Pacifiers...

neither of my babies used pacifiers. Instead, I would offer them a receiving blanket, to chew or suck on. This was great because it also helped them when they were teething. My son is now three and has not sucked on his blanket for over a year. He just likes to go to sleep with a blankie, though not all the time. Same with my 11 month old.

The sucking reaction is not an addiction, but a natural instinct. It is necessary for babies to have that instinct to help them eat. It is also a great comfort to them.

Try a google search - google is awesome!

I know that everyone has explained the natural sucking need vs addiction. Beware, if your son's sucking urge gets too strong with no way to relieve it he may resort to sucking his thumb and it's MUCH harder to wean from a thumb than any pacifier. Believe me! After my 3rd child's thumbsucking for 9 years you can bet I almost PUSHED the pacifier usage with my 4th so that I wouldn't be fighting with the thumb issue down the line. And she REALLY wanted to suck her thumb but I was not going to "let" her.

My little boy likes to suck on a wet facecloth. I gave it to him cos I heard that a cold wet rag was an idea to try when they where teething and he does like to suck and chew it. So maybe a warm wet rag/facecloth might work. Otherwise just order the thing from Europe!

I don't know if you're nursing or not but the breast is the most natural pacifier there is (what all the others are modeled after:) Sucking is a developmental need and not necessarily an addiction but an adaptive behavior that all infants have. My first two children didn't use a pacifier but my third had a very strong sucking need and didn't always want to nurse to meet that need so I let him suck my finger for awhile until I felt like I might as well try a pacifier. I used a silicone one (Soothie) and it worked really well and really seemed to comfort him. He rejected it in favor of nursing more often at 10 mos. My gut feeling was that his digestive system needed to develop a little and that he wasn't nursing as often as he needed to b/c he had a touch of reflux. Here's a link to some interesting info about the need to suck in an infant. http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detthumb.html

Good luck,
C.

This isn't really answering your question about a natural pacifier, but if you are concerned about the "addiction," I will share, for what it's worth...

I'm sure you know that babies need to suckle when they're young, so everybody is trying to figure out how to manage a pacifier/thumb/whatever. When my baby was about 4 months old (when I started napping her exclusively in her crib, not my arms), I was going to try to take it away, but a wise veteran mom friend suggested that she was too young, and instead I might restrict the pacifier only to the crib or the car. I tried it, and she was too young to be "addicted," so she didn't even seem to notice that she didn't have it when she was awake. It did and still does help her to sleep, or calm her when she's bored or tired in the car, but otherwise she's not a pacifier baby at all. The happy by-product of this is that the pacifier is now a powerful parenting tool for me. It helps her know it's sleep time, etc. And she's not addicted to it in bed either, really, (she can sleep without it) but she likes it.

I'm SOOO glad for my friend's advice, because I didn't want to have a pacifier addiction problem, but I knew that babies do need to suckle. Anyway... just thought I'd pass along the thought in case you were interested.

Sorry I don't know of a natural remedy (other than the thumb, of which I'm a fan, but they really can't figure out how to get it into their mouths until 4-6 months).

it is a natural instinct for the baby to want to suck on anything.. it is a comfort to babies.. even if they are not eating.. so why deny the baby? the only home remedy I can think of is the baby's fingers... the thing I like about pacifiers is that you can wean them from that at some point wheras the thumb or fingers you cannot take a way and are much harder to break the habit. If you are worried about germs.. sterilize the pacifier periodically (boiling water) and/or replace every so often, and there are many, many pacifier attachers that you can buy to clip it to the baby's clothes so that if it is not in his mouth, it won't fall to the floor to get dirty or lost.

the main concern with a "home remedy" would be something that could come loose and make the baby choke. If your baby has such a strong urge to suck, you could save yourself and others around you some headaches if you give him a pacifier... it is a natural instinct and not always meaning he is hungry. You can wean him from him it later.. it will be much easier than taking a finger or thumb away (which you can't do!)

by the way... all five of my babies took a pacifier (it was a trick to learn which one each kid liked the best but it was one of two Nuk or Mum) and all but one weaned nicely from them (there is a trick to doing it) actually the one that weaned from it.. was given one a couple months later when I had her baby sister when she was only two and I refused to let her have it again, so she took up sucking her thumb.. and now at almost 9 years old she is still doing it and the only one who sucks her thumb!

Sucking is a pretty natural and it's developmental. Even the premature babies do it. The NICU babies, if you had a baby early will not let a baby go if he does not suck, swallow, breathe, eat, maintain weight and body temperature. It helps down the road. It's part of eating and drinking. I wouldn't be so worried because it isn't an addiction. My daughter who is two years old was a big thumb sucker she didn't like that pacifier. She was a self soothing kid. She doesn't suck her thumb all the time just every once and a while. Younger babies just don't know. So I wouldn't worry so much.

Hi D.,
My son was a powerful "sucker". They brought him to me in the hospital with a pacifier. I tried to make the best choice for him, since he needed it for security and self calming. I found the NUK pacifiers seemed to be the best shape, though not natural, they were the best choice for us to save the natural formation of his pallet. We used the "NUKKIE" for a safe alternative to the natural mouthing exploration that kids do, since he had his Nukkie he did not place very many oddball things into his mouth. We joked that we needed to buy stocks in NUK because we bought so many of them, we were always chasing them as he got a little older, we began using the "leash" that attatched them to the shirt. One day we were driving on a sunny day and my son, who was around 3-ish, looked me in the eye and threw his Nukkie out the window, fully expecting me to stop the truck and get it for him, WELL, I told him that if he threw it out the window, he did not need it any more! He fussed and threw a fit, but when we got home, he was distracted with his toys, lunch, etc. We only used the Nukkie for naps and bed, and when he fell asleep we took it away and eventually he needed it no more. I had a friend who encouraged her kids to use a thumb or finger and when those kids were 12 they would still suck on the digit, didnt even realize it, and were embarrased when caught! I let my son throw his "away", tough to do with a thumb! As he got older and the teething became a thing, we let him use frozen peperoni sticks to teeth on, he could not really bite the sticks but he sucked the center out, and the flavor kept him going and the coolness kept the discomfort limited. Good luck in your choice! There will be harder things to decide and learning to "choose our battles" as my mom said, will keep you sane!
Enjoy being a mom! It goes away FAST!
S.

My son is 3 1/2 months and has never used a pacifier, I have just always let him suck on my (clean) pinkie finger...

I don't know of anything that you could make a pacifier from though... Good Luck!

Babies need to suck, and some need more oral stimulation and soothing than others. It's not an addiction at two months, or probably not even at two years.

If your caution about plastic and silicone are the chemicals that might leach into your baby's mouth, that is a concern. My understanding is that silicon has not yet been found to release anything harmful, but the suspicion that they are responsible for severe illness in women with breast implants does add a note of caution.

As for plastics and synthetic rubber, they have been shown to release pthalates and other chemicals that are known to be harmful, and researchers are generally agreed that they should not be used where that is a concern, such as in baby bottles or food storage/heating.

It would probably be a good idea, for your own peace of mind and your baby's safety, to find the most natural products available.

Hi, D.,

I know that I have a friend who made wooden pacifiers, and if you do a search, you can find some online. There's also this website: http://www.diapersetc.com/categories/pacifiers/

Best,
Shaindel

I just want to second what everyone has said about this being a natural need and that you should not deny it to her because you're afraid it will become a problem down the line - focus on her needs now, and she apparently needs to suck! Some kids need it more than others. I was determined not to be a "suckie" mom - play on words, we call pacifiers suckies - but my daughter made it clear that she wanted to suck, but as soon as my milk would let down she would get TICKED when she just wanted comfort, not more food. We did an emergent change of thinking and we actually didn't have any problems taking it away. Around a year or so old we just only had them available to her in bed and then as they would get lost or dirty we would toss them out. When she was down to one we just conveniently didn't give it to her for a few nights and then threw it out. NO MUSS! I think sometimes people wait too long, or offer it too often to older babies (certainly not something you have to worry about ANY TIME soon - she NEEDS this right now, just as much as she NEEDS to eat and have her other needs cared for) or for too long, and then you have battles of will when you want to be done with it.
I think a 4 year old with a suckie is too much, but you are light years away from that!
I don't know about natural paci's, but I work in neonatal intensive care and we use the Soothie brand so they must feel it is safe enough to give to extremely sick and preterm infants, so I would think it would be safe for your use too.
Anyway - good luck!!

We use a clean pinky turned so that the pad of the finger is resting on the roof of his mouth. You obviously can't walk away but it's all natural and very effective.

Are you nursing? If so, then I would recommend letting him nurse as often as he needs. If you aren't nursing, at two months old it isn't too late to start - aren't letting him nurse for a week or so your body should begin to produce milk again.
The desire to suck is natural and nature means him to satisfy that need through your body.

Hi D.,

I don't have any good suggestions. Any leather would be horrible because of the tanning process. umm... You know, my boy kept me tied down for some time too, especially in the early months but he found his thumb at 2 months and I haven't had to worry bout it since. He also stopped using his thumb at 9 months. He's 18 months now and we still nurse but it isn't overwelming. Sorry I don't have better suggestions.