3 Tips To Getting Your Baby Loving Their Paci

Pacifiers are of much debate, and usually, revolve around when to give them up. But what about if you’re one of the few who wants your baby to take a paci?

[ReviewDisclaimer]

My first baby  took a pacifier right away in the hospital and loved it! In preparing for my second baby, I bought 8 of the same exact Nuk pacifiers that my first baby loved… just assuming that those would be my seconds’ favorite too.

I packed them in our hospital bag and just knew she would take to them right away. 

Well this hospital experience was a little different. They did NOT encourage using a paci. Caroline was a small baby, under 6lbs, and they wanted her to use all of her energy to nurse; NOT to suck on a pacifier. As a result, we did not introduce one to her until she was back over birth weight.

…and by introducing I mean putting it in her mouth and watching her spit it out. She hated it and would gag any time it was near her!

WAIT. I thought ALL BABIES loved pacifiers!!

So many people told us it was great that she wouldn’t take a paci because then we would not have to worry about taking it away from her when she was older.

I disagreed.

Our experience taking away Aubrey’s paci was easy peasey. We had her set it out on Christmas Eve and told her she was giving it to Santa’s reindeer and they were going to take it to another little baby that needed it. She (surprisingly) was totally ok with this and never asked for it again! I still can’t believe it!

So safe to say, I am not concerned about taking it away. 

I am thinking of all of the times it was a life saver!

When you are in the grocery store and they start pitching a fit – give them the paci. When they wake up in the middle of the night – give them the paci. When you are letting them know it is nap time – give them the paci.

I will say that I listened to everyone when they said “enjoy your little baby, you cannot hold them enough.” Caroline has lived on my chest for her first 3 months of life and it is still her most favorite spot to be.

But I was determined not to be her human pacifier or have her eat her fingers off when it was time for her to soothe herself to sleep. So at 4 ½ months old, she began to love her paci! (Hallelujah!)

If you’re in a similar position, here are my 3 tried and true tips that worked for my formerly anti-pacifier baby:

1.) Absorb the expense, and try different pacis.

I reached out to my Poms2Moms girls and asked what type of paci their little ones loved because maybe Caroline just did not like the same one as Aubrey.  

• Kaitlin’s girls are fans of the MAM Pacifiers 
• Cayla’s little one is obsessed with her Philips Advent Pacifier

..so we bought those and gave them a try.

Caroline hated them too! It was like she did not know how to hold it in her mouth or how to get the correct suction on it.

Turns out we came full circle and went right back to loving the Nuk pacis we already tried! The point is, don’t be afraid to try a few to get the right one. And when you finally find one your baby doesn’t totally despise… move to Step 2.

2.) Be consistent!

When you find the right one, stick with it. Heck, if you’re not sure… just continue to offer the one YOU like best. The point is, your baby will definitely give up on it, if you do. But if you’re consistent, and provide the paci at specific and purposeful times, your baby will start to catch on.

 

3.) Create a routine.

This is a whole other matter of debate, but babies THRIVE on routine. Identify the time when you will always offer the paci. 

When it was time for Caroline to start getting ready for nap/ bedtime, I would hold her in my arms in the position I would if I was going to nurse her. I would turn her into me and start talking or singing to her so that she would look at me.

I would put the paci on her cheek and let her latch onto it so she would think that she was nursing. This 1.) helped her (naturally) know what to do with it and 2.) let her be close to me to help soothe her.

At first she would still chew on it, spit it out, or gag, but eventually she realized how amazing it was, (for her and I both,) and would take right to it.  Once she had a good suction on it, I would lay her down and let it help her fall asleep.

These things all helped us develop the perfect relationship with the pacifier.  

I know she is not the same as my first, so in two years from now when we decide to get rid of it I will have to let y’all know if it was worth it to get her to love it! 😉