Pacifiers are a plug-in solution for babies who need more sucking than a breast or bottle can provide. They soothe your baby and also lead to safer sleep.
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Transcript:
Most babies are born suckers, and for good reason. It's that sucking reflex that ensures newborns get fed. Some little suckers are easy to satisfy with well-timed feeds, others can't seem to get enough of that sucking stuff between meals.
Enter the pacifier, a plug-in solution for babies who need more sucking than a breast or bottle can provide. Perfectly named, because the pacifier, also called the soother, works wonder in the comfort department.
Binkies come with an added bonus, too. Not only do they soothe, but they also lead to safer sleep, protecting against SIDS by opening the air space around the nose and mouth, ensuring your baby gets enough oxygen while she sleeps. That's why pediatricians routinely recommend offering a pacifier at bedtime and naptime during the first year.
Of course, not all babies take the binky bait, and that's okay, since it's definitely not a must-do. Some snub the paci from the start, preferring instead those built in comfort tools, those yummy hands. Fists may come first, then a few fingers and, ultimately, the thumb usually gets the comfort thumbs up.
Worried that your baby won't be able to shake the paci or finger sucking habit? It's way too soon to be concerned that sucking may sabotage future teeth or speech development, but it's not too soon to start planning ahead. Pacifiers, unlike fingers, are in your control, and that can be a plus or a minus, depending on how you control its use.
Use the binky on an as-needed basis only. Instead of popping it in at the first sign of fussiness, try other soothing strategies, like a cuddle, a relaxing massage, a few choruses of Bingo or Old McDonald, some rocking or wearing, a feed if baby's hungry, a diaper change if she's poopy or uncomfortably wet.
Use the pacifier consistently at naps and bedtime for safety's sake, but limit use in between, especially once your little sucker has reached the 6-month mark. That's because it's hard to coo, smile, vocalize, or socialize when sucking. And by the time baby approaches the first birthday, he's better off trying to figure out how to self-soothe in other ways, even at bedtime.
Continued use of pacifiers through the toddler years is linked to recurrent ear infections and, much later, to misaligned teeth. Older paci fans may also be slower to speak. Good news on the thumb or finger sucking front. Sucking on those delicious digits won't damage the alignment of permanent teeth, as long as your little one kicks the habit by age five, something the vast majority of tots do.
For now, be sure thumb or finger sucking isn't keeping your baby from exploring by hand, or from cooing, smiling, and otherwise interacting. Occasionally remove those fingers from their sucking station long enough to play a finger or hand game, manipulate some toys, or have a cooing contest with you. Here's to happy and healthy sucking!
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