Dummies/Pacifiers

Playtex Ortho-Pro BPA free pacifiers -- twin pack.

Doctors in India do not usually recommend a pacifier because of hygiene issues and I personally was against it for a while as well but as the kid completed 3 months of age and was reasonably kind of used to the outside belly environment, I went ahead with giving pacifier once in a while, this way she did not get used to it but chews on it for a while out of curiosity and sucks it for a moment. Just a momentary distraction but of good use to quieten her when extremely fussy.

Coming to an argument if pacifier is a better alternative than thumb sucking.. I am not aware. All I need is a moment's distraction to soothe her which serves the purpose.

The pros of pacifier I got to gather
**Soothing/comforting
**Distracting
**Satisfies the non-nutritional urge to suck and thereby avoid overfeeding in bottle-fed kids.

The Cons..
**Germ harbors.
**addictive.
**speech delays.
**Teeth issues.
**excess use might cause ear infections.
etc..

So, I have it handy with me, but I hardly use it.. I just like it to give me a moment's peace between the chaos. She eventually spits it out or just picks it up in hand and starts playing with it but serves the purpose, to divert her attention.

I had chosen an orthodontic pacifier, BPO-free from Playtex, which has this unique design which is easy to clean, easy to store, comes in good eye-soothing colors, which is also supposed to be dentists recommended due to its shape thereby putting less pressure on the gums and not interfere with teething or in crooked teething. It has a thin and unique shaped nipple which

I personally decided against a pacifier in the initial stages because of hygiene issues more than anything. Also, the doctor said something about relation to earaches which I am not really sure of now.

The best thing about it is the cover in which it comes for a germophobe mom like me.

It is a purely personal choice to go or not with it.. I personally, rarely use it but more than LO, it is my pacifier ;).

There have been some models which have been recalled from Playtex, so check out before buying.

Getting Rid of Pacifier Habit
Pacifiers are something which are not advisable for children, because of increased risk of infections many folds, esp. in hot weather. They don’t have anything to do with teeth eruption, infect they are known to deform the teeth if used persistently after a particular age.
I feel u need to be smart enough to stop that in one go, as early as possible. No option. We should be careful in starting new habits to our children, cos, many times it’s really difficult to get rid of them.