Tuesday, August 17, 2010

let ‘em suck


I read an interesting article in one of my children’s magazines
about pacifiers.
I am a big fan, as all three of my girls sucked away for almost
twelve months and then at night for another twelve months.

They never cried.

They were never crabby.
Always content.
And slept like champions.
Literally, all three of them would have won a sleep competition.
If there were such a thing.
And I like to think that a lot of this was because of the
soothing effects that the pacifiers had on them.

I am not quite sure why some moms wish for their child 
to not use a pacifier.
Every mom should do what works for them.
But I know, for me, that a crabby fussy baby makes me cringe.
So luckily, the pacifiers helped sooth them into happy bliss.
And I truly feel that the happier and more content your baby
is, the happier your experience as a mom and your life
in general is.


paci
Sucking is an natural instinct for babies.
Just as it’s a natural instinct for me to want to scratch
an itch.
Can you imagine not being able to scratch your itch?

This article had some very interesting statistics.
Staggering statistics, actually.
I would have never known them, so I wanted to share
the information with you!

It states that there are few medical developments that are
as clear-cut as the recent findings on pacifiers, which show
that these time-tested baby soothers
cut the risk of sudden
infant death syndrome, or SIDS, by 90 percent
.
90 percent!

Experts speculate that sucking makes babies more alert,
a state that seems to reduce SIDS risk.
Another possibility is that the pacifier acts as a barrier
between the baby’s mouth and anything that could
block his airways, like blankets or sheets.

paci2

Whatever the reason behind the pacifier’s anti-SIDS effect,
don’t feel guilty about introducing one; you’re protecting
your baby from one of the leading causes of infant death.

5 comments:

Heather | Cookie Mondays said...

great stuff to ponder!

Ms Mae said...

I WISH either of my girls would have used one. Sadly, neither of them did. Good statistics and notes at any rate!

Kyla Armstrong said...

AMEN! Plus, a pluggy (as we call it :) is SO much easier to get rid of than a thumb. I am so super crazy about my kids taking a pluggy it's not even funny - for SIDS and to feed the need to suck so they don't suck my nipple off :) My favorite thing is when people say their newborn doesn't like because she just spits it out - um, it's because of the tongue thrust reflex . If you help them and tug on it when they are sucking, it trains the muscles to hold on to it. We love our pluggies and with back sleeping and the pluggy I'm not as paranoid about SIDS as I used to be. I'm so glad you posted about this!

Casey said...

believe me when I saw I wish my son wouldve taken one not because he was fussy but because he sucks his thumb... every ultrasound I ever had he was sucking his thumb in fact had a hard time delivering him because again had his thumb... he's now 2 1/2 and sucks it when he's tired.. I know I should make him stop but I ask How? How? How to do take away his best friend?

Unknown said...

Love this post! You have no idea how many times the girls' pacis saved my--I mean their--sanity!

xo

 

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