Hello,
SO I have a 6 month old little boy and for 5 1/2 months he did not take a pacifier so he got use to falling asleep with his bottle which was bad. So I wanted to stop that as fast as possible and I finally found a pacifier that he LIKES!!!! Well, the problem now is... He will wake up at least 5 times at night crying for his pacifier because he can't put it back in his mouth I have to help him. Before that he would sleep all night long with no waking up, hehehe. But on the other hand I like the pacifier because he can take nice long naps durning the day which before he would only sleep 20 min. at the time and it helps in car rides for him to quiet down without me stopping in the middle of the road. Does he eventually learn how to put it back in his mouth?? I tried to let him cry at night for a few minutes to see if he will fall back asleep, but it's not until he gets his pacifier that he will go back to sleep in a second. Hehe, there is always something-A. ;-)
Try putting more than 1 pacifier in the crib. My daughter was doing the same thing, waking up, and I would keep running in there. Once we put 2 pacifiers in her crib she was able to find them herself. This has worked wonderfully. Now she is 11 months and she knows that there are 2 in her crib. So when we lay her down she puts one in her mouth and she holds the other one. Good luck.
If he can see the pacifier on his bed, he can already pick. Will and determination cause them to pull or rock themselves to reach what they want. Leave a dim light on in his room until he's a little older when blinds can be left partially open.
My little guys is 7mo almost 8 and he puts his pucifier in his mouth. I would put several in his bed so they are all around him, then he is sure to find one.
I loved that all 3 of my kids took the pacifier. I put about 5 pacifiers in their crib so they could find them in the middle of the night to put themselves back to sleep. It helped.
He's probably pretty close to being able to find it himself but he's also at the stage where he's waking up more frequently due to other things -- teething, development, etc. Both of our kids had binkies from around 2 wks and learned how to find them on their own but they also went through wakeful nights around 5 or 6 months and again when they were getting ready to walk. Maybe your son is getting ready to crawl or meet some other milestone?
Good luck!
Aimee
Hi A.-
I would suggest putting multiple pacifiers in his crib. I'm talking 5 or more-that way he will eventually find one and start putting it in by himself. Good Luck!
Hi - My twins are 19 months, and they still use a pacifier for sleeping. Some nights we don't hear a peep at all for 12 hours, and other nights it does still seem that they need us to come & find the pacifier for them a few times, even though there may be one on each side of them! At least they go right back instantly to sleep, and I'm so used to this, that I go right back to sleep too. My kids still sleep better than most that I hear about, so I can't complain. I think each baby is different, and just do the best that you can! Good luck...
Yes, for now, you are the answer. My girls did the same thing, but learned to do it themselves over time. Don't remember what age. They actuall, too, slept longer at night after a while even when they did lose it. All a learning curve.
Your baby will eventually be able to find the paci himself. My 5 year old used a paci until she was about 3. One of my twin boys (20 months) uses a paci for soothing (the other does not). Pacifers are great tools for both soothing and helping prevent ear infections. My twin has yet to have one and my daughter had one so far.
Good luck -
My little guy loves the paci too. Once he got a little older than your son, he was able to find and put the pacifier in his mouth himself. We also put about 5 or 6 in there at night with him so that he never has to look far!
Hi A.,
I am 'pro-pacifier' - all my kids used a 'sucker' and though each of them learned at different times, I suspsect your little guy is just a month or two away from being able to pluck it back in himself. he is capable at the point where he can choose a toy from a pile (say blocks for instance), and put it in his mouth. The other trick though is FINDING it :) my son started mastering this at about 10 months... though i always keep a few extras in the crib in case he drops one out of the crib.
Congrats on your new baby :)
Personally, I would cut him cold turkey and find something else that he can soothe with. When both of my girls were 6 mos old they became attached at night and we cut them cold turkey. It was a hard week, but after that they never wanted it again. Our youngest needed something else to soothe her (our older one didn't...she just learned to go down w/out it) so she fell in love w/ a small hand blanket that's soft on one side and silky on the other. You know you'll have to cut him off from it at some point, you may as well do it now.
GOOD LUCK!
Its kinda silly but we had like 8 binks in the crib w/my son at a time. He could always find one and I didnt have to get up at night anymore to find him one. Hope that helps
K.
Cheer up... our 6 1/2 month old just learned how to put her pacifier in her mouth. Yours should figure it out soon!
The long naps may be why he waking up in the middle of the night. Babies are little adults. We only need so much sleep and the schedule you had him on before worked out great, now you have him sleeping longer during the day. I bet if you go back to the short naps during the day he will not wake up at night like he has been since you made the change to the pacifier.
Good Luck,
S.
Hello
What I used to do with my little ones - - during the day naps, I would let them fall asleep with the pacifier and then I would take it away once they were asleep, do this for about a week and then the nighttime shouldn't be a big deal if it falls out
Good luck!
My doctor suggested letting them cry it out at night. It was hard but the first 2 kids slept much better because they learned to fall asleep on their own. 5 times seems likes its a lot. I would make sure that he is not hungry. I used to feed my kids a big bowl of oatmeal before bed and they would sleep better at night. I spoiled my third child. I helped him go to sleep. He always comes to me if he wakes up in the night. (he's 2.) The other 2 would just lie in bed and go back to sleep on their own.
A.,
My daughter is also pacifier dependent. She loves her pacifier, especially during the night. She doesn't have to take it all day, but when it comes to nap time and bed time, she needs to have it. That being said, I would also have to keep getting up several times a night to put the pacifier back in her mouth. Some nights were better than others. It soothed her and she would fall right back to sleep. It wasn't until about 2 or so months ago that she started to find the pacifier herself and popped it back in her mouth. I now get a good night sleep without having to worry about putting her pacifier back in her mouth. Although there are just a few times she can't find it and is sitting up in bed crying (that's when I have to get up and pop it back in, but that is not often). She just turned 1 year old, so I would have to say that she started finding her own pacifier around 9 or 10 months. I clearly remember those days of having to get up several times a night. I would make my husband share the duty of getting up every night. But it lessens in time and you will see that your son and you will sleep again.
Good luck!
