Pacifiers and Sleep

A perfect mix or a recipe for disaster?

Let’s talk pacifiers and sleep.

A hotly debated topic, pacifiers don’t totally deserve the bad wrap they’re often given.

I myself used a pacifier with both my boys during the newborn phase. They loved their pacifiers; it calmed my oldest when he was fussy and seemed to help with my youngest son’s reflux. And there are a lot of pros to using a pacifier during the newborn stage, such as:

Reducing the risk of SIDS (AAP guidelines recommend offering one to your baby at naps and bedtime).

Soothing when a baby is fussy.
Offering temporary distraction.
Helping a baby fall asleep.
Easing discomfort during car rides and travel.

When pacifiers can start to become problematic is around four months, when your baby is no longer a newborn and they’ve become reliant on the pacifier to sleep and the only way to get them to fall back asleep is reinserting it continually throughout the night. The pacifier replacement game is not a fun one (IYKYK). Some of the cons of using a pacifier past the newborn stage are:

Disrupting sleep when the pacifier falls out and they can’t replace it themselves, which also interrupts the ability to fall into a deeper stage of sleep.
Babies can become extremely dependent on them and will always want/need one in their mouth even when they’re not sleeping.
Prolonged use may affect the alignment of teeth coming in and lead to dental issues.

What if my baby is over six months and can reinsert their own pacifier?

For babies that are old enough to replace pacifiers themselves, I recommend sprinkling a bunch in their crib. If they wake up and are able to put one back in their mouth and fall asleep right away without calling for you, then great! But if you try this tactic and your baby isn’t replacing it themselves or is waking up multiple times throughout their naps or during the night and is experiencing disrupted sleep, then it’s time to ditch the pacifier.

My toddler still uses a pacifier and I would like to get rid of it. Help!

There are a number of ways to approach this. Below are some of the most common ones.

Cold Turkey - This one can be challenging as toddlers have BIG feelings and you will likely have to deal with a significant amount of protest. If you decide to go this route you need to be ready to provide your toddler with a lot of positive reinforcement and stay CONSISTENT!
Weaning - If cold turkey isn’t your thing, then you can gradually try to reduce pacifier use by only giving it to your child for sleep situations. Once they are used to that, you can then try cutting it from their nap routine and then from nighttime. This method can take weeks, even months, so practice patience and again, remain consistent. In addition to the above, I recommend buying a children’s book that you can read to your toddler daily to encourage them to say goodbye to their pacifier.
The Binky Fairy - One of my good friend’s recently introduced “The Binky Fairy” to her 2-year-old. She talked about The Binky Fairy for a few weeks and let her daughter know that The Binky Fairy was coming to collect her pacifiers and would give her something magical in return. Her daughter was excited by this idea and low and behold, two weeks after her mom started talking about The Binky Fairy, she woke up to all her pacifiers being gone and in return she got a special hand-written note and unicorn stuffed animal which she loved.
Snip it - Cut the end of the pacifier with scissors and explain to your toddler that it’s broken or let them suck the broken pacifier which will be very unsatisfying and the hope is that they will lose interest in it all together. I am personally not a big fan of this method as it has the potential to enrage a toddler. I would try using the above methods and save this as a last resort if nothing else works.

The most important thing to remember is that a pacifier can be a very useful tool. When it starts to go beyond that and become more disruptive than helpful, that’s when it’s time to start looking to reduce and eventually stop its use so that your child can learn independent sleep skills and all of you can get the rest you need and deserve. If you could benefit from some more customized 1:1 support to get your little one on the path to independent sleep, book a discovery call to chat with our team about how we can help

Author: Karen Nussbaum

Karen Nussbaum is a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant who has worked with over 400 families to help them get more sleep. She is also currently working on gaining a certification in adult sleep. Karen is a frequent speaker and presenter to parent groups and daycares/preschools and is a member of various professional associations. As a former senior PR exec, Karen has vast experience providing exceptional and responsive service to clients. She is passionate about all things sleep related and believes everyone deserves a good night’s sleep. You can find her on Instagram @karennsleep.

Company:

Have Baby. Must Sleep. is a leading pediatric sleep consultancy serving parents with babies and children ages 0 to 5 years old. They specialize in providing a high-touch, completely customized sleep coaching experience centred around each individual family and their lifestyle. The team is composed of moms who have experienced their fair share of sleepless nights while trying to balance work and life, and that’s why they’ve come together to help other tired parents get the rest they need and deserve. As Pediatric Sleep Consultants who have worked with 800+ families, sleep is what they do, it is their expertise and sole focus. You can find out more at www.havebabymustsleep.com.