Personally, I do know of one mummy whose little one was given the pacifier a tad too early , baby was confused and latched on wongly and mummy ended with a bleeding nipple.
In my case, Larissa was introduced to her first pacifier when she was about 5 weeks old - it is recommended that pacifiers be introduced only after 6 weeks as baby will be less likely to be confused - but even before that, I was already presurized by my mum to give her the pacifier a lot earlier.
Larissa with her very first pacifier.
I delayed giving her the pacifier not only coz of nipple confusion but also because the pacifier can cause baby to:-
1. Have lesser intake of milk
2. Orthodontic problems in the future
Babies do not know that what they are sucking will not have milk! So they will only cry when they are extremely hungry. It is not good to feed a baby only when they are famished as it I difficult to latch a hungry baby on. AMany new mummies may not know this but pacifiers can cause babies to have orthodontic problems when they grow older. Yea, babies will lose their milk teeth but it does affect their adult teeth. So if you are introducing the pacifier, please choose an orthodontic pacifier.
Two fingers. No less.
I chose to give Larissa the pacifier a little early as she liked comfort suckling and would be latched on all the time. I remember having to hide in the room most of the time during her baby shower as she would start crying soon after we stepped out of the room. She also started sucking on her fingers but she would suck on 2 to 3 fingers at one go, thus making herself gag. It got so bad that once, she puked all over herself when we were out and I had to change her.
See how she sucks 2 fingers at one go?
I am lucky that Larissa was not nipple confused though I had introduced the pacifier earlier than I'd meant to. Now, she mostly take the pacifier only when she wants to go to sleep. As she is teething already, she prefers to chew on her pacifier and not suck on it.
Most older generation believes that by giving babies the pacifier, it will help baby to sleep better. Do bear in mind that quite a fair number of mummies during the "formula boom time" in the 70s and 80s did not breastfeed as they were made to believe that formula is best for babies and thus are unable to grasp the concept of nipple confusion.
As a new mum, do not be pressurized into giving your baby the pacifier if you are breastfeeding. If you think you need to give the pacifier, try to delay it as much as possible.
Larissa is awake and calling me. Shall end my post here. xoxo
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