The pacifier is one of the most controversial items used in baby care. Some mothers assure that nothing can be worse than a pacifier and call it a breast substitute and a threat to breastfeeding. Other women believe that the pacifier helps the baby calm down and gives the mother a little rest.
As a rule, a dummy is used if the child begins to get nervous, whimper, or anxious. If all the factors that could cause such a condition are a dirty diaper, hunger, cold, etc. excluded, mothers give babies a pacifier, and they, sucking it, slowly fall asleep.
However, a dummy is not always useful. It also happens that children become addicted to her. Also, babies who are rather heavily accustomed to the nipple unlearn from it. At such moments, young mothers especially need some items or things that can replace a much-needed accessory.
Breastfeeding adepts are sure that there is nothing better than a female breast. And it is necessary to give up the nipple in favor of the mother's breast. For some women, this option is suitable. However, for those whose children are categorized as "active suckers", this approach can be difficult. After all, the child simply will not come off the breast either day or night. And not always at the moment of sucking he will be hungry.
Sometimes it is a good idea to just use your baby's favorite toy. This option is especially good if you are going to wean an already grown-up child from the nipple. You can agree with him that instead of a dummy, he will now fall asleep with a new friend. Perhaps the child will not want to accept this fact from the first day and will demand his pacifier back, but in just a couple of days he will get used to it.
Infants can replace the pacifier with rubber toys on their own. Hares with long ears are especially good for these purposes, because they can be easily stuffed into your mouth and scratched your gums. Mom's task in this case is to monitor the cleanliness and relative sterility of such a comforting object. It must be washed periodically with hot water for disinfection.
Some parents, succumbing to the persuasion of older relatives, instead of a dummy, can use a piece of bacon or crumbled biscuits wrapped in a napkin. Of course, for babies up to a month, all this is unacceptable. And for older children, the benefits of such "nipples" are rather dubious.
