3 1/2 Month Old and Her Pacifier..

here's my story for what its worth, my now 8.5 month daughter used to take her binky all the time, but she grew out of it. hopefully this will work for you, but personally anything that makes the baby sleep through the night is ok with me.

before 4 months old, all pediatricians agree to not let a baby cry. After 4 months old, based upon the child, they know that mom will return to get them. So...unfortunately, the only advice I have for you is keep lots of pacifiers at the ready (I kept them on my nightstand) and know that this phase will pass. My daughter go so bad I was getting up almost 10 times a night. Then one night, it stopped. We put her to bed with a pacifier and if it falls out in the middle of the night, it doesn't bother her anymore.
You may also want to buy a pacifier that does not have a direction to it (MAM, soothies) so that as she gets older she can learn to put them in by herself. My babies are now 8 months and have just started putting them in themselves. '

Also, regarding hunger. Both of mine no longer needed night feedings after 12 (son) and 14 (daughter) weeks old. Are you keeping a log of how much she eats during the day? Is it enough for her age and weight. Are you breast feeding or formula feeding? just some thoughts. She may actually be hungry. You'll know if you feed her at night and then she takes another full feeding in the morning.

I have 3 boys and the first two had "pacifier issues!" My oldest was the same as your daughter and I would get up every time to give the pacifier back to him. It was easier to me to do so rather than let him cry it out. However, this lasted until he was 18 months and I had had enough! I cold turkeyed the pacifier then and we had a couple rough nights and then he slept great. My second son was the same but finally around 6-7 months he would look for it himself. I actually watched him do this one night when I went in to check on him. I caught my oldest waking one night as well but he wouldn't even attempt to look for it! So for you I think it is a personal decision. What do you feel better about? I hope that she will not be long before she can get it for herself but if the nightly wake up calls are just too exhausting it may be worth it to you to cut it out completely. Expect a few rough days but after that she may be just fine. Good luck with your decision. I know it can be hard one!

Hi, M.. All babies are different. Even at this age, they display certain personality traits, and she's proving that she is not a clone of her brother. She seems to need to suckle more than he did; that's perfectly OK. She's only 3/5 months old, so you can't really expect her to sleep all night anyway. BTW, if she wakes up and cries that much during the night, she may actually be hungry! Or thirsty. Try giving her at least 1 feeding during the night and seeing if she sleeps better. But otherwise, let her have the pacifier. It's not going to hurt her at all.

Peace,
Syl

The pacifier is just that: it pacifies; and a baby needs the comfort of sucking. Just take it out of her mouth when she's asleep. This process may take a few weeks or months to get past the "need". Some kids start sucking their thumb after they tire of the pacifier; and it's part of normal development. I'm suggesting do not deny her this comfort - have patience and she will wean at the appropriate time.
Blessings

Waking up 4-5 times sounds like she's not sleeping through the night and 3 1/2 months is still very young. Are you sure she's not hungry? My son would never take a pacifier however my daughter (11weeks) is always sucking on her fists or her thumb. I am amazed at her need to suck, she will finisht breastfeeding and immediately suck on her fist. I don't particular care for the pacifier but sometimes in the evening when she is having a hard time falling to sleep I offer it to her. Sometimes she takes it, sometimes she doesn't. I don't feel like it will be bad if she develops a need for it....they all outgrow it.

Hi M.! Don't know if this will help or not, but for many reasons we did not use a pacifier, and let our daughter suck her thumb. I know there are many debates on both sides of the coin...but one of the many reasons that we went with what she naturally has, is that she could self-soothe in the night, and not get frantic when she couldn't find her pacifier. I don't know how you feel about thumb sucking, but in this instance it would solve your current problem. Good luck!!!!!
A. :)

Let her have it. It strengthen her mouth muscles needed to talk and eat. And provides the sucking she isn't getting from bres milk worry when she is 3 years old. Then just let it get lost and play dumb

She might be a little young for this....but, my daughter loved her pacifier too. What I did was, I put about 4 pacifiers in her crib (lol) - One is each corner and within her reach. I think she was maybe almost 6 months when she learned how to feel around in the dark and find a pacifier and pop it back into her own mouth. That was the best day! LOL

I used to put a few pacifiers in bed with my son so that he could reach out and find one when he lost his. If you put extras in there she may be able to get one back in herself although she is pretty young to be able to do it by herself still.

Hi.. I am mommy to 4 and until that last one I never gave them pacifiers. The only reason I gave it to her is because of a study that says that between 2 and 4 months is the highest risk for sudden infant death syndrome and giving a baby a pacifier will help prevent them from entering that deep sleep that allows them to forget to breathe.. so thats why she keeps waking up.. now I support fully you giving it to her until she is 4 months old and then I would suggest slowly weaning her from it. Start with taking it at nap time... maybe wait until she is asleep and sneak it out... she will cry a lil in the beginning but dont run in as soon as she fusses, she will learn to self soothe and your life will be so much better.. I know it is hard to not run to help, trust me I only have one daughter and I wanted to baby her so bad but now she wakes and I hear her rustle around a lil and she is back to sleep... heaven.. haha... Good luck and God Bless!!