Since Little Buddy was born, he has been partial to a particular brand of pacifier. For the first few months, he had six pacifiers, all the same brand. When he turned six months old, I bought him two pacifiers of a larger size, in a different brand. He had no interest, so I bought two 6-12 months in the brand that he preferred. He loved them. I put the newborn ones away, to be used by future babies, and I put the “rejected” ones in the kitchen for an emergency.
He is now nine months old, and until a few weeks ago, he still used the same two pacifiers that I bought him at six months. On the morning that we were leaving for New York City, I was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, trying to pack and take care of Little Buddy at the same time. By noon, I had misplaced one of his two pacifiers. I grabbed the other one and continued on my way.
Mr. Handsome came home from work, and we loaded our suitcases into the car. I noticed that Little Buddy didn’t have a pacifier clipped to his shirt, so I took a quick look around the house. Nothing. Somehow we had also misplaced the second pacifier. I quickly grabbed the two pacifiers he had rejected two months earlier and ran out the door.
We had been driving for about five minutes when it became clear that those pacifiers were not going to work. Getting on the airplane without a working pacifier wasn’t an option, so we made a quick stop at Walmart, and I ran (yep, I’m that crazy person that you saw running through the grocery store) to the baby aisle. I was pleased to find an extensive selection and was able to buy the ones we needed. Back in the car, I popped one into Little Buddy’s mouth, and he happily fell asleep.
We hopped back on the interstate, and Mr. Handsome asked how many pacifiers I had bought. “Two,” I replied. He looked at me funny, and I sighed. Why on Earth hadn’t I bought at least four? If we lost both in New York City, finding a store with those exact pacifiers would be a nightmare. I blame my muddled mom brain for that little oopsie.
We successfully kept track of both pacifiers and didn’t have an issue. When we returned home, I found both of the others that we had lost. So now we have four. Crisis averted. Have you ever been in a similar situation?
Kelly
Oh how I remember those days!! Nothing would do for my daughter but a Winnie the Pooh pacifier!! Thankfully, they were fairly easy to find. With my son, my hubby and I had a different problem. He wouldn’t use a pacifier at all. He loved to suck on his thumb. The problem with that is that you can’t take the thumb away as they get older!LOL!! He ended up wearing two sets of braces because of his thumb sucking habit. He finally gave up his thumb when he started first grade.
Regina
Yep! My middle daughter only liked a particular brand of “num num” and they were always getting lost. I can remember sending my poor husband to the store late at night because she would not stop crying and nursing didn’t help.
Oh such sweet memories!
Kanadiangirl
I never used pacifiers. And reading this, I’m sure glad I didn’t. Yikes!
Eileen
No. I did not use soothers. And my children did not suck their thumbs. Eileen
Anonymous
No, because I don’t remember (as a parent) using a pacifier past the first few months. Certainly not by almost a year. I have no pictures from that time that show a pacifier in use and no recall of ever scrambling to find a pacifier.
I never had a pacifier myself, but I was a thumb sucker until a dental visit at age 3 when that SCARY MAN (the dentist) told me to stop so I did, cold turkey. Sometimes it takes someone other than a parent to break a child of a habit.
Cherish
Oh Manx do I feel this story in my bones. My son is almost 3 and gave his “doopies” (what my family always called pacifiers) up about a year ago. From the time he was born until he gave them up, he would ONLY use those Avent ones they give you in the hospital and are attached to Wubbanubs. He was an absolutely horrific sleeper in the best of circumstances, but without his doopy or his bunny Wubbanub, BunBun, it was completely hopeless. Let me tell you, when your kid only sleeps 4 hours straight until 18 months regardless of trying every single trick and tip recommended to you, you MASTER tracking doopies! Glad it all worked out for you!
anon
my youngest son was like that. we were in the ‘stretchy room’ of the haunted mansion in disney world when he dropped his clear hushy. when the doors opened we looked for it and even let them know it had fallen in case someone found it. nada. and trust me, they are not cheap at disney world!
oddly enough, he was the only one of my kids to even take a hushy. when he was 3, he was in a bowling league. when it was his turn to bowl, he’d take out his hushy, lay it on the table and bowl. if he needed to throw another ball, he’d come back to the table, put in the hushy and wait for his ball to return then take it out again and finish the frame! at 3 he was waaayyy too old for one but there was a lot going on and we felt if it made him feel better, so be it! however, as a coach i had to establish rules and it could only be used at the table behind the lanes where anything that goes in your mouth has to stay and that was fine with him. fortunately no one ever teased him about it, even though people thought it ok to tell me how ‘wrong’ it was that he still had one. he’d give it up ‘when he’s ready’ i’d say, and he did with no problem. none of my kids sucked their thumbs either
Benita
My oldest would only suck on a brand from a convenience store. But only one chain store carried that brand of pacifier. It was a nightmare at times. Then comes middle school yrs with the clothing issues…………
Anonymous
My son and daughter would not take a pacifier, they would just spit them out.
Jessica
My next to last (of 6) was the only one to take a pacifier. I tried with the others, but they just weren’t interested. Number 5 though, he loved it. He used to get very upset because I’d try nursing him when he was fussy, and he’d start sucking, and get mad when milk came out. He ate fine but had a need to suck in the in between times. He was fussy on brands. Kept it up until we took them away. I said 18 mos. would be the cutoff, but his little brother was born a few days after that point, and I wasn’t going to rock the boat with a newborn. Gave it a couple extra weeks. Had him down to car and bed at that point. Cut the nipples fully off, handed him just the shield of the pacifier. He looked at it, handed it back, and never asked again. He’s 10 now, and wasn’t traumatized. 😏
Anonymous
Hi Ellie. I was wondering if you’ve addressed why you’ve chosen not to show your son’s face in photos. I’m definitely not judging you for it. In fact, I admire your respect for his privacy! This is a difficult conviction to hold in today’s age.
anonymous
Maybe another comment said this….soother rubber can disintegrate and break and choke the baby.
You probabprobably read that somewhere else too.
Em
You might reconsider saving those pacifiers for future babies. It’s actually recommended to get new pacifiers and bottle nipples for each baby as the materials can break down over time. The instructions for the pacifiers my baby used recommended replacing them every 3 months.
Anonymous
Yes, I was surprised to read that Ellie was saving the pacifiers for the next one. They are not that expensive-buy the baby new ones. You can use the same bottles but replace the nipples.
Anonymous
Reading these types of posts make me so happy that I don’t have children!
A Mom Who is SO Happy She Has Children
Then perhaps you should find more interesting to you to read. Like perhaps War and Peace or The Taming of the Shrew.
Raine
Wow, I love reading the stories I find here. I did not realize children were a requirement to be here.
M
I had a pacifier tell I was 3.
IF you don’t want to lose them clip them to his shirt my mom did that with mine and never lost them again.
Liss
Yes we often made the trips at night to replace lost pacifiers. My son was approaching 3 and it felt in a hole in my parents backyard table. We didnt replace it and he would talk about where it was but not miss it at night.
Ellie
Wonder if it’s still there, LOL
Ellie
Kari
My daughter loves her “soucie” but is also very particular, not just brand but also colour!! We are working on weaning her now so she only gets them for naps and bedtime and she is very specific about which colour for which night of the week (she’s 2). I find it very amusing. And I just choose to ignore everyone that makes comments about pacifiers. Not their kid, not their call. The feeding specialist we saw when she was transitioning to solids said some kids (and adults) just have more need to suck on something and not to fight it.
DeeBee
Parents often don’t choose whether to give pacifiers or not. It becomes a necessity. My son HAD to have them. I had been in a car accident at 6 months pregnant and my son dropped down then and he sat against my pelvic bones the last 3 months. Most of that time with his head down. He was born with two large hematomas, one on each side of his head and jaundice which the doctor told us was caused by the hematomas as well. He needed to suck ALL the time and it is physically impossible to feed a child 24/7. He was breastfed hourly most of the time, especially the first 6 weeks. Anyway, the doctor recommended we give him pacifiers for satisfy the urge to suck (it also helps jaundice). He recommended a specific brand, back then it was THE brand and they worked and once we started letting him have those, he slept and so did we. To those of you judging anyone who uses pacifiers, stop. It isn’t necessary or kind. People make or are caused to make different parenting decisions. It doesn’t make them wrong or bad parents. Too much shaming going on among parents as a whole and it’s especially inappropriate among people who say they are Christians.