return to pacifiers

I have a 6 month old. He usually needs to be nursed to sleep every night. However, I work two nights out of the week, and my husband is starting to loose his mind trying to get him to sleep. He used a pacifier to go to sleep until he was about 3 months old. Around that time he just gave it up. Now, when we give him one, he chews on it, takes it out of his mouth, chews on the hard plasitc part, basically treats it like a chew toy. Is there anyway to retrain him to take a pacifier so my husband can get him to sleep?

Tags: baby, pacifier, sleep

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Permalink Reply by M Baxter on September 14, 2009 at 11:21pm: He may be teething. If so, no amount of effort on your part will dissuade him from doing what he wants. If he is teething, a dose of ibuprofen may help him slip off to sleep with rocking and a normal sleep routine.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by berkeleywaterfilter on September 25, 2009 at 2:28pm: Did you try the ibuprofen solution? I have a similar issue with my boy. berkeley filter; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Amy Henderson on September 25, 2009 at 9:26pm: I have not tried any ibuprofen yet. We have established a routine and try to follow it every night, no matter who is watching him. It is helping a little bit, I think it is going to be a long process.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Francias Marlone on November 2, 2009 at 12:19am: I agree with M Baxter except I think using ibuprofen is not a good idea. I mean, if you need it for 1 night great. But don't get the in habit of using it all the time.

If it helps at all, I also have a small article site about bottles, pacifiers and tooth decay. Basically just make sure before he goes to bed he hasn't had anything with sugar or milk in it. And not to let him fall a sleep with a bottle.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Booth Brennan on November 5, 2009 at 10:37pm: I'm a mommy-to-be and is thinking not to get my baby the pacifier later on...
now I think I will have to re-consider this...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Amy Henderson on November 6, 2009 at 8:56am: The pacifier was so nice while it lasted, he would only take it when he was tired, and he just drifted off to sleep, and when he was deep asleep, it would just fall out.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Amy Henderson on November 6, 2009 at 8:55am: Well, he was teething, he has about 6 teeth now. I only gave him the baby tylenol when he really seemed to be in pain. As for the sleeping issue, we decided it was time for him to start sleeping in his crib. He had been sleeping in bed with me, and lately he wasn't getting enough sleep, I wasn't getting enough sleep, and my husband couldn't even sleep in bed with us. We've all settled in to a new routine and he's getting more sleep, and most importantly everyone (me, my husband, or a babysitter) can put him to sleep.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stacey Bare on November 24, 2009 at 10:03am: I don't think I would want to retrain on a pacifier especially you want him totally off the pacifier by the time he is one year old. I have a son that does the same way and he is 9 months old. If your son is used to being nursed right before bed you may need to invest in some bottles that are more closely resembling the breast than a pacifier. This may be the reason he plays around with the pacifier as he does. If I may suggest the Medela Breastmilk Bottle Set which can be found at many stores or for more information about the bottles at www.medela.com
Stacey Medela Mom Maven; ▶ Reply to This