I am getting ready to go back to work in a little over a month when my maternity leave is over. My seven-week-old son will only suck on mom's (or dad's) pinkie for soothing. He has never taken a pacifier from the day he was born. We actually got the pinkie trick from the nurse in the hospital. I have tried every pacifier in existance (and have a bag of them to prove it!), but my son just does not like them - he pushes them out of his mouth and cries. My problem is that he will be going into daycare three days a week when I return to work. I want the daycare provider to be able to soothe him, but I'm not keen on having anyone other than my husband or me put their fingers in my son's mouth. However, I don't want him upset and inconsolable all day. Help! Has anyone else had this same problem? Any advice? Thanks, moms!
My daughter prefered my pinkie too. I wou8ld try differnt pacies or try to get him to use his own thumb. That is ideal so he can learn to self-soothe without a paci. My daughter is 3.5 yrs and still wants a paci for bedtime!
Good luck-R.
Just on the off chance that you haven't tried it, the Soothie pacifiers are smaller--my son wouldn't take a normal pacifier--he would only suck on these. They also make a Soothie bottle--so if you plan to use a bottle you can get him started with the Soothie bottle and then he will get used to the shape and feel--this will make it easier to give him the pacifier (the nipples on the bottle are exactly the same as the pacifier). You can get them on www.childmed.com--my son eventually grew out of the Soothies and moved on to the normal sized pacifiers--I just think they were too much for him when he was so little.
He is only seven weeks old, and a lot can change in 4 weeks! He may not even need the pinkie by then. If you have a good daycare provider she will figure out how to soothe your baby. Good luck and congrats on the new baby.
Hi C.,
Although my first son LOVED his pacifier, my second one wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole (just like your guy). The only thing I can say is that it is actually a good thing, because your son will learn to soothe himself more quickly. Once he figures out that mom or dad's finger is not available, he will find some other way to calm himself (his own thumb, most likely). One thing you could try is helping him to get his own thumb now, before he starts daycare. Don't offer the pinkie anymore, just gently pull his hand up to his mouth instead. He'll be pissed off at first, but you might be more comfortable if you do this training rather than wait until he is in daycare and has to go cold turkey. Good luck!
Dear C.,
I just wanted to tell you a few things. I am a daycare provider and this has come up in the past. Like you I don't feel comfortable with someone eles's hands in the childs mouth. One thing that I learned while taking care of kids, is that they react to the same thing in different ways to different people. I had a baby in here about a year ago. That when she got up set and fussed the mom would nurse the baby. As you know that I very well can't do that so I found a very soothing way to do the calming. I would put the child in a bouncy seat that viberated and then turned on some soothing music. Usually that did the trick. The mom tried the same thing and said that it didn't work for her. I just explained that child learn at a very young age who will do what.
About a two weeks before you go back to work ask your provider to watch you child while you go to a lunch. the lunch can be even a quick fast food thing. But that will give your provider and the baby to get to know each other. Before you leave ask her what she will will do to sooth the baby. Then when you get back see how it went.
Good Luck.
B.
