Question for other breastfeeding moms. My son is 3 and a half weeks old and strictly breastfed. I really think that he would benefit from a pacifier, but I don't want to cause nipple confusion. What age is is safe to give a pacifier without confusing him? thanks so much
Mine had a paci from birth without any issues, all were exclusively breastfed. Go for it, and congrats on the new baby and on breastfeeding!
Mine got pacifiers the day after they were born and had NO nipple confusion. Babies need to suck. Your nipples don't need to be pacifiers.
I had two breastfed babies and in my experience, nipple confusion is a bunch of baloney. Both my boys took pacifiers and ate like champs, from the breast and also pumped milk or formula from a bottle.
If you and baby aren't having any trouble nursing, I would try a pacifier.
Once nursing is established, go for it! As long as your milk supply is good and he's eating well the pacifier shouldn't cause any confusion at this point.
I never gave my first a paci and I always regretted it as I became his pacifier, ugh, not fun :-(
All my (3) BF'd babies have had pacifiers from day one. With our last baby , the on-call pediatrician that had been practicing for over 25 yrs, said he's never seen nipple confusion be a problem.
Go for it. If he's nursing well, and never given bottles, he'll be able to switch back and forth from breast to pacifier without a problem. Most babies are given pacifiers in the hospital and rarely have issues with nipple confusion. Keep up the good work, mama!
My DD never wanted a pacifier. I think there is no harm in trying one, but be prepared for refusal.
My 3 grandchildren were/are all breastfed and they had pacifiers from the beginning. I suggest there is no nipple confusion because a pacifier does not give milk.
They also had no difficulty doing both bottles and breast. Their mother did wait until they were doing well on the breast before she introduced a bottle. But the did have a pacifier from the first day they were born.
The thing with pacifiers is:
SOMETIMES, a parent may stick a pacifier in baby's mouth, to soothe him/her or make her/him sleep, or what not. But in actuality... the infant is, hungry.
I am in no way, saying you are like this. But I know, some first time Moms personally, that innocently thought, that baby would "need" a pacifier, when actually they were confusing baby's hunger, with a pacifier to pacify baby. Baby did not need a pacifier.
Since you are breastfeeding, it is best to nurse on-demand. Meaning, according to baby's cues and hunger cues.
Also, infants often times, "cluster feed" which means they will need to, nurse even every single hour. In infants, growth-spurts occur about every 3 weeks. Then at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and so forth.
Nursing is seemingly continuous... day and night. But that is how it is.
I strictly breastfed too.
Not all babies, "need" or want, a pacifier.
And sure, nipple confusion can occur.
And some babies will just suckle their fingers. But that can also be a hunger cue. In an infant. And "rooting" of course is a hunger cue.
I have two children, one who is five months and currently exclusively breastfeeding. Both did well with nursing and the pacifier. With the first, I had nipple confusion because I used a nipple shield and had no idea what I was doing, and used it until I healed. Both used/use a paci but nurse/d fine! I don't know if using a paci on your baby will cause this confusion, but if I were you, I'd give it a try at least. Blessings!!!!
I agree with the other moms- if you are not having any troubles breastfeeding, give it a try! Both of my kiddos took pacifiers. I breastfed for the first 8-10 weeks, then a mix of breastfeeding and pumped milk in a bottle. We never had issues with nipple confusion, but we never had any other issues breastfeeding, either.
This is a good time, just use occasionally such as in car or after a feed, not all the time.
I wish I could tell you. I tried so hard with my third kid to get her to take a pacifier. I tried at 2 weeks, then at 3, 4, 5, and 6. She refused.
If nursing is going well, then it should be fine.
My babies were exclusively breastfed and given paci in the hospital (by me). I think nipple confusion is a bigger concern when you are using a bottle but could be wrong on that. I know I read that you should make sure that nursing is firmly established before giving a paci to make sure that you don't give a paci when baby is actually hungry.
Babies need to suck. My 3 year old is still using a paci at night - pediatrician assures me that he will eventually stop using it (and he probably will) but that if we forcibly remove it he will probably thumb suck.
Cheers, C.
Baby #1 had one in the hospital.
Baby #2 refused to ever take one, despite my repeated attempts.
Neither had trouble with nursing because of the paci.
(With #2, we did have trouble with a bottle, because the bottle encouraged a shallow latch, and so I was constantly fixing his latch for the first few months after he went to daycare. Then he got the hang of going back and forth.)
