Pacifier : to keep or not to keep ?
Suction is a physiological need for babies until 4-6 months of age. After that, it becomes a habit.
I like to say that there are no good or bad habits - only habits that work at a specific point in time. So it’s up to you to decide - does it work for you and your baby to keep the pacifier after the 6 months mark ? If you want to keep it, do you want to restrict the use to night time only or do you want your baby to have free access to it during the day ?
Prolonged use of the pacifier can impair jaw and speech development as well as increase the risk of ear infections.
When it comes to sleep, parents often compain about “pacifier wakes”. If you want to wean from the pacifier, be prepared for a couple of hard bed times the first 3 nights at least. Your baby will most likely cry and you will have to be there for them, hold them, and let the storm pass. If you decide to wean and give in after one hour of crying, you will only make thigns more confusing and difficult for your baby, so make sure you are 100% certain of your decision.
Now, if you want to keep the pacifier, there are ways to teach your baby to find it themselves during the night. First, they need to have the necessary motor skills to grab it and put it in their mouth during the day. Once they do, you can follow those steps - make sure to use fluorescent pacifiers :
Step 1 : 4 times a day, when your baby is calm (i.e. not when they actively need the pacifier to soothe), put the pacifier in your hand, show it to them, say your sentence (for example “take the paci”) and bring their hand to the pacifier. Stay on that step until they master the skill during the day 4/4 times. Only then can you move on to night time. If your baby wakes up because the pacifier has fallen out, put it in your hand in front of them and say your sentence. If your baby cries, comfort them in your arms and try the pacifier sentence again once they are calm. At this point, do not give them the pacifier, that would send them a confusing message. They are capable of grabbing it themselves, so hold on to that.
Step 2 : put 3-4 pacifiers in a corner of your baby’s bed and make sure to show it to them before going to bed. When your baby wakes up for their pacifier, tap the corner and say your sentence. If they cry, comfort them, put them back into bed, tap the corner and say your sentence.
Step 3 : same as before, but just say your sentence without tapping the corner of the bed
Step 4 : don’t mention anything pacifier related. Your only role in that step is to comfort your child. They know where the pacifiers are and are able to take them without your help.
