one day we realized she kept referring to the little boy bear as "Other Bear". Only then did it dawn on us that they were names.

Originally Posted by patrob

Where did you see that? I have never heard of anything like that...

Originally Posted by CSK'sMom

Given the choice between a pacifer and a thumb, I'd choose the pacifer. A pacifier can be easily taken away, a thumb can't. For those with thumbsuckers be prepared for orthodontist bills in the future. If they are still sucking their thumbs around age 3/4 get them into an orthodontist to prevent future structural damage. Been there and doing that!

With that said, our boys both used pacifiers but our daughter wouldn't touch one (or a bottle) and was sucking her own thumb within a hr of birth. Pacifiers can be a means to self-soothing which isn't a bad thing in itself. But there are definitely limits, it's just not appropriate to see a 5 yr old walking around with one stuck in their mouth.

It's not just me... the above poster has had first hand experience... maybe i phrased it wrong... it's not really the jaw but the teeth.......

We tried with our first, but he would just chew it and spit it out. We never planned to use one, but you get desperate sometimes. Eventually he learned to soothe by thumbsucking, and after a year or so, he started just doing that only when really tired or cranky. Now at 21 mo, we know that if the thumb goes in, he's already well past bedtime!

Our second is only 6 days old, so no idea on him yet!

Originally Posted by Shaf

It's not just me... the above poster has had first hand experience... maybe i phrased it wrong... it's not really the jaw but the teeth.......

The jaw no....but the teeth yes. It will affect their teeth in growth.

Luckily my son never used a pacifer nor suck his thumb.