Soothers... The Game Changer

Soothers. Have you heard of them? Of course you have. Perhaps you call it a pacifier. Or Paci. Binky. Dummy. Bo-bo…. Whatever you call to it, my daughter took one for the first time ever and it has literally changed my life.

Here's the story. I never had success with a soother for my son and gave up pretty quickly. He didn't take a soother, therefore… I was his soother. My nipples were the real deal and he was not having anything to do with the fake stuff much to my grand irritation. This got so bad to the point where he literally could not fall asleep unless it was on the breast. Every night. And every hour or two when he'd wake up. This went on for eternity until I finally went bonkers and decided to sleep train. Longingly I would gaze upon other mothers as their wee babes fussed, and all they had to do was plunk that little rubber tit into their mouths and presto! A calm soothed baby. And sometimes they would just…fall asleep. What wonders. What magic. What jealousy Miranda had. My eye would twitch ever so slightly as I heard moms say, "I have no idea what I'd do without a soother! Couldn't live without it." Fast forward to the days leading up to the birth of baby number two. I was determined to try a lot harder with this one. I bought a new kind to add to the small collection I had from my previous endeavours. Surely one of these would work. My daughter was born and… no dice. She did a couple times early on but then… *Bleh*. Out it would pop followed by gagging. Oh I tried and I tried. I researched and asked other moms HOW did they get their babies to take a soother? I tried everything. I dipped it in breastmilk. I warmed it up. I would nurse then sneakily pop it in during her suckling. I tried every day with all the different kinds, and after I think two months-ish I gave up. Sigh. My children hate them I guess. As the weeks went on, my little girl was starting to become increasingly difficult to put down for naps and bedtime. She was steadily relying on me to soothe her and keep her asleep more and more. I could have that little bundle fed, warm, and in the deepest of dozes and she would instantly start crying the second I put her down. Sometimes my hands weren't even off her yet! It blew my mind. Something had to be done about this. I could not hold her all day. I have a toddler boy hanging on my leg and needing me as well. One day, in a moment of desperation, I went for the soother and ker-plunked that bad boy into that crying toothless mouth. And by golly gosh she started to suck on it. Then I stared in astonishment as she drifted off to sleep all on her own without me. I knew a celebration could be premature as flukes are most certainly possible. I tried again for the next nap… another success! From then on, the soother became a vital tool in our lives. It has been so incredibly helpful for car rides, shopping, naps, bedtime, etc. Now I understand how some say they don't know what they'd do without the pacifier. I get it now. I don't have much of a point to this post other than to say if your baby keeps rejecting the soother, you can for sure keep on persisting. Or wait a bit and try again in a few weeks or days just like I did with my daughter. It may happen yet. I will also say that if you decide to abandon the soother all together, you can still survive and find other ways to teach your baby to self soothe. I did that with my son. Just like with anything else, find what works for you and your baby. As long as you are keeping your sanity intact and keeping your baby happy and healthy, then keep on trucking.