The Pacifier As A Sleep Training Tool: How To Use At Naps
The pacifier is a wonderful sleep training tool when used effectively.
First, I never ever offer my baby the pacifier at the start of sleep time.
My babies learn from early ages how to self soothe and fall asleep on their own without help from Mommy or a pacifier sleep prop.
When the baby wakes up before nap time is over I wait.
Its important to let the baby fuss a little bit as they often will settle back to sleep on their own and continue their sleep cycle.
If they continue to cry and seem unable to settle I do everything possible to get them back to sleep.
First I will keep them in the crib but gently pat them and say shhh.
If that doesnt soothe them back to sleep I will pick them up and offer comfort then lay them back down in the crib.
If that still doesnt work I will move them to a swing or bouncer. FINALLY, if NONE of the other methods help them fall back to sleep, I will offer the pacifier as part of sleep training.
The pacifier may help give them the comfort they need in order to fall back to sleep for the remainder of their nap. This is extremely helpful during the 4 month sleep regression.
Most naps, the baby will sleep solidly for the entire nap.
And most of the time, if they do wake, then one of the earlier methods will help them get back to sleep.
Should I Let My Baby Fall Asleep With A Pacifier Or Bottle
The short answer is, no, probably not.
Youre probably not likely to relax yourself to sleep with a handful for popcorn still in your mouth for one thing, that would be a choking hazard for you. But for many babies, the idea of falling asleep mid-midnight-snack is more soothing than counting any number of sheep, and for others, pretending to munch by sucking on a pacifier is even more sleep-inducing than that. Getting stubborn babies to sleep is the upside of sending them off to be with a pacifier or bottle, but there are also downsides for parents to weigh before making a decision about whether or not these particular props make it into the all-important bedtime routine.
Reasons to beware the bedtime bottle
The biggest danger of a bottle at bedtime is the effect it can have on a childs growing teeth as soon as the first tooth starts to peek out from her gums, its vulnerable to tooth decay, and tooth decay in baby teeth can pass the infection on to adult teeth. When babies fall asleep drinking milk, the milk pools around their newly-grown teeth, and the sugars in the milk start to eat away at the enamel and cause decay.
Its true that in babies older than 6 months, its possible to offer water instead of milk at bedtime, but not all babies will accept water in a bottle, and, more than that, bottles can also impact the positioning of teeth, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children wean off of bottles entirely around a year old.
Helping Your Newborn Sleep
Newborns follow their own schedule. Over the next couple of weeks to months, you and your baby will begin to settle into a routine.
It may take a few weeks for your baby’s brain to know the difference between night and day. Unfortunately, there are no tricks to speed this up, but it helps to keep things quiet and calm during middle-of-the-night feedings and diaper changes. Try to keep the lights low and resist the urge to play with or talk to your baby. This will send the message that nighttime is for sleeping. If possible, let your baby fall asleep in the crib at night so your little one learns that it’s the place for sleep.
Don’t try to keep your baby up during the day in the hopes that he or she will sleep better at night. Overly tired infants often have more trouble sleeping at night than those who’ve had enough sleep during the day.
If your newborn is fussy it’s OK to rock, cuddle, and sing as your baby settles down. Swaddling can also help to soothe a crying baby. For the first months of your baby’s life, “spoiling” is definitely not a problem.
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What Age To Take The Binky Away
I asked my kids dentist and doctor what the appropriate age for taking away the pacifier was.
- Our pediatrician said that anywhere between 2-3 years of age was getting to be too old for a kid to have a pacifier. However, he doesnt start worrying until closer to 3-4.
- Our pediatric dentist said that he doesnt have a problem with pacifiers until a child is 3 years old. Then, he starts seeing pacifier-related tooth problems. So he recommends taking a pacifier away before 3 years of age.
Personally, we chose 2 years old to make the transition. Each of our kids graduated from pacifiers before or on their second birthdays. Our oldest was done by about 18 months and it was his choice! Our other kids had to graduate from pacifiers and we threw them away to remove the temptation.
Can You Give A Pacifier During Naps
Giving a pacifier during naps will also be your decision. If done safely, its both appropriate and fine.
We gave our kids their pacifiers during naptimes it made naptimes a lot better. In fact, the worst naptimes were the ones where we couldnt find a pacifier. In those instances, naps became huge problems with no actual sleeping!
Again, though, its going to be up to you to create and stick to whatever your binky-at-naptime rule is.
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What Are The Pros And Cons Of Pacifiers
There are certainly clear advantages and disadvantages to to using a pacifier. Ultimately, its up to you to decide if you will use a pacifier. The following list can help you make a more informed decision.
What are the pros for using a pacifier?
What are the disadvantages of using a pacifier?
Key Takeaway: Its up to you as a parent whether or not to give your child a pacifier. There is no clear right or wrong answer. Follow your instincts, watch and listen to the needs of your babyand yourself.
How Do I Wean My Baby From A Pacifier
Weaning your baby from using a pacifier can be a tough choice. After all, it probably helps her calm down at sleep times or even just generally throughout the day. Using a pacifier can also protect against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in young babies. But sometimes it makes sense to wean a pacifier. Perhaps she is over-reliant on it to soothe herself throughout the day, her pediatrician has expressed concern that she is using it too much, or you simply would prefer that she did not use it anymore. In any case, here are a few steps to wean a pacifier.
First, if your little one is using it throughout the day and at sleep times, limit her pacifier use to just sleep times. Give it to her only for the bedtime and naptime routines. Second, once she is used to only having it around sleep times, work on weaning her pacifier only at bedtime having her fall asleep without it. For the first week or so, continue to give it to her during the night if she wakes. Once she has the hang of falling asleep without it at bedtime, shell start to need it less and less in the middle of the night. Finally, stop giving it to her at naptimes. By the time she is used to not having it at bedtime, it will probably be easier for her to give it up for naps, too.
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How To Break Babys Habit Of Using Mom As Pacifier
I know very well how tough it can be to become a human pacifier for your baby! Maybe it can be good for you to know that at least during the first four months, a babys sucking reflex is very strong, and probably most breastfeeding moms feel like human pacifiers at some point during this time.
Not all babies accept real pacifiers ever! That said, there ARE tricks to use to help your baby accept the pacifier, and youll find six tips to try here.
Now, there are a few things you can do to improve the situation. The most important one is to help your baby break the feeding-sleep association. You can do this in two ways the tougher and the more gentle.
How Should Babies Sleep
During the first weeks of a baby’s life, some parents choose to room-share. Room-sharing is when you place your baby’s crib, portable crib, play yard, or bassinet in your own bedroom instead of in a separate nursery. This keeps baby nearby and helps with feeding, comforting, and monitoring at night. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing without bed-sharing.
While room-sharing is safe, putting your infant to sleep in bed with you is not.Bed-sharing increases the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths.
Follow these recommendations for a safe sleep environment for your little one:
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Can Babies Sleep With A Pacifier
Yes, you can safely give your baby a pacifier at bedtime. To make it as safe as possible, though, make sure to follow these guidelines:
- DONT attach a string to the pacifier as this can present a strangling risk.
- DONT give your baby a pacifier at night while he or she is learning how to breastfeed.
- Make sure to keep the pacifier clean using hot water to disinfect.
- Use the right size of pacifier for your childs age.
- DONT coat the pacifier with anything.
- Only use 1-piece pacifiers.
- Ensure the pacifier has breathing holes in the guard.
Baby Using Breast As Pacifier: 2 Efficient Ways To Stop It
- Post last modified:September 29, 2021
Baby using breast as pacifier a common situation, and natural in many ways. But what if youd want to break that habit? Lets take a look at different ways to improve the situation.
Moms Question:How can I stop my baby from using my breast as a pacifier to fall asleep? I breastfeed and formula feed. Please do not just say try a pacifier because I do and he has a hard time putting and keeping it in his mouth.
Thank you, Heidi
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The Pacifier As A Sleep Tool: Not A Prop
When used in these ways, the pacifier is a sleep training tool and never becomes a sleep prop.
The baby never needs the binky in order to sleep.
It is simply a tool in my parenting toolbox to help during moments when my baby cant settle themselves, when Im troubleshooting a sleep problem, to see if the baby is truly hungry or to help them sleep for their full nap and through the night.
Typically a three month old baby is fully sleeping through the night and solid for their naps and very rarely is the pacifier ever used again.
There is no need to wean from the pacifier, no need to go cold turkey, no dealing with a two year old who is dummie obsessed.
The baby just sleeps. The baby falls asleep. The baby stays asleep.
They sleep solid, they dont wake early, and therefore they dont use the pacifier either!
They are getting that deep sleep and high-quality sleep we all really want!
Its never something they miss as it wasnt ever something they used on a regular enough basis to truly desire or crave.
The pacifier can easily become a sleep prop but by restricting the use to only middle of the night or middle of nap wakeups it can be a genius sleeping tool!
Baby sleep can be a huge struggle for mamas but with a solid plan in place and helpful tools in your parenting toolbox, your baby will sleep better and longer at all months of ageand so will you.
Weaning From The Pacifier The Slow And Steady Method
If your baby is around four to six months of age , or if your baby is older and tends to need a more gradual approach when introducing changes to routines, youll want to take a slow and steady road to pacifier-free sleep.
Depending on your baby and your personal level of patience, this process can take a couple of weeks or even a month to execute.
Its important to be consistent and realize that, eventually, your baby will learn to fall asleep without the pacifier. Its also important to note that weaning from the pacifier at bedtime doesnt necessarily mean you need to teach your baby to fall asleep completely independently.
You can continue to soothe your baby to sleep any way you want, for as long as you want. In fact, this method is sort of designed for families who arent yet looking to work on independent sleep.
You will essentially be replacing the pacifiers suck-to-sleep association with a something-else-to-sleep association that you can live with for as long as you want.
First, decide when you want to begin working on weaning from the pacifier, and decide what youre going to do to replace the pacifiers soothing powers.
This could be rocking or cuddling whatever works best for you. With my oldest, I used this process to change from nursing to sleep to rocking to sleep, which we happily continued until she was ready to learn how to fall asleep on her own.
Now youre ready to begin.
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When To Wean Pacifier
And pacifiers have benefits beyond managing meltdowns and tantrums. In fact, it may reduce your babys risk of SIDS, possibly due to the fact that baby has a harder time burying their face into soft bedding if they have a pacifier sticking out of their mouth.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Safe Sleep Guidelines does recommend that parents consider offering a pacifier at nap time and bedtime. However, the pacifier should be offered once breastfeeding has been firmly established.
So given that very substantial and important consideration, Im making the following recommendations for babys over a year old. That doesnt mean this is irrelevant if your little ones younger than that. But just make sure youve carefully considered the pros and cons of taking away the pacifier before you make a decision.
Because at a certain age, children are more than capable of learning to self-soothe. And pacifier dependence can cause long-term problems. Many experts agree that pacifier use up until about age one is okay. But pacifier use past the age two may be cause for concern.