“What’s In A Name? Everything.” Evanne Ní Chuilinn on the Soothing Relief That Comes With Being Pro-Pacifier

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Would it though?

What’s in a name?  Everything, as it turns out. I gave this a lot of though one night last week. I spent 3 solids hours moving between my bed and the little man’s cot-side as he coughed and spluttered and wailed his way through the night. In and out I went, sticking religiously to the pick up-put down method that has served me so well in the past, (and worked again I might add).

I would drag my sleepy derriere into his room, and the only exit stragety was to calm him and encourage him to take his soother. Magic.

A soother. A pacifier. It does exactly what its name suggests. Soothes, pacifies. I know that many Mammies and Daddies don’t like the common soother. Some people don’t rate its merits against its less glamourous attributes, and in some cases, I agree. I used to think a child who’s able to put his soother into his mouth is too old for it. The naivety of that misinformed opinion cracks me up now. I’ve readjusted that belief, and now think that a child who’s ‘big’ enough to reason and communicate with in full blown conversation is too old to take a soother. ‘Big’ has nothing to do with age! I may well retract that opinion too, we’ll have to wait and see. Either way, I am pro pacifier.

The phrase ‘nipple confusion’ is not something I ever though I’d use, but that was the only reason I didn’t give my little man a soother straight away. He was breastfeeding and I wanted him to get used to that first. It turns out, the original "pacifier" was actually a corn cob, which was found to soothe a young baby by the wife of a farmer in 1680's England. The corn cob worked as a replacement for the mother's sore nipple, and it helped the baby to relax and fall asleep. The science behind the soother suggests that it regulates a baby’s breathing, and I think that’s why it helped Séimí to fall back asleep everytime he woke up coughing. He’d get into such a state, that he needed first to calm down, and then to get back to sleep. The question I asked myself during this particular sleepless night was, what do dummy-less mammies do in that situation?

I know one baby who has always refused a soother, he simply won’t take one.   His Mammy won’t have to deal with the withdrawl of that lifeline in a few months time.  I will, but I still believe strongly in its’ value as a mute button.

There are claims that the soother decreases the risk of cot death, but increases the risk of ear infection. I would take all of that very lightly, my little man has never suffered from an ear infection and he never shuts up. Another draw back, allegedly, is that a baby’s verbal development is delayed. Not so in our house! If you’re a new mum or mum to be, give some serious consideration to the pacifier. It will calm your baby, mute his moaning and support slumber for anyone within range of a disgruntled baby!

Chat next week friends,

Ex