7 1/2 Month Old Won't Take Pacifier

K.,
Some babies just DON'T take to pacifiers. It's just how it is, so it probably would be best to move his crib away, and just put him down after feeding. Yes, he might cry. Babies do that, but they do simmer down too.

Don't start on the pacifier - have you seen how many posts there are from Moms desperate to get their kids off them? My twins - now 7 never had pacifiers - they never seemed to like them and I thought it made the kids look common and the moms lazy for using them esp out in public. My two had a blanket they loved at bedtime which helped them get to sleep and we never had an issue with crying it out. Kids are a lot more adaptable than we give them credit for. Good luck!

My kiddos only liked latex pacifiers...and they are in short supply now that most are silicone. Do an internet search for pacifiers and you will be amazed at the choices!

~L.

My daughter didn't nurse to sleep but liked being rocked to sleep so I started singing the same songs to her while I was rocking her to sleep. Then I started putting her in her crib and rubbing her back and singing those songs till she adjusted to that and could fall asleep that way so she could get used to falling asleep in the crib and then eventually we graduated to her being able to fall asleep without me there. It took a little while and I know some people are all for crying it out, but I believe that works with some children and not with others. Do what you're comfortable with. My daughter eventually go to a routine where we rocked and sang a couple of songs and said prayers, put her in the crib and then walked out the door. You'll get there - be patient!

I suppose if that doesn't work you might try putting a little breast milk on the pacifier to see if he'll suck it if he tastes that...or something sweet like a tiny bit of pear juice just to get him going.

If it were me, and it was at one time, I'd just nurse him. These days pass quickly. I know it doesn't seem like it right now! You can try turning your back to him after he's nursed awhile or see if he'll let your husband settle him back down. None of my breastfed kids liked pacifiers, though some do. Many, many babies love to have their mamas nurse them to sleep and off & on during the night. Sorry I don't have any other suggestions but I'm glad you're not considering lettin him just scream!

Good luck!

There is a great book called the "No Cry Sleep Solution" which offers a way to stop your child from using you as a pacifier - worked wonders for my son!

Oh...he is still so little! He just wants you, his Mom, and the comfort you bring to him. I wouldn't try to do anything. His during the night needs will slowly be less and less. The bedtime nursing is like the last big lovins from Mom before sleep. Crying it out was never an option for me either. This won't last forever...savor it, he will be saying "I can do it myself" soon enough.

My prescription for your situation might be to invest in a gliding rocking chair...a soothing lullabye CD...and a few uniterrupted minutes of Mommy or Daddy's time holding and gently patting baby's back...might easily transport baby off into a swift, peaceful slumber. Worked for me, hope it will for you!

Sweet dreams,

M. F.

PS: Nicole Larson's CD's are wonderful...also, through Musical Memo @ ###-###-#### you can order a wonderful bedtime lullabye CD with your child's name spoken throughout. It's beautiful!

If he hasn't been taking a pacifier so far, now might not be the best time to encourage him to take one. It might be harder to break the habit. However, I can fully understand the need to break him from you being the pacifier and I don't agree with crying it out either. Our daughter wouldn't take the 'normal' pacifiers either. For the first 4 months she would only use the Soothie pacifiers, they're ugly looking big green pacifiers. Then I tried the Binky paci by Playtex, it's a similar shape to the Soothie. She's been using those ever since but still won't take the more common ones. Good luck, I know this is a difficult time. Being patient isn't something you want to be right now!! It might be a good idea like you said to move the crib away from your bed. He may wake up and see you and and knows that you'll pick him up. Take care and Good Luck!!

I like what Kim H said. If you try that, another thing you could do is place a silky pair of YOUR pajamas with HIM when he goes to bed. My aunt's little boy wouldn't go to sleep without her. So she tried laying him down and then gave him Her silky p.j. shirt to him, kind of like a blanket and he went right down. It has her special mom smell on it so it was reassuring to him.

If your son doesn't like the pacifier right now, that's good. It's one less thing to break him from. My son wouldn't take to it either. Even without that, I never had to give either of my children bottles in bed at all. They could have something before bedtime, but NEVER in bed. Again, one less thing to break them from later. My son still likes his glass of water at night before bed though and he'll be 7 yrs. next month.

I hope this helped. Good luck!

Hey girl! I'm a mother of 2 with #3 on the way in weeks. I also breastfed (on demand) so I know what it's like to get exhausted from a lack of sleep. Well, I first want to say hang in there. Pray and be flexible and open to what has helped other moms. I did strictly on demand the first 2 kids, this time I am more open to other methods. The first method strikes me as more gentle. It's based on Harvey Karp's DVD and book called The Happies Baby on the Block. (I found them both at the Ypsi library. Go to ypsilibrary.org to reserve your copy. They will call you when it arrives at the library and set it aside for you so you can quickly check out the materials and get back to the rest of life. I think you may find some of his ideas interesting (swaddling the baby, placing him on his side or stomach to sooth him, shhh him (introduce white noice), swing him and sucking tips. If you are short on time, the DVD is great for the basics. It is also awesome to share with your hubby so he can help sooth your little fella wihtout having to read the entire book. I don't know about your hubby, but mine would prefer the DVD over the book any day!

The book has more specifics on how to help your fella sleep more hours. And specifics on pacifier usage and how to wein the fella. I also love the askdrsears.com website (I hope I got that right!) for suggestions. You might want to check that.

From what I have read from various sources, babies are developmentally ready to learn how to return to sleep without mommy and daddy's help at 3 months. Some get the hang of it without much crying and drama, others need a while to transition. Have you considered calling La Leche (a breast feeding support group) and asking for their suggestions? You can go online for their meeting times and contact numbers.

To be honest, I was one of those moms who eventually choose to let my first 2 daughters cry themselves to sleep. It WAS hard but as everyone says, it was only temporary (days). This time, I am planning to try techniques from Dr. Karp's book at day one, so I have other prompts that calm the baby and help her sleep without placing such a high demand on me. I have a husband, 2 additinoal kids and my saniity to think about as well.

Well, those are just some thoughts. I hope all turns out well for you!!!!!!! Hang in there!

I nursed both my boys and the ony pacifier eiher one like was the advent ones. They are a little flatter (Like a nipple when in their mouth) and made from a different material.

Neither of my 2 kids took pacifiers and nursed 12 months. I won't say it's the easiest of things. Try with nap time...

I think at 7 1/2 months you SHOULDN'T try and incourage pacifiers...alot of people take them away BEFORE this age...

I recommend...rocking baby back to sleep and not nursing. I did that with both my kids each kid was different..my son took longer... I would rock and sing softly or hum..and then baby would fall asleep and back in there crib. after some time they didnt' wake anymore. they realized they weren't going to be nursed...

GOOD LUCK. I know it's not easy..hang in there without the pacifier search...

My daughter nursed to sleep until she was 17 months old. Don't worry about it. When she was older I began replacing nursing with stories and singing her to sleep. You can also try the No Cry Sleep Solution, it is available at most bookstores and at Babies R Us. Unless it is really bothering you or causing a problem I wouldn't worry about him nursing to sleep. I found breaking her from nursing to sleep very easy when she was older and didn't "need" the breast milk for her main food source. Around 9-10 months she weaned herself from the night time feedings. I just let her sort of lead the way, if she didn't ask to nurse I didn't offer.

I nurse my little girl who is 11 months old. She has sucked her thumb since she found it-But I am still her pacifier some okay most nights. She will not fall asleep on her own no matter what method I try(and I am w/ you on the crying method-babies cry because they need something)I did start to put her in bed in her room at about 6-7months and this did help a little.I don't think there is any miracle pacifier out there my little one thinks the are chew toys. Best of luck

Hi K.,
I was in your same situation. My daughter now 8 months just started to take a bottle. She does not and wont take a pacifier. It was hard the first 5 months because she wouldn't sleep well without me breastfeeding her. I would try some classical music, that soothers her, she will cry for a little bit, but not long. I don't like to let her cry it out either. It's tough, hang in there. Its a good thing in the long run that he wont take a pacifier!!

HI K.
We never used a pacifier, to me it felt like making her be quite. There were car trips I wished she would have taken one I still remember, she's 5 now. What I'd thought I'd try to do when we have another baby is not nurse to sleep. To nurse till there all milk drunk and happy then to snuggle rock or sing them off to sleep.
Maybe put the shirt you slept in the night before in his crib, and your smell with be there to sooth him all night.
I wish you the best of luck, A. H

my daughter loves her "soothie" pacifier. she tolerated the NUK... she gagged on the mam ...

she only liked the regular straight nipple pacifier.

You can buy the soothie at target meijers toyrus...It is greeen...

However my duaghter is almost 3 and she still loves her paci... so you might not want to get your son started on a paci..

My son sucks his thumb--

my lil one took forever to finally take a pacifier. I went out and bought every kind there was and then i talked to my lacatation consultant...and she told me to trick her. Act as
if your about to feed him and slip the pacifier in front of your nipple...and he hopefully will take it. It took me a few times of doing this before I could just pop it in her mouth and she would suck..but it worked for me. Good Luck

Hi K.,

My son loves his gumdrop pacifier...it is like the "soothie" but without the big giant ring. And it has not caused any nipple confusion because it is shaped to resemble a nipple.

www.gumdroppacifier.com

Best of luck...I know it is hard to break them of habits, but usually it is more our habit than theirs. :) I remember it being remarkably more easy than I thought it might be to break my daughter from it.

I feel your pain - went through this with my first-born son and now we're onto my daughter who i will be addressing this very same issue with at the beginning of December...What worked for us is the hair-dryer...we would put that on and eventually it calmed our son down enough to sleep without nursing...it was very hard but it worked...good luck~

The best one I used was the NUK type. (http://www.babyearth.com/nuk-classic-pacifiers-size-1.html). I liked both the silicone (clear plastic) and rubber types. Rubber was more like the breast and the silicone one was great for teething.

It took a while for my daughter to get used to one too, but be persistent. Are you trying to get him to use it in the day during non nursing times? If not, that might help. Also, get one of those string clips, so once he does learn to use it, he can find it if he spits it out. ;) We spent months constantly picking them up off the floor, washing and giving them back before getting one.

Check out the No Cry Sleep Solutions.. it's a good method that is not a cry it out method, but gives solutions that can help with breaking from nursing to sleep.

One thing that has helped us is having my husband put our son to bed.. he rocks him or bounces him and he's just fine without nursing. He does take a pacifier though.. some babies just don't like the substitute.

Hi K.,
I have a few suggestions for you. First, on the crying method, I have used it and it has worked well for me. Have you considered trying it for short periods of time? If its not for you then its just not obviously but I did my son in short 5 minuet timeslots and it worked well. My daughter on the other hand is also breastfed (13 mos) now andquit takig her paci at 8 mos out of the blue. She is also unconsolable without me or if she knows I am anywhere around bringing me to my second thought....
Have you considered letting someone else do the nighttime thing? Babies who are nursed know darn well that thats what mommys are for and if we can be seen or heard at bedtime then we are summond :) My husband has been putting our daughter to sleep and it works like a charm... almost a diff. child I tell ya! Hope something works for you:)

Nurse him when he wakes up instead (and make sure he gets a full feeding from both sides) of when it is time to go to sleep. Then keep him awake after he eats make it play time instead of naptime,letting him make himself tired... put him to bed awake but drowsy.
After 6 months old babies don't "need" non-nutritive sucking so I don't recommend starting a pacifier now. It will just be another habit to break later if he does take it.

K.,

I agree with you, I never could let my babies cry it out either! It just felt so wrong to me.

The only things I can think of to try would be to use the smallest size pacifier, and try to introduce it to your son when hes already calm, relaxed and half asleep already. For instance after hes used you as a pacifier and is pretty well asleep, try to make the switch then, seems to me he'll be more likely to accept something else when hes happy and relaxed rather than when hes upset. Hope this helps!

Oh K....I feel for you.
Im not sure what to tell you. My son started on a pacifier right after coming home from the hospital. I know that sounds amazing...but they did that in the nursery too. And I have to say...thank GOd for that, lol. He took to that and I never had a problem...aside from it falling out at night! (he's 5 now)

Im not sure if they will suddenly start to use it...maybe go on one of the parent websites and check out what they say. I hope you get some other advice...I know it would be so hard to walk away and let them cry, I couldnt do that either. Good Luck.

I don't think this exactly answers your questions...but I think what you are really looking for is a way to get him to sleep? My suggestion is to start putting him to sleep awake. Try not to feed him to sleep. He needs to learn how to fall asleep on his own and a pacifer isn't go to do that for him.

Good luck.

Hi K.,
I don't believe in crying it out either. I firmly believe this only teaches our kids that we are not going to be there for them and help them. (this idea is also supported by many sociologists who study child development by the way)

That being said, I haven't had any issues with my daughter NOT wanting a paci, she has always taken one, but we are going through a phase where she wants to nurse before nap and bedtime. At bedtime I know she is eating, so I'm not willing to do much about that one. I have read up alot on different methods and such...so I thought I would put in my 2 cents.

I must say one thing first... the woman who said kids don't NEED a paci and that she thinks it makes them look common... that's a bunch of bull. Good for her that her 2 kids didn't need one.... or maybe it just wasn't an option and they quickly learned that. BUT ... babies have a natural instinct to suck. It IS soothing for them... so there are times when we just need to give in to that soothing mechanism. But obviously using mama as a paci isn't the answer.

First you need to be sure he isn't eating but rather just pacifying himself with you. Once you are sure he is just using you as a paci then try cutting down on the total time... slowly. This is one method for cutting out nighttime nursing sessions. Determine how long he normally nurses.... and then start cutting it down by a minute or two each time.

Have you tried putting some expressed milk on a paci? What about offering him one of your pajama tops to snuggle with while he sucks on the paci.

It may be that he is just looking for that snuggly time with mama. Offering your smell all around him while he is sucking the paci might help. I also know moms who have had great luck with putting expressed milk on the paci.

Good luck!

Well, I breastfed all my 3 kids. None of them ever took any kind of pacifier! It was frustrating, my daughter however started sucking her thumb at about 5 months, and was able to stay asleep because of that. It was a blessing at the time, but she is seven now, and she still does it!! It's getting less and less, but she is going to have to have braces because of it. So, while I don't have any advice on pacifiers, what I did was give them a bit of cereal before I fed them and they seemed to stay asleep longer that way. Then i supplemented formula throughout the day and only nursed at night. However, getting them to take a bottle was tricky as well. I made sure it was never me that gave it to them and I made sure I wasn't within earshot either. If they knew I was around they would not take a bottle!! Good Luck!!

Shelly

Most breastfed babies will not go to a pacifier especially after 7 months. I nursed my baby to sleep for 5 months. Then I was tired of having to go lay down for 20 minutes or so, every night at 8 p.m. Plus she was waking up and wanting it to fall back asleep. I was so sleep deprived!!!! I know you don't want to do the cry it out method, but it works soooooooo good. 2 nights of crying, and ever since then she has slept through the night like an angel. She is 2 now and I put her in her crib and say I love you, she says I dove eww! She wasn't damaged from the 2 nights of crying. She learned to love her bed, get cozied up to her baby doll and bunny, and snuggle in for a wonderful sleep. Good luck, if you don't do the cry method it is a long drawn out process, many months of caving in and nursing and what not.

I know you said you tried every kind of pacifier but have you tried the "Soothies". They are the green ugly looking pacifiers that they give you in the hospital. I bought every kind of pacifier for my daughter besides this one and she did not want anything but her bottle nipple. Someone suggested these and I was so happy when I bought them. She only uses it to fall asleep with but it was a blessing when she started taking it!