Pacifiers - those who had twins - did they help much?

I bought a couple of pacifiers, not sure if I want to use them. I had used one with my daughter when she was a newborn til about 5months but I hated it and had to throw it away when she got a lil' obsessed with it. My son never really used one. Those of you with twins, if you used pacifiers, did they help you out if one was fussy/crying and your trying to feed/change the other ???

Netty

 

They were our life-savers. In fact, Ben could not keep one in his mouth and so I went and bought several brands and sizes to try in order to find the right one, which I did (Mam 6 months+, not the newborn ones).

When feeding them both at the same time, I popped a binky in one mouth so that I could burp the other baby, and then vice versa. They also helped my babies to sleep better and we all know that means more sleep for mommy and daddy.

I have severe binky addicts, but I would do it all over again.

 

Emma wouldn't take a paci, but Jake does! Thank goodness! :icon_biggrin: He's my high-maintenance boy! We use the Nuk brand.

 

I plan on using pacifiers b/c my mulitples coach encouraged them for SIDS prevention and for developmental reasons. She said up until 6 months, after that they have no developmental influence at all.

 

We used a paci for only a month or so. After them spitting them out at night and crying for them we just stopped giving them to them....it was never an issue for them.

 

My DS never really used one, but we hoped these two would. I still had a bunch on NUKS left over from my son, but the twins don't like them. the only ones they will use are the soothies the hospital gives them. We've bought more since then and are so grateful they'll take them. They love to suck for comfort, and I can't be a human pacifier every second of the day!

Reyna

 

Pacifiers were LIFESAVERS for us with my DD. She became such a good sleeper with it that I hated to get rid of it. We started making her drop it back in her crib at about 13-14 months when we got her up in the morning and then it became a "crib and long car trips only" item. LOVED it. I will attempt to do it again with the twins. We didn't make DD drop it completely until we moved her into a twin bed a few months before she turned 3. I really think it helped her sleep more soundly and gave her a tangible way to self-sooth. Those first few weeks of popping it back in at night were tough but once she got the hang of it the pacifiers became our saviors!

 

I will also say they were lifesavers for us. Pacis are so soothing which is a big help when you cannot attend to each baby every second of the day. Yes, they got to be a huge pain when they would fall out at night, but still think they were well worth it. We had no problem breaking them from the binky habit during the day (we see no reason to take them away at bedtime just yet). When we take them out of the cribs in the morning they both just take it from theirs mouths and throw them back in their cribs so cute!

 

They taught them to nurse with a paci but they never really liked them and we "broke" them at 3 months

 

Kyle took a pacifier, Kayla did not. It helped him to settle soo much. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in terms of pacifiers but one time Kyle was pretty upset, his whole little body was flailing. I gave him the pacifier and immediately watched his whole body relax instantly. I realized then that giving it to him was the best thing for him. He stopped needing it at 9 months.

 

My DD took a pacifier the first couple months or so, and it was really helpful in getting her to sleep....then, after we stopped swaddling her, she discovered her thumb -- which has been *wonderful* for us, LOL. She's great at self-soothing because of her thumb.....I have no idea how we're going to break that habit, but she only sucks it if upset or while trying to go to sleep, so it's not really a big deal.

There are some new pacifiers on the market by Gerber called "Gentle Flex" -- they move sort of like a mom's nipple does when a baby nurses -- I got a couple of these to try with my new munchkins.

 

They are a lifesaver to me!!! While Im feeding one I can give the "soothie" to the other one. That pacifier works miracles I tell you! I dont know how these twins are diff than DD, but they require a sucker nearby all the time!!! A necessity for sure!!!

 

In the beginning they were great. But then DS got addicted and couldn't sleep without them. Every time they would fall out of his mouth he would wake up and cry. He has now learned to suck his thumb. DD never loved them, she will take one, but most of the time she spits it out. I will give her one when I rock her to bed, but even then she prefers her thumb. Personally, I think the thumb is easier because they can pacify themselves whenever.

I think a lot of it has to do with the babies personality. Some will like it and others won't. I would just take them away if they become to depended on them and it is easier to break the habit when they are babies rather than when they are 1 or older.

 

One of my twins takes one, the other doesn't. It is nice to have, but it could be a pain in the rear when he couldn't keep it in his mouth and kept dropping it. I'd be holding the other baby and the other one would be in the swing. Then I'd have to get up, and put the paci in his mouth, rinse and repeat.

But once he got the hang of it, it got better.

 

I planned on using them, since they've done research that suggests it helps reduce the risk of SIDS. I waited about a week, I think, before starting them....my breastfeeding nuses told me to wait a month but after crying and crying I thought I just couldn't wait that long! We've had no problems at all with them, and they've been awesome. Some babies just won't take them, though, and some really love them. I don't think it's wrong either way....my feeling on it is if they seem to love them a lot then maybe they just have a personality that needs a little more comforting. My 2 love to have them, but not too much. They sleep better with them, but they can still sleep without them. I usually just keep them in the cribs, and that kind of helps me to just give them during naps or at night.

 

I hadnt planned on giving them one, but because they were early they hospital gave them one to help develop their sucking reflex. I find they are really good during the day if they are tired or grumpy. But during the night i can be up sometimes 5-6 times a night finding the stupid thing because they have dropped it <_< ! If they find it theirself it is ok but if they dont they screech untill you give it to him. So i think if i have another kid i wont be giving them one. x

 

pacies were our best friend, when both twins were hungry one would get the real food and one would get a paci till my boobie was free haha.

it helps settle them too. tannie has one. i dont like them but i couldnt live without them i dont think.

 

My girls refused to use pacifiers. We would offer and they'd spit them out. So, thinking they just didn't understand how to keep them in, we tried holding them in for them and they would make themselves gag and choke. Looking back, that should have been one of our clues that they'd be drama queens.

So, I have a bag full of them packed away. I might try them for this baby if I think it will help.

 

We just got rid of the binkys right before the twins turned 2. Nolan was very dependent on his, Meghan liked it, not as dependent as him. We use one with Liam, but so far he doesn't "need" it. They were a lifesaver for me when I had two crying babies!

 

As someone said above - it depends on your baby. My first loved his, my second didn't start using one until he was much older (maybe 5 months! - horrible I know but he was such a bad napper I kept trying to get him to take it.)

Also, my experience is different babies like different types, so you might want to try a nuk and a mamsi, etc. silicone/rubber until you see what they like the best. Some babies just need to suck more than others.


--Krista

 

We used them with ours and found them VERY helpful. Our pediatrician (who is also a twin mom---convenient!)
said that the suck urge is pretty strong until age two, and if they helped, use up until then was fine.

In spite of all the pre-delivery reading, we found paci use VERY helpful as a nursing family too...despite the talk of nipple confusion, we found (in our house) it was non-existent. Food comes from one, and merely suck reflex satisfaction from the other!

The pacis were very soothing for me as a mom when post-feeding I needed to burp the babies sequentially...the "on-deck" baby could have a paci and proximity while I tended to their sibling, and then we'd reverse.

As others have said, each baby is entirely different...you may find both like, dislike or one of each!
Best of luck to you!

 

I tried them and my boys never really took to them... when theydid use them they would cry everytime it fell out of their mouths so I just stopped giving it to them, I was up enough during the night!

 

I was extremely opposed to pacifiers before my boys were born. However when they arrived 8 1/2 weeks early, I learned that pacis were needed to help preemies learn to suck. So, I didn't have a choice. IN the long run, they were very helpful!

Also, recently some research has shown that babies who use a paci up to age one are at a lesser risk of SIDS. Here's an quote from an article with the link to the article below: "Put your baby to sleep with a pacifier during the first year of life. If your baby rejects the pacifier, don't force it. Pacifiers have been linked with lower risk of SIDS. If you're breastfeeding, it's a good idea to wait until after the baby is 1 month old so that breastfeeding can be established."

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/sids.html

 

Thanks Ladies!
It seems as though most of you found it very helpful, so I am definitely going to try to use pacifiers. Hopefully it will help me and my lil' ones out as much as it helped you and yours.

Netty

 

Pacifiers have been a lifesaver for us, as well! One of our boys takes them more than the other, and I'm finding they need them less and less as they've discovered their hands and thumbs to suck on!

A friend of mind advised we buy a variety of pacifiers to try - ours liked the cheap Soothies we got in the hospital and are now on the Avent ones. I particularly like the Avent pacis because they come with little covers! Perfect for travel!