The most dreaded question for almost every new parent is how to soothe your crying baby. Your new guest is a complete stranger to all his surroundings, and he or she will at the slightest discomfort start crying inevitably. This is where the pacifier will come to your rescue.
But as with all other things there are pros and cons in using a pacifier. It is better to know what to expect before you start relying on it as an option.
The pros: First, to see the brighter side, the pacifiers are definitely reliable soothers for your little baby who hasn’t figured out how to suck his thumb yet. Pacifiers can help to calm the baby and put him away to sleep with remarkably less effort and crying. It has even been recorded in medical literature that pacifiers can help to open up the air space around a baby’s mouth and nose making sure there is enough oxygen supply to the lungs. Babies learn to self – soothe and fall asleep without much help from the parents, which is another plus point.
The cons: Pacifiers are not for all babies. Some will prefer thumb-sucking or sucking at the mother’s breast over the pacifier. There are even some drawbacks in using the pacifiers. The most common out of them being the addictive nature of it. Once your baby develops a habit of falling asleep with the pacifier, it might be a little hard for him to get over it. Not only the little ones, even you may get addicted to this fast and easy method to soothe your child, and at times this may cause you to overlook the real reasons behind your baby’s cries. Moreover, long-term use of pacifiers may cause some dental issues as well.
Weighing the pros and cons: Using the pacifier to calm your baby at difficult times is a personal choice. If the pros of using a pacifier outweighs the cons in your case, you might want to experience the comfort as early as possible in your parenting life. However, it is better to wait atleast two to four weeks after birth before you introduce a pacifier to your baby to make sure that he has got the hold of breast feeding properly. The reason being two different sucking movements are used in pacifiers and breastfeeding, and this might confuse the baby.
Making the right choice: There are a few important things you need to consider when selecting a pacifier for your baby. The shape and what they are made of are two most important factors among others. Orthodontic pacifiers with rounded tops and flat bottoms are preferred by most parents over the standard elongated nipple shaped pacifiers. There are latex pacifiers as well as silicone ones, the latter being a favourite due to its strength and durability. A pacifier of a good brand will be easy to clean and won’t retain any microbes or odours once washed. It is very important that you thoroughly clean the pacifier before you put it in the baby’s mouth as it can carry germs from the environment.
