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jojo2324
10-04-2002, 09:46 AM
Hi there...Just trying to help DH from going batty tonight. Basically, he just heard from a friend about a baby who cried all the time and her ped recommended a pacifier. The baby is now quiet, to speak broadly.

DS really has a hard time with pacifiers. He can't keep them in his mouth. I thought it was normal, that he was just young and didn't have the muscle control to do so. But then I watch a Baby Story and they have six week olds slurping away on them, no problem. Now, if we stand there and hold the pacifier in place, he'll be fine. As soon as we take our finger off, there's a few seconds of sucking and then "pop." Out it flies.

We think the culprit is that he is accustomed to large nipples on the bottles and then his large-bosomed mama and can't figure out this smaller contraption. He nearly swallows them.

Here are my questions:

1. I have seen pacifiers that have a larger surface that rests against the baby's face. They look like they would be very uncomfortable as they are just large discs with a straight nipple. No real shape or contour to the nipple or front of the pacifier. Do larger pacifiers exist that don't look so space-agey?

2. Is it normal for a baby to have a hard time with a pacifier? I thought it was a developmental thing, but now of course I'm worried.

3. I have read somewhere that babies typically wean themselves from pacifiers by four months. Have most of you found this to be true? Because if it is, I don't think there's really much point to us trying to use one as DS is three months now.

TIA!

jojo2324
10-04-2002, 12:57 PM
Thanks for posting that photo...Those are exactly the ones that seem so awkward! We have tried them and because of the flat surface they don't seem to contour to his fat cheeks...But that was several weeks ago, so maybe things have changed since then. We actually have a few (they came free with gerber bottles) so DH will try them tonight. Thanks again!

egoldber
10-04-2002, 03:37 PM
Pacifiers are very much an individual thing. I would go out and buy a few different ones to let him try. Sarah also had the same problem you describe with the pacifier not staying in her mouth. We always thought it was due to the fact that she has always had a weak "suck" due to a high arch palate. The only ones she would ever take were Avent pacifiers and even then I had to "hold" it in her mouth while she sucked. But she was never really keen on pacifiers in general. While there were times when she was younger that I WISHED she would take one, I'm really glad now that she never got into the pacifier. Most babies I know that really took to the pacifier are still pretty glued then after a year.

HTH,

firsttimemama
10-04-2002, 05:51 PM
I would try playtex binky comfort flex. My ds had the same problem and he loves these.
Lisa

Annette_C
10-04-2002, 07:35 PM
Hi Joanne!
Did you know that our babies are a week apart?!? In fact, my Sabrina was born 6/24/02, just about a week before your Gannon.
I wanted to tell you that we've been using Avent pacifiers and they work really well for us. They have different stages like, newborn 0-3 mo, 3-6 mo, and so on, allowing the pacifier to grow with the baby's mouth.
I'm sure you can find the size that fits Gannon best.
Good luck!
Annette :)

KathyO
10-04-2002, 07:55 PM
We also tried a whole bunch of pacifiers before we hit success with the Avents. And yes, for the first while, she had to have it held in her mouth for her, before she finally got the knack of sucking AND holding it in. She ultimately lost interest in it somewhere around 9 months.

Before pacifiers, we were a colic household. I remember when it finally "clicked" - suddenly there was silence, and I came into the living room to find DH with DD on his chest. He was holding the pacifier in for her, and she was sucking away with her eyes closed. He had this exalted look on his face... "This thing... it's the best invention in the UNIVERSE! It's better than the internal combustion engine! It's better than the WHEEL! Let's get more of them! Let's buy stock in the company!!!"

Good luck on your hunt for the Perfect Pacifier...

Cheers,

KathyO

jojo2324
10-04-2002, 08:29 PM
Actually, Avent was the first one we tried. We were not too successful with it. DH had moderate luck with the flat-front gerber one that was pictured; I had no luck. I guess he prefers the "feed bags" as someone (I think Sarah) so perfectly stated :) Thanks....will keep trying. He was 3 months yesterday...This *&*&#^ better stop soon!!!

tarheelmom
10-04-2002, 08:44 PM
Hi Joanne - our 13 month old ds still "needs" his pacifier to sleep. Unless he's really cranky, we only give it to him at naptime and bedtime. We also tried quite a few and he would only use the "ultra kip" kinds. It's hard to explain, but they have a round bulb at the end of a stem, sort of. They have some at Wal-Mart that have Winnie the Pooh on them (or used to). Now we just buy them at the $1 store and they have Curious George on them. Good luck!!

luvbeinmama
10-05-2002, 12:06 AM
DS NEVER took a pacifier. I tried the hospital one, and the Nuk one (I had 2 samples because of all the classes I took). He actually liked the Nuk a little bit, but, like Gannon, wouldn't hold it in his mouth. So I just gave up on it. Of course, with all the horror stories about pacifier attachment and lost pacifiers, I think I was just as happy that he didn't want it. Then at 2 years, he started sucking on his index finger (not his thumb like most kids!) and hasn't stopped. I think some kids just don't want the pacifiers. Personally, I wouldn't push it on him.

JMTCW!

Melanie
10-05-2002, 01:01 AM
Ds took a NUK from the beginning. However we'd have to hold our finger there for a few sucks until he got a good suction going. He also weaned himself from it around 5 or 6 months. Just suddenly started pulling it out or turning his face away.


Mommy to Jonah

suzska
10-06-2002, 12:53 AM
We used the NUK silicone ones from almost the beginning. And we had about a half dozen of them. Okay, maybe four. Around the time DS turned 1, he was "losing" them here and there. He would drop one behind the crib and we wouldn't find it for days. Stuff like that. As they disappeared, they weren't replaced (eventually I found them all and tossed them). Soon there weren't any left, and Evan didn't seem to notice. He certainly understood what "binky" was if you asked him to find one, but he didn't seem to notice that one day they were gone. Evan got his first teeth around 3.5 months, and I think they were often more of a teething device than anything else.

jra
08-25-2003, 11:16 PM
I have to use a pacifier that doesn't rest against ds's face at all. I started with ones that curved around his face, but he sucked so hard that it was leaving marks that looked almost like it was bruising his face. He also needs to have a large bulb for a nipple. He hated the flat nipple ones and would spit them out or they would fall out because of the shape--I'm not sure which it really was. I ended up with the gerber soft center pacifier like in the attached picture.

I have never heard that most babies wean themselves from pacifiers by 4 months. DS is 10 months old and is still pretty attached to his.

Jennifer