The Case of the Pacifier

CC playing hide-and-seek, pacifier in mouth

pacifier: /ˈpæs.ɪ.faɪ.ər/ something that makes people calm when they are angry or upset


Were you to ask me while I was pregnant if I was planning on using a pacifier for my baby, I would have answered NO!  In my mind a pacifier, or soother, as we like to call it, is for parents who are unable or unwilling to soothe their babies themselves.  Then we had the Brat.  Not only would she suck on me for milk every two hours, but she would also suck on me to fall asleep, when she first woke up, if she was upset, and for just about any other imaginable reason.  This amounted to approximately 20 out of 24 hours per day.  By three weeks old, I could no longer take it.  I left the baby with my husband, drove to the store, and picked up a few pacifiers.  I was well aware that for breast-feeding babies it was recommended to wait as long as possible to introduce a pacifier as to avoid nipple confusion (because sucking on a pacifier and sucking on a breast are different actions, it may interfere with successful breast-feeding).  I simply felt that my body could no longer meet the baby's sucking needs.


It was love at first contact.  I still remember her first sucking experience; she sucked on her pacifier for two hours non-stop, all the while making loud sucking sounds (think Maggie from the Simpsons).  Instantly, I had more free time.  Now that she was only sucking on me 12 hours per day, I found time to do a few mundane things such as eating and showering!


Until recently, we were in no rush to put an end to this privileged relationship with her pacifier. The way I saw it, we would one day soon explain to her that pacifiers were for babies, and as she was no longer a baby, we would be throwing them out. The plan was to wait until her language skills improved.  And then she picked up another virus.


She had not been sick in a while (6 weeks!), so I had almost forgotten about the sleepless nights, and the difficult days.  It did not take long for me to realize that with a pacifier in her mouth, and a congested nose, she would not be sleeping peacefully.  After 5 sleepless nights, with my husband and I alternately holding her upright, we decided that the pacifier would have to go.


We would start off by using it only in critical circumstances (i.e. sleeping), then one day very soon, we would throw them all out.  She would most certainly have a few more sleepless nights. This will translate to more sleep deprivation on our part as well.  On second thought, maybe we will wait just a little while longer...