Breastfeeding & Pacifiers

I was against using a paci. until I had my DD... She loves it! a lot of babies *need* to suck on something for comfort reasons-it releases endorphins- and it's nice for her to have something other than ME to suck on. :) she doesn't have any problems going from breast, to bottle, to binky. she does all 3. :)

~also, it didn't affect my supply at all...and studies have shown that it decreases the chance of SIDS if you put baby to bed with a binky. (not all night, just to fall asleep.)

I have a 3 week old today and I BF and also use a pacifier with my son and have not had any problems.

The hospital gave us a NUK but I prefer mam, so he's used both without any problems.

The nurses at the hospital said that a paci was fine because it teaches sucking. I used one with my son and nursed him exclusivley until 12 months when we switched him to milk, then kept nursing part time until 16 months. We had no issues.

There are very few things in life that have a cut and dried answer. The conventional wisdom is that it will interfere with the establishment of breastfeeding...but it really depends on the baby.

It is not just a matter of the baby learning, but also about stimulating your supply. You will likely get an equal mix of answers.

If breastfeeding is important to you then you probably avoid it until you know it is well established. I believe, that in the early weeks, it will interfere with establishing a good latch and supply though I was willing to use one in limited circumstances later on.

I HIGHLY recommend you use a paci from day one!

I made the mistake of wating and I ended up being the paci! All of my BF babies had to nurse on me to fall asleep, it's a BAD habit to break and so easy to fall into. IF I had started them with a paci from day one, they would have easily fallen asleep on their own (like my bottle fed baby did).

There's even new research out that says paci's "help" in preventing SIDS because the sucking of the paci keeps baby from falling into a deep sleep which helps prevent SIDS. It was something I heard on the news a few years ago.

But again, I don't think your baby will NOT nurse because of the paci, if anything it will only take you and not the paci but it's GREAT if they take the paci and will make car rides much much smoother. My one child that took the paci was always so much calmer and quieter when we went places (if he had his paci) and although many have trouble getting rid of the paci, it wasn't hard for us. The older he got the more he understood he was growing up and didn't need the paci anymore.

Good luck to you!

With my son we used a paci and bf, and it was fine. My daughter never wanted to take one so she sucked her thumb. I wish I would have gotten her on a paci so I could take it away like we did with our son.

I got hung up with the no pacifier 'rule' with my first daughter and subsequently became her built in pacifier for the next couple of years. It was exhausting.

With my second I offered the pacifier right away and things were so much better. We did ditch the pacifier around 15 months at the advice of the pediatrician. She didn't really miss it though because she still nursed but I was not her pacifier.

hi J....i breastfed my son for 15 months and he NEVER had a pacifier. he ate about every 2 hours just like clock-work. i would have to wake up a couple times during the night to pump cuz he wasn't waking to eat. i don't know if i'm lucky or what...but i haven't had sleeping issues at all with my son...he didn't "suck" while he slept or anything...so i don't know. every child is different so it definitely depends on your child...i just never made the pacifier an option and it never became an issue.

I bf and all 3 of my babies had pacifiers. They were all natural b/f and latched on well. However I weaned them off the pacifier when they didn't feel the need to suck on something constantly as newborns do. 1st one was done with the pacifier at 3 months, 2nd one had colic and weaned her off the pacifier by 9 months, 3rd one weaned himself off the pacifier and breast at 5 months. They were easy to wean off the bottle and breast too. I think if you get rid of the pacifier first by 9 months it makes it easier a few months later to wean off b/f and the bottle. after a year the child is more addicted to the pacifier than really needing it. Our 3rd child weaned himself off the bottle at 10 months. He was perfectly happy with his sippy cup and would throw the bottles across the room like a football and they would crack. Amazed me how plastic bottles would crack that easily.

I breastfed for 12 months and never offered my son a pacifier since his birth. I put a "no pacifier, send to mommy if fussy" sign in his crib in th ehospital nursery. Needless to say they brought him to me VERY often as a baby should be near his mommy after birth. It worked well because the nurses allowed me to rest peacefully when he rested. They also quickly awakened me about every 2 hours.as he got fussy cries. But that 2 hours of rest was worth it because it was real sleep (after C-section) that I could let myself fall into knowing that the nurses were watching him and hte moment he opened his mouth they brought him to me. I think if a pcifier was used he wouldn't have latched on at all.

I breastfed all three of my kids and they all used a paci from the very beginning. They also easily transitioned to a bottle (of pumped breastmilk) when I had to go back to work.

My sister did not use a paci and her kids suck their thumbs. This has been a problem now that they are preschoolers. You can take away a pacifier but not a thumb. Infants need to suck. It's no fun to be a human pacifier, especially if you have other children to play with.

Good luck!

I was going to do everything "right" when we had our first daughter. No formula, no pacifier, no introducing the bottle early, etc. The second night in the hospital, the nurse told us that since we had a "no pacifier" note on the bassinet, if she fussed a lot and kept the other babies up, our DD would be brought out of the nursery to our room. No problem, I thought. Of course, they ended up bringing her to our room around 2am. She cried for an hour while I kept trying to nurse her. She chomped the heck out of my nipples, and I was crying from the pain. My husband said he thought she was hungry and we should just give her formula, but I said, no she doesn't need to eat for the first few days; if we're going to break a rule, I'd rather break the pacifier one first. Gave the binky to her, and she instantly went to sleep. If only I'd decided that before the hour of agonizing pain! I share that to say, do whatever works for you and your baby. We had no trouble with nursing once she figured out how to latch on, and she used her pacifier a fair amount. I would think that you might want to delay the bottle for a few weeks for sure just to avoid nipple confusion, but she'll be able to tell she doesn't get milk from the pacifier like she does from you. Congratulations!

Now problem for my 2 boys. They both liked thier pacifiers & nursed well.

God bless!

I agree with BD. I also did not allow my first DD to get a paci and became her pacifier. My second I totally gave up on the first night in the hospital when I couldn't sooth her for anything and went ahead and gave her a paci so I could get some sleep! She never had any problems with latching on, nurses like a champ and only uses her paci when she's tired or in the car. It really depends also on the baby I think because I did try the paci on my first and she just played with it like it was a chew toy whereas my second will actually use it to sooth herself when she can't nurse. I have heard also that you should wait until you have established breastfeeding to introduce it, but like I said my second DD took it the first night and nurses just fine. Good luck!

No binki's, plugs, pacifiers, or whatever they are called until you are ready to wean. I know first hand. I successfully breastfed for approximately 15 months. The best decision I could have ever made. Hang in there. It takes practice and prayer. God made us with the gift to feed children. Use what you have and be proud and confident. It saves you a lot of money too on formula and Dr's visits for illnesses.

I didn't have any issues with my little guy. I nursed for 11 months, and he used a pacifier the whole time. Every baby is different, though, so if you have any trouble nursing, you might consider delaying it.

Congrats and best of luck!

I would highly recommend getting breastfeeding established for a good 6 weeks before using a pacifier.

You will get differing opinions and there will be babies who did well on a pacifier from minute one, however, why take a chance.

Check out www.kellymom.com for breastfeeding info. This is a fabulous on-line resource for breastfeeding moms. I have used them lots. I am tandem nursing my 2 1/2 year old, a 9 month old, and donate extra pumped milk, so I've done my share of breastfeeding.

Here is their take on pacifiers and breastfeeding: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/concerns/pacifier.html

I wish you luck mama.

My little lady just had in the last two months, pacifier, bottle and nipple. Weeks without feeding off the boob, formula and more...lol I spent a lot of time in the hospital. She now at 2 1/2 months is strictly breastfeeding. It is amazing what you can do when you heart is really into getting the breastfeeding down. So yes I would say it is possible without interfering with learning how to nurse.

So many people get crazy about pacifiers and I don't understand it! Babies NEED to suck....a lot. If you deny your baby a pacifier for some weird reason, you will find yourself nursing A LOT. You will also find your baby very hard to put to sleep for the next 2 years or so. Once you and the baby establish a good nursing routine and a solid latch, there's no harm in a pacifier and it may very well save you a ton of grief. In fact, if your baby doesn't seem interested at first, KEEP OFFERING IT. If they don't catch on to the pacifier thing, they will use YOU to satisfy the urge to suck and you will never get off the couch.

I think it depends on the baby--totally! My daughter was NOT a good nurser, so we kept the binky away from her for several weeks while we got the latch down. She wasn't that interested in it after that, but we kept trying and she eventually learned to like it around 2 or 3 months. It was great to help her sleep or calm her in public.

I did not become her binky during those first months, either--that is more about the routine you maintain and how often you let them nurse and for how long. No snacking was my rule! When you eat, you are fully awake, and you eat until you are done on both sides, which helped get my supply up and kept her from getting fussy every hour.

Then she was very easy to ween from the binky because we did it when she was 17 or 18 months. I'm glad I now have a talker who I don't have to constantly take out her binky to understand her at 25 months.

Good luck with all!

I nursed my son and he used a pacifier at the same time with no issues. He's not getting milk out of the paci so I guess that's why there was no confusion. ;)

It's going to depend on the baby, like everything else. I would probably make sure you've got your latch down first. I was going to wait however many weeks before giving a binky...it was in my birth plan...ha! My daughter was colicky/refluxy/allergic to everything I ate from the beginning. She was "nursing" for 5 hours at a time at the hospital and didn't want to be put down....and I needed SLEEP! So the nurse brought a binky. It helped a little. She was a BIG TIME binky kid. When she was older, she'd go to sleep with two binkies in each hand and one in her mouth. She never had a yeast infection or an ear infection. She never had trouble gaining weight (she weighed MORE when we left the hospital on day 2 than when she was born and gained a pound a week for a month. I had more than enough breast stimulation, thank you (can you say bowling balls?) She was in the 97% for at least 6 months.) But she had her latch pretty much from the first time I nursed her too. She nursed for almost two years. She gave up the binkies on her own when she was about 3.5 (she was only using them at night). Enjoy your baby!

I waited 10 days after my son was born to give him a pacifier. He wouldn''t take it. Like others said, I became the pacifier. He nursed ALL the time! I tried still for 6 more months and finally he took it! Now he loves it and he's 21 months old. I nursed him for 15 months. Good luck with your decision.