Most babies need a pacifier to sleep first. Although some parents oppose doing this to their baby, this is highly recommended for infants, as long as up to a certain age.
To get a baby to sleep without a pacifier try establishing a bedtime routine, making sure the nursery is calm and dark, and trying to feed the baby right before sleep. Additionally, parents can try to wean the baby off of the pacifier gradually by slowly reducing the number of times it is used each day.
Your child should not grow up with a pacifier addiction that leads to social isolation. However, pacifiers are still a great way to sleep, along with white noise and swaddling, for newborns.
Sleep Training Your Newborn Without Pacifier
You can sleep train a baby without a pacifier. However, it may be more difficult to do so as the pacifier can act as a form of security for the baby. If you are sleep training without a pacifier, you may need to be more vigilant in sticking to the sleep training plan and be prepared for more crying from the baby.
Here are some ways to get a baby to sleep without a pacifier:
- Try gradually weaning your baby off the pacifier.
- Distract your baby from toys or other objects.
- Give your baby a security object to help comfort them.
- Try using a white noise machine to help soothe your baby.
- rock your baby gently or sing lullabies to help them fall asleep.
Pacifiers provide a way for babies to self-soothe and fall asleep in a more relaxed state at an early age and that is why they are not easy to let go of a baby.
Here are some advantages of a pacifier for newborns.
Advantages Of Having A Pacifier
1. Sleeping aids like pacifiers are useful when coupled with swaddling and white noise. Your baby will sleep more peacefully, reducing crying and fussiness.
2. Research shows that pacifiers can reduce a child’s risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), one of the most common causes of death in newborns.
3. A recent study found that breastfeeding mothers do not need to use pacifiers when they are breastfed, contrary to previous research.
In this new study, researchers discovered that pacifiers are an acceptable alternative to breastfeeding while giving new moms some rest.
Teach Your Baby To Self-Soothe
Your baby’s self-soothing ability means that he or she can calm down on their own so that they can sleep without your help or the Pacifier or any other sleeping aid.
The majority of self-soothing by babies occurs at bedtime. Your child would be able to soothe themselves to sleep naturally without using a pacifier or any other aid.
Parents may struggle with putting down babies who are not yet self-soothers. A pacifier may be handy in such a situation, but you should not use it excessively.
You can save yourself some time during playtime and bedtime by helping your infant calm down on their own.
It depends on several factors how to get a baby to sleep without a pacifier. A lot of it depends on a baby’s temperament and their ability to soothe themselves.
When does a baby start to self-soothe?
It is natural for some babies to be born with a calm nature when they can sleep without help. Other children tend to fall asleep with their mother near them or a sleeping aid like a pacifier that they have been trained to use.
This might help you answer the question: How To Get A Baby To Sleep Without A Pacifier?
When babies are around 6-9 months old, they usually develop the ability to self-soothe.
Likewise other milestones babies expect to reach, some reach that milestone sooner while others do so more slowly.
This is the point when you need to show your child self-soothing techniques without your help or any other action.
Your baby needs your help to learn to calm down without you.
Tips for Self-Soothing Your Baby
Here are some best practices on how to get the baby to self-soothe without a pacifier:
- You can also play some soothing music while holding your baby. However, this music needs to be gentle, soothing, and relaxing in every way possible.
- White noise machines can help your baby fall asleep and are a great sleeping aid if you place them in their nursery.
- If your baby can’t soothe themselves while awake, you should encourage them to play with toys.
A rear-facing umbrella stroller can come in handy when little ones need their naps on the go. No matter where you are, she can sleep comfortably with four different reclining positions.
Never leave a sleeping infant in a carrier, sling, car seat, or stroller overnight. These sleeping items can cause suffocation in babies. Your baby should be taken out of his crib as soon as possible if he falls asleep in it.
There are chances that your baby can sleep peacefully in his reclining stroller. Some baby prefer to sleep in their strollers rather than their beds.
How to Wean Baby off Pacifier
The following tips will help you wean your baby from the Pacifier in a few months:
Make sure they get enough sleep cues
Babies that are addicted to pacifiers are unable to sleep well without them. As a result, if you would like them to stop sleeping with their pacifiers, then you must provide them with as many cues to sleep as possible.
Darkness, silence, and a consistent bedtime routine all play roles in promoting sleep. By doing this, they will gain more confidence in using their pacifier to sleep.
Reduce the use of pacifiers
The Pacifier is what keeps a child calm. This move might seem impractical to many parents. To get rid of your Pacifier, you’ll need to stop using it, especially during the day.
It is possible to start by substituting pacifiers with music, going outside, and playing. Eventually, they will forget about the Pacifier, and you’ll need to start giving them larger windows of time until they stop using it altogether.
Conclusion
I hope this article has enlightened you on how to get a baby to sleep without a Pacifier.
However, this practice is a beneficial one that can benefit both you and your baby in many ways. Parents do not want to put the pacifier in their baby’s mouth every hour in the night.
It takes up your rest time and will ultimately result in you being less productive while you are awake.
