DITCH. THE. PACIFIER. Pacifier: (noun) a rubber, plastic, or silicone nipple substitute given to an newborn to suckle on between feeds to quiet their distress by satisfying the need to suck when they do not need to eat. It helps them self regulate before they can self soothe on their own. By the 4-6 month mark the baby has new ways to self soothe through “touch, sound, music, rocking” and pacifier is no longer needed! Believe it or not now is the time to ditch the pacifier or at the very least limit it to nap and nighttime with the goal of being completely done by 1. After that it only becomes harder to ditch it. They begin to give it a name — “binky, boppy, mimi, tuck, bobo.” Now there is psychological attachment to it. Random fact: the origin of the word pacifier in Latin means “peace.” Sooo yes it gives all around peace for the child and the parent in the moment, however the long term impacts will not be peaceful. It hurts my heart when we have parents come in with their chief complaint that their child isn’t talking. Guess what? Ditch the pacifier. Get their tongue and lips out of mouth jail and watch the language explode. Without their pacifier, their lips and cheeks and tongue are able to move freely and explore. Not to mention preventing longer term orthodontic issues, chronic ear infections, problems chewing food… the list goes on. I promise it is harder on you that it is on them. You got this. Future you will thank you so much. 💙
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