Pacifier Dependent During Night

15 weeks is fine to have a pacifier at night. In fact, researchers believe that it helps reduce the risk of SIDS. As long as breastfeeding is going well, let her have the pacifier at night, for sleeping. I agree that you should be sure that she is not crying with wanting to eat. Stop the pacifier closer to age 1.

I just went through that exact issue a few weeks ago. My youngest is 18 weeks. She was also sleeping about 9 hours a night then suddenly started waking. I'd give her a pacifier, pat her back and off to sleep she went. I asked her Dr at the 4 mo. checkup if she needed more calories to which he said no. He said giving her rice cereal at night will help her feel a little fuller (b/c of starch) and help her sleep more soundly, but truthfully that wasn't even necessary. He said it sounded like she just wanted a little attention. How I stopped the behavior was by one night turning off the monitor (she is in her room) and when she woke up I let her fuss. She didn't even get to a real cry...just a whiny fuss that stopped 8 minutes later. No problem since. And yes...if she was actually hungry she would've kept crying. Also, I have noticed that she has developed a little self-soothing of sucking on her fingers when she can't find her binky. I let this go b/c it is unrealistic to jump up and put the pacifier in all night long. Hope this helps and that things turn around. Every Mommy needs her sleep...so do our precious babies!! :)

C.,

Unfortunately, that is what it is. My daughter did the same thing. Sometimes I would be up 10 times a night just to put it back in. The only option I see is to break the pacifier now that she is so little (I waited until she was a year and it was horrible) or wait until you can put a bunch in the crib and she can learn to plug herself up. Usually putting the pacifier in and it working to me would mean she wasn't hungry but you could try doing a feeding and see if it gets her through the rest of the night. When ever mine were hungry they would get angrier if I tried the pacifier that was how I knew it was hunger. If your supply is low have you thought about the last feeding using formula. One other thing is if you can try to sleep train her to fall asleep independently (easier said then done) that will be the best solution. Once she can put herself to sleep independently then the night waking should only occur during illness, or teething. If you can pat her in the crib with some music on and get her to fall asleep without the pacifier eventually she will learn to fall asleep without it. Trust me doing it at 3 months is so much easier then a year. Good luck!

C.,

My son started teething at 4 months old. He got his first tooth at 6 months, but all the drooling and putting things in his mouth started at 4 months.

I would also try to feed her, just to rule out a growth spurt. Or maybe she just lost her paci and can't figure out how to get it back. Your baby is too little to tell you what's bothering her, so its inconvenient, but she needs you for something. Remember that nothing at this age is permanant. Once you figure out what's waking her, she will be on to something else.

Congratulations and enjoy your little girl. I hope you get a good night's rest soon.

R.

I agree that you might want to consider moving her into a crib in her own room. Both of my kids were still in a bassinet at four months (for different reasons), and both began sleeping much better once we moved them into their own rooms. Waking up during the night is a normal part of the sleep cycle (babies just have to learn to fall back to sleep on their own), and waking up in a cramped space can make it harder. My son seemed to love all the extra space to stretch out once he was in his crib. Also, we use a "Wubbanub" pacifier, which has a little stuffed animal attached to it, and that made it much easier for him to find it and put it back in his mouth without our help. I even think he was able to do that at 4-5 months. You might want to check it out: http://wubbanub.com/

If you don't want her becoming dependent on it, I'd suggest taking it away then! However there is nothing wrong with using a pacifier...my son loooooves his. He's 27 months old but at this age, can only use it when he's in his bed. We plan on getting rid of it very soon.
Anyway, if she likes it and it helps her sleep, I say let her use it. Happy, rested baby makes a happy, rested Momma. :)
L.

she is only 16 weeks ...of course she needs a pacifier to help her relax and fall off to sleep. As a matter of fact, they recommend the pacifier to help with SIDS.
You don't have to worry about weaning her from it until she is a year or 2. She needs to comfort herself.
The pacifier will help her to do that, or else you will be walking the floors trying to do it yourself.
It's fine at her age.
Good luck to you and congrats on your new baby!
P.

C., I'd have to say that it's quite possible your baby is waking up at night because she is hungry. Babies who are 3-4 months old usually still nurse at night. Giving her the pacifier instead of nursing can cause a lowered supply - nursing more increases your supply. Rather than giving her the binky, I would feed her. She may go back to sleep with the binky as a quick fix, but you say that she is waking repeatedly. That sounds like hunger to me.

My 2 year old took the pacifier until he was about 15 months old. He began night wakings for the paci around 3-4 months just like you describe. Some nights were ok, he would wake once or twice for it. Others were tough, he would wake 7-10 times for it. Now that my second has arrived and is almost 5 weeks i am thankful for the fact that he's not interested in the paci. Although it makes car trips all the more challenging. He will suck on my finger, but my arm falls asleep trying to get it in the back seat!!
3 months is old enough for cry it out-that would be my way to go on breaking my child's habit. It won't be as bad now as waiting a year. She just has to establish a new 'falling asleep routine'. If she were hungry she would reject the paci and keep crying for food.
Good luck!
For your supply issues, consider pumping after every feeding to really drain your breasts. I also have taken fenugreek and it worked well for me!

If this is all she's waking for then it's really no big deal. My 2 yr old wakes most nights for the same thing. Babies that are that young don't have the reflexes to keep the binky in all night, and they aren't able to find it once it falls out. I'd keep a couple extra binkys close by so your not searching the crib during the night. Honestly, if your only waking up to replace a binky this is not major. Both my kids were breastfed and neither slept through the night until they were over 7 mos old. And even then I had to force them to do it. If she was truly hungry the binky wouldn't do it. There were times my daughter would cry for an hour if I let her when she woke at night. There is a tea you can drink to help with supply. It's called Mother's Milk and you can probably get it at a whole foods or online. You have to steep the tea bag in hot water for 20-30 mins to get the true effects, but it helps.

Hi C....When this started happening to my son, my doctor suggested that he go into his own bedroom in his crib. She may not be comfortable in a bassinet at this age. Also, if your supply is a lot less you can supplement during the day with one bottle to make sure that she is getting all of her calories during the day. Most babies can sleep 8-10 hours at 16 weeks. Two of my 3 sons loved the passy and we did not take it away from them until they were ready. Good luck to you!

You should be nursing her at night still. One of the reasons you could be having supply issues is that nursing is a supply and demand relationship. If you are only allowing your little one to nurse on a set schedual and not when she's hungry, you won't be producing enough for her to eat. There is research that shows a child can wake during the night due to hunger until they're a year old. Good luck with breastfeeding. Oh and if you have lots of questions contact Le Lache league. www.llli.org I think.

The only problem with the night time paci is that they
lose it. So you will go thru months where you hae to get
up and down to give it back. Eventually they get older and
can find it themselves. You have to do what works best for
you and your baby. I think if she was hungry she would
definitely not go back to sleep. If she is gaining
weight, then she just likes to suck. Good luch.

My daughter is almost 18 months and she still uses a pacifier when she sleeps. She was the same way, she would sleep through the night for a while and then would start waking every few hours. It's phases that they go through. When she was younger I had to put the pacifier back in her mouth for her, but eventually she was able to put it in herself. We kept about 10 pacifiers in her crib so she could find them whenever she needed them. :) I think it's OK if they need a pacifier to sleep. They are so little and if it helps comfort them why not? They'll eventually grow out of it. How many kids in college still need a pacifier to sleep :) My mantra is "this is just a phase!" Your little one will be sleeping through the night again before you know it!