How is the baby used to the pacifier?

Sucking is a reflex that starts in the womb in babies. With the awareness of this reflex, it is a product that facilitates the work of pacifier mothers, as it allows the baby to fall asleep after birth and calm down when he cries. However, it is necessary to be careful while accustoming the baby to the pacifier in order to prevent pacifier addiction. In this article, we have explained all the techniques you need to know about how to get the baby used to the pacifier!

How is the baby used to the pacifier?

Babies are born with a sucking reflex. For this reason, with the initiation of breastfeeding after birth, situations such as crying and whimpering between two breast feedings or the continuation of sucking desire despite being full may occur. At this point, the choice of pacifier is very important as the techniques applied to accustom the baby to the pacifier should be correct. First of all, let’s start with the topic of how to accustom the newborn baby to the false pacifier.

How to accustom a newborn baby to a pacifier?

Since sucking is a stress-reducing reflex for babies, babies feel more comfortable and safe when they have a nipple or pacifier in their mouth. There are some babies who do not cry or whine at all between breastfeeding gaps or sleep for at least 1 hour after feeding, in such cases you do not need to use a pacifier anyway. Some babies, on the other hand, cannot sleep for more than 30 minutes and whine all the time, despite sucking. In such cases, the pacifier (false breast) is a great savior for mothers.

1. Drop breast milk into the pacifier

This is actually the simplest method you can apply on how to get the baby used to a pacifier. When you put a few drops of breast milk on your baby’s pacifier and give it to him, this taste will become familiar and will make it easier for him to take the pacifier.

2. Support your baby to hold the pacifier

You should not give up the pacifier completely by saying that the baby will suck after accepting the pacifier anyway. Try to support your baby gradually with your hand until the acclimatization period.

3. Put the pacifier in your mouth while lying down

Babies continue their sucking habits while they sleep. For this reason, holding the pacifier to your mouth, especially when your baby is lying down, will facilitate and accelerate the habituation process. Until you are sure that your baby is holding the pacifier in his mouth in a controlled way, you should not leave him.

4. Use a nipple-like pacifier

One of the most important details to consider when choosing a pacifier for your baby is to choose a pacifier with a design similar to the structure of the mother’s breast. Because pacifiers, whose ergonomic structure resembles a mother’s breast, are very helpful in accustoming the baby to the pacifier, and their use is extremely comfortable for the baby.

5. Experiment with different pacifiers

Despite these attempts, the baby may not accept the pacifier. For some babies, it takes trial and error to find the right pacifier. In other words, instead of forcing your baby to be fixed on a single pacifier, you can experiment with pacifier models of different brands. So you can infer by observing how your baby reacts to each pacifier.

6. Sweeten the pacifier

First of all, let’s say that we recommend this method not for the newborn period, but for the baby who has started to take additional food . Sometimes, mothers are desperate about how to get used to the baby who does not hold a pacifier, and they can try sweeteners such as molasses in the newborn period. You can try this method after solid food.

Remember that every baby’s temperament, character and reactions are unique. Therefore, while one method may give immediate results in one baby, the same may not be the case for the other baby. Even if this situation does not upset or intimidate you, you may just need to put in a little more effort.