Pacifier use after 3 months old?

[gavsmompa]

DD who will be 3 months old in a few days loves her pacifier to sooth to sleep. We only give it to her at that time. She has loved her paci from day 1. I have heard that using the pacifier for the first 3 months is ok but after that, you should let your baby self sooth. My question is do we take it away completely at this point? The past few days she has been putting her fist into her mouth and two fingers periodically. Thoughts?

[KrisM]

Personally, I wouldn't take it away.

We took DS1's away at 4 months because it was a problem. He was waking 20+ times a night when it fell out. He is now 5 and still sucks his fingers!

DD gave up hers voluntarily about a week after turning 2. She put it down one day and that was it.

DS2 gave up his at about 8 months. Just wouldn't take it any more.

Now, I know my last 2 were easier than some, but I'd much rather be dealing with a 2 or 3 year old giving up a paci than a 5 year old sucking his fingers. Biggest mistake we made with him!

[happymom]

I read (I'm pretty sure in Baby 411) that until age 6 months, a pacifier at night reduces the risk of SIDS. Just something to keep in mind.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I thought there was a window around 7-9m where it was easy to ditch it and until then not to worry. Mine gave it up around 5m. I am glad we let him keep it till then b/c it really made him happy. :)

Beth

[srkaplan]

There is definitely research that shows pacifier use through 6 months reduces the risk of SIDS. DD is 11 months old & only uses one in the crib for sleeping. We've asked our pediatrician a few times if we should be working on giving it up and he always says that he has no real concern until age 2 or so... However, if you want to ditch it sooner than later, you would want to do it shortly after 6 months before she starts really knowing what's going on.