pacis and nursing?

kimberley wrote: ok i am sure i read that many of you used a pacifier and nursed. i have never used one, so am looking for advice on types, when to start, nipple confusion etc. also, i am hoping to bottlefeed Kaleigh as well (breastmilk of course) and have avent bottles. tia.

amynicole21 replied: It took a very long time for me to find a binky Nora would take. I finally ended up with a Nuk, but recently there has been some debate about whether the Nuks cause latch problems because of the way baby has to suck on them. I would wait until K is 3 weeks old and there are no latch problems, then just try one. I think I went through 4 or 5 brands before she decided which she liked. Also, it was a good 3 weeks or so before she could keep the binky in by herself for any length of time.

Good luck!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Andrew has had a Nuk since he was 2 days old and it hasn't caused any latch problems or nipple confusion. I tried the Playtex orthopedic paci's and he wanted nothing to do with them. He did like the winnie the pooh button style paci's but the nuk seems to be his favorite. I waited until he was about 4-6 weeks old to give him a bottle, though.

Oh and I have both Avent bottles and Playtex VentAire Natural Shape, and I MUCH prefer the VentAire ones. The Avent ones seem much more awkward to hold and when you get down to the last of the milk they make that horrible bubbly screeching noise that bottles make. The VentAire bottles don't do that, and they don't get any bubbles in them.

coasterqueen replied: I think waiting 3 weeks is a good rule. If baby experiences nipple confusion it's so hard to get them back to nursing! Kylie took to any paci right away (a MaM is what she took). We have tried EVERY paci out there in the stores for Megan and she sucked on one for about a week and then never again. She'd much rather have her thumb and blankie.

As far as bottles it's recommended to wait 3 to 4 weeks as well. I waited 4 weeks with Kylie and about 6 weeks or so with Megan.

Edit to add that Kylie would only take to Dr. Brown nipples/bottles and the only nipple Megan would take to was the Platex nurser. All kids are so different.

Jamison'smama replied: We waited 2 weeks with Jamison to introduce the Mam pacifier---no problem with nipple confusion. I think we waited even less time with Jack--he took to nursing so easily--amazingly easy--he uses Mams as well. I introduced the bottle with Jamison at 4 weeks and waited TOO LONG with Jack and he has NEVER taken one. He went straight to a sippy.

1moremakes4 replied: We just let the girls decide what paci they liked best. Taylor liked the nuk best, while Kamryn wants nothing to do with it. I think as long as she is nursing well you shouldn't have any trouble with her being confused. They know their mama!

CAMSMOM1 replied: I never gave Cameron a pacifier. But I did give him a bottle at 1 week old...because he was jaundice and that's what they told me to do. BIG MISTAKE! He got nipple confusion, and I had to start all over with latching and BF. So I would wait a few weeks, until the BF is going well. I only used a bottle during night feedings for DH or when we would go out. Otherwise, I stuck to strickly BF. At 6 months I stopped BF, and he loved the bottle. He would carry it around with him, hanging from his mouth, not even using his hands!

kimberley replied: ok, i tried the newborn nuk and that didn't work.. too long, she gagged repeatedly. tried the gerber something or other and she just flips it around her mouth then spits it out. i am gonna try the playtex one Holley suggested when i get to BRU but am i just beating a dead horse? is it possible she just won't take a paci? i haven't even tried a bottle yet gotta figure out the pump

coasterqueen replied: Kimberley, we tried like the dickens to get Megan to take a binky over sucking her thumb and she wouldn't have it. I have a few pics of her with a paci in her mouth but she just never took to it. She'd suck it for a second then spit it out. So it is possible she just won't take one. We tried every paci out there too. And we went through the same thing with bottle nipples. Now we are going through the same thing with sippy's. Picky kids!

Jamison'smama replied: It took us a little bit to get Jack to take a paci--he eventuallky did (I was determined). He was a gagger as well at first--the newborn Mams were the best for us. He loved the kind we got in the hospital--all one piece--greenish color, our LC recommended against those.

My3LilMonkeys replied:
Yes it is. Madison never took to a pacifier. She used it for maybe 2 weeks until she had enough control to get her thumb in her mouth - and then wouldn't touch it. We even tried again after a few months - nothing.

holley79 replied: Annika took a paci (like Kim said the Ortho Pro by Playtex) since she was 12 hours old. On my ultrasounds Annika is sucking on her hands and on her thumb so it was enevitable that I would have a sucker on my hands. I have been very fortunate that she has not had latch problems or nipple confusion. She had to take a bottle (formula) when she was 3 days old because I was in the ER. Luckily that was one time. She also took one a few days ago (BM) while I was at Dillards getting a waxing.

So knock on wood we have had success.

As for history. I never sucked a paci, my thumb and when the bottle was empty out it went. My brother was a thumb sucker and so was my sister.

Lynda836 replied: I had planned to avoid a paci because I was afraid it might interfere with bf...until I was being used as a paci myself and I wasn't getting any sleep. I was told to use Nuk. I waited to give a bottle (avent) until 6 weeks to make sure bf was well established...and even then I used expressed br milk. He never had any problems with nipple confusion using either.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Naomie hasn't taken to one either, at all.

As for bottles - she didn't take to them at all at first - but after 2 days at the sitter's, she takes it like a pro, and doesn't get confused. Well not anymore. She got frustrated with me the first night... but I stuck to it, and now she's fine with both. We use the playtex bottles, the crooked ones with the holes at the bottom.

We have some avent bottles too now, but she hasn't taken to them yet... maybe it's just the nipple that needs to be different...

But our Nemo sure likes sucking on her hands. Not to go to bed, just in general. Yay, teeth.

TeagansMom609 replied: I started using a Nuk with Matthew at 3 weeks old. No nipple confusion. Teagan hated pacifiers. She would never take one and I tried them all. I had a really hard time getting her to take a bottle, but finally when she did it was Avent.

giffmom replied: Jamison used the avent paci at first because I planned on using those bottles when I went back to work. He liked the avent and then when he needed to move up to the next size we used mam and there was no confusion. But when we went to use the avent bottles he would not take them the nipple gagged him. So needless to say I have a whole bag full of Avent bottles that he would not use.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Wil has always used both Avent pacis and bottles. I never tried any other kind because these worked well for us without any nipple confusion. Wil had a good latch from the start - lol - nurses said I have "perfect" nipples! Whatever that means! But I think we introduced both maybe the first week he was home. We still use Avent pacis today! We just keep going up in size.

Mama Piadosa replied: My youngest never liked a paci- so I thought he would be a thumb sucker- I worried aboput it all the time. He's 17 months and teh only thing he sucks on is me So I wouldn't worry about it- if she's refusing it her sucking needs are probably being met!