Total Pageviews

Thursday, December 27, 2007

To pacify or not..that is the question

I, personally, have no gripe against pacifiers. The nursing mom will be busy day and nite if she plans to pacify the baby through nursing alone. Babies get the majority of their feeding done in the first 10 minutes per side. After that they are simply pacifying themselves. The wee babe can't find his thumb/fist for long before it flys back out of his/her mouth.

The problem I DO HAVE is: seeing 4+ year old Tommy with that paci hanging out of his mouth! One can barely understand his speech because there is always something in the way. The pacifier, after it has done its job for a new born, should be kept in the crib to have only at nap/bed time. I also think that 2 years old is a good cut off time to kiss the pacifier good by. The more that the child has it through the day the harder it will be to break the connection.

I have said in another piece that I think it is wise to give your child a bottle once a day (just in case) a bottle of water is good for the baby as well....BUT
Moms, please don't put your child to bed with a bottle. I have seen very small children with tooth rot because of it. Also be careful of juice. Children become very addicted to that sweetness and want it more and more. If you water that juice down from the beginning they will never know.!

Blessings!

Marnie

No comments: