Don’t let this blog’s logo fool you – our Birdy is 100% pacifier-free. But not for the lack of effort!
Hubby and I were initially uncertain whether we want to give our little one a pacifier. After all, it seems that the use of a pacifier has as many potential drawbacks as it has benefits. Yet a few weeks into this parenting business, in the general lack of sleep and exhaustion that comes from dealing with a baby who can only be calmed down by being given a breast, I began wondering if a pacifier might give me some more peace.
Our midwife agreed yet suggested waiting until Birdy’s 4 weeks old to avoid nipple confusion. Excited about this potentially wonderful solution, to our troubles hubby and I made our way to the store to choose our baby’s very first pacifier.
We spent a good amount of time browsing the different brands, sizes, and materials and decided for a super cute set of two pacifiers that came in a microwavable box for easy cleaning. How practical! Satisfied with the great purchase, we headed home. I was giddy to try the pacifier and was already dreaming about a much calmer and less exhausting future.
Little did we know that Birdy had quite different plans about how she wants to be soothed.
The first time we put the pacifier in her mouth Birdy immediately spit it out. After we tried a few more times and got no better results, I complained to my midwife who claimed that it’s completely normal and that I should just hold my hand against the pacifier for a bit to prevent the little one from spitting it out.
I tried it out as soon as the midwife left. Guess what? You can make a baby cry by giving her a pacifier!
I tried again the same evening after Birdy had eaten for a good 40 minutes and still continued complaining. She succeeded in keeping the pacifier in her mouth for a few minutes but it didn’t pacify her, quite the opposite – Birdy’s eyes were opened as wide as possible and she appeared to be very aware and a little confused by the whole ordeal. You know what my hubby asked when he got back home after we had done this pacifier exercise for a half an hour? What have you done to the poor child?!
We tried another type of pacifier but, when Birdy appeared to dislike it even more than the first one, we gave up on the efforts… Until my parents came to visit. After raising three kids each of whom had used a pacifier, my mom refused to believe that a child cannot get used to one. According to her, it was just a matter of finding the right pacifier. Sure, no harm in letting her try!
A long Easter weekend and three new pacifiers later my mom had to admit defeat. Maybe not every baby wants to have a pacifier. After all, what is the point of sucking on something if nothing tasty comes out of it?
Today we have six pacifiers of four different types and three different materials and Birdy hates them all with a passion. At least we won’t have to fight the battle of taking a pacifier away once she’s older!
This post is a part of the Ultimate Guide to Baby’s First Year blog hop. The blog hop is now over but the guides created by over 40 bloggers will remain online so that you can always go back and read some more.
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