Pacifier Keeps Falling Out-baby Waking

This happened with my younger son (he is 10 months now) and I just took it away. He probably cried a little but he learned that the pacifier wasn't coming back and he's a wonderful sleeper now (naps and nights)! I knew that I didn't want a toddler with a pacifier anyway, so I just went witht the opportunity to break the habit early. Babies are smarter than we give them credit for - they will learn that you are the parent and that sleep time is sleep time. That's my 2 cents anyway! Hope it helps.

since you swaddle (good for you, keep that up till at least 8 mos!) you can have the swaddle help you out a bit... when you place the top most piece of swaddle have it trap the paci in the mouth, do not cover the whole paci, just the bottom half of it. It will not cover the nose so there is no suffocation hazard.

I agree with Carol D. I wish I had taken my daughters away when she did this. For the first year of her life I would be up 5 to 6 times a night giving her the pacifier. Eventually she was old enough to put it in herself so i would leave 5 or so in her crib so she could find it but in the beginning it was horrible. I would use Dr. Weisbluth's book on teaching your child to sleep without the pacifier. Trust me you won't regret it. If your child is that dependent on the pacifier it will only become more difficult as she get's older. Good luck!!

we swaddled until our dd was 9 months, and she would not wake up when the paci fell out. I would suggest trying taking it out when she falls asleep yourself and seeing if that will help wean her off of it at night. Good luck!

I've noticed that the hospitals have been sending babies home with those large translucent green pacifiers. (I'm not sure of the brand.) They seem to tip and fall out of the baby's mouth very easily. Try the "Nuk" brand. They are lighter weight and conform to the baby's mouth. Also, I think it would be incredibly dangerous to put a swaddled baby on her stomach.
Good luck and enjoy!

She is too young to have the cognitive ability (or physical grasping abilities) to put the pacifier back in her mouth. In a few months, she'll get to where she can find it.

Our son was a thumb sucker from birth - it was a Godsend at that age because he could self-soothe. Our daughter picked up her pacifier around then, but she didn't wake herself-up per se.

Unfortunately, at this age, I really can't come-up with a solution to your situation. Good luck!

On Daily Candy Kids the other day they mentioned the Andrew Weil baby products and raved about the pacis b/c they're slightly "oversized" and don't fall out as easily. I'm surely trying those if we have another baby. My son used a paci for sleeping until he was 15mos old. If he woke up crying while sleeping, he could find the paci and put it back in himself. Good luck!

try a pacifier clip it attaches to everything and works great

I agree with another poster. Take it away now. My oldest never wanted it, and my youngest LOVED it. It was so hard to get it away from her, at 2 when she still needed it to fall asleep. If she's not grabbing for things yet, the clip for the pacifer is not going to do any good. Maybe she is waking up because she is swaddled and confined. Try to lay her down without being swaddled. 3.5 months seems kind of old to still be swaddled. She needs to be able to move around, now that she is getting bigger, for good blood circulation. Maybe not being able to move her arms and legs is making her uncomfortable. The only reason they swaddle in the hospital is because the baby just came out of the womb and swaddling is a good transition. :) It is necessary for a baby's physical development to have as much movement as possible.

This used to wake up my son also. Sometimes I would take it out of his mouth myself when he was finally asleep and that wouldn't bother him as much as it falling out. He did finally get better at keeping it in his mouth and finding it once it fell out so it is no longer an issue. Your daughter will probably get to that point in the next couple of months.

We used to do what Nora suggested and it worked, using the swaddle to help keep it in. If you're willing to try to break her of it, though, it might be a good idea. My 2 yr old still takes one when she's sleeping and I'm desperate to break her of it but we have another baby due in May and I've been told it's the worst time to take it away with another on the way.

Just another comment based on another post, please don't put her on her tummy. She's too young...unless she can roll herself over. Once they can roll over there is little you can do to keep them on their backs but as long as you can, please do. According to the American Association of Pediatrics, SIDS is most common among infants 2-4 months of age.

http://www.healthychildcare.org/pdf/SIDSparentsafesleep.pdf

I know people say "My Mother put me to sleep on my belly and I'm fine", well, there are a lot of things our parents did with us that we know better about now.

Good luck!

My son was the same way; he fell asleep much better with the paci in his mouth but I'd have to hold it in his mouth until he fell asleep, otherwise out it would come. He did learn to keep it in himself but it took a few months (not sure exactly how long; he's 11 now :) Hang in there, she should catch on soon!

I would let her figure it out. Weissbluth's whole point is that kids need to be able to soothe themselves, so I"d skip the pacifier. Let her find her finger!

You could attach the pacifier with some velcro to the baby's clothes. I wouldn't suggest thumbsucking because that is the reason I had to have braces for 5 years. There is also a way to make a long necklace with the pacifier attached with a ribbon around baby's neck. Might be a hazzard tho. Or the ribbon could be attached to her blanket.Try a safety pin on the pajamas closest to her collar and mouth. She may be able to move her head enough to find it. My son also used to suck on the tags of pillows and blankets to soothe. They make special "tagged toys" just for this purpose. I think she might be too young for that yet. Well Good Luck.

I would imagine by 3.5 months, your daughter could be put on her tummy. I'd suggest trying that. Then you might not have to worry about the paci. My son wouldn't sleep at all on his back and nothing helped. He would only sleep on me. Then when my mother-in-law came to visit, she put him on his tummy while I was out and just sat and watched him the whole time to make sure he was ok. He was only a month old then, but it did the trick. I hope that helps! :)
blessings,
J.

Have you tried attaching the pacifier to her bib or clothes so she can find it when it falls out?? That worked for me.

When baby is awake and sucking heartily on the pacifier, gently tug on it as if to pull it out. She will likely respond with a stronger suction to keep it in place. Doing this may be able to help her somewhat.

Both of my girls learned to find and put in their pacifiers around 4.5 mons. However, if your little one's arm are still swaddled she will be unable to do this. Why not start to get her used to un-swaddled arms, by loosening up her swaddle, so in a month or so she will be able to sleep comfortably with her arms free, and retrieve her own pacifier.
It would be nice to wean her from the pacifier, however I've found, in babies that want to suck, they will find a way, ie. fingers, thumbs. I personally think pacifiers are more sanitary and eventually can be taken away when they're ready.
Good luck!