How can I safely keep a pacifier in an infant's mouth?

Question

Sometimes the only thing that will keep a 2 month old baby happy is a pacifier, but at that age, baby is too young to retrieve the pacifier after it falls out.

It helps to tuck the pacifier under babies' swaddle blanket, but this is not a perfect solution.

I can imagine a device similar to those used to keep a retainer in, but I am not sure that this would be safe, and I don't want it to be a muzzle.

Are there any safe and respectful ways to help the pacifier stay in babies' mouth?

Answer 1

Seems unsafe to even try anything like that. I recall our hospital had a whole bunch of things they said not to do with pacifiers that pretty much all revolved around the notion of "don't do like your grandmother did." (if you look at old pacifiers, you'll see they have 4 holes, two on each side... those were for tying ribbon behind the baby's head to keep the pacifier in place.)

Two thoughts though:

1. try one with a different shape. We found that one shape always stayed in longer than the others. Different kids seem to want different shapes.

2. get a pacifier tether or clip to keep it handy when it does fall out. They're just a short length of ribbon with either a velcro closure, or a loop that you can thread it through on one end and a clip of some sort on the other. These were an amazing help at keeping pacifiers clean and close at hand to pop back in. And as torbengb points out in the comments, make sure it's not long enough to be a safety hazard, either from choking or strangulation.

Answer 2

I think you'll just have to put it back in once he or she complains. It shouldn't be that hard since you're never far from a 2 mo. old anyway, right?

Answer 3

We had similar problems. This pacifier worked for us.

Answer 4

For some brands of pacifiers, you can find a stuffed animal which attaches to the pacifier. For example, for the Soothie pacifier, you can check out the Wannanub product line (see monkey version below), available on Amazon. Even young babies can learn that they can hang on to the toy and get access to the pacifier.

Answer 5

You should never secure a pacifier to a child's mouth. Doing so could obstruct a child's breathing, prevent stomach contents from clearing the mouth or airway if refluxed or regurgitated, and decrease oral sensory awareness if the child's senses perceive the device as offensive.

It is important that you consider why the pacifier is falling out. Questions that need to be answered include:

• Is the child hungry and needs milk?

• Is the child's suck weak? This is sometimes the case for many reasons including prematurity, inexperience, and low muscle tone.

• Does the pacifier match the child's oral motor skills? If a pacifier is too short or long, too wide or narrow or too stiff or soft it will contribute to fatigue, poor suction, gagging, or difficulty
  breathing.

• Is the problem related to poor hand and motor skills? A child may suck vigorously on the pacifier with good firm pressure, but the pacifier falls out when they rest. The only problem here is the inability to coordinate movements to return the device to the mouth. This will resolve with age and motor development.

Matching a pacifier or nipple of bottle to a baby should consider many factors and may require many trials. You may want to explore a variety of devices to see if one is a better match for you baby.

Answer 6

There are plenty of solutions to this matter but first of all you want to find the right pacifier for your baby. There are many different shapes and sizes you need to evaluate why it is falling out first and make sure you can tell what type of issue your baby is having. It is probably hungry if the pacifier doesn't stay in it's mouth.

Answer 7

Our little one always pushed out her pacifier. Eventually we realised that she just didn't want it, and so we've never used one. She's 14 months old now, and we won't have to wean her of it, though comforting her requires a breast.