A pox on binkies, ninnies, suckers, dummies, nukers, passers, soothies, chew sticks and plugs.
Those are common words for pacifiers.
I raised three kids with no pacifiers. My mother never used a binky with her three kids. I helped get my first granddaughter to 18 months with no plug in her mouth.
Kelbi Lynne spit it out.
But Peyton Addyson Maldonado is a different creature. Born April 17, my second granddaughter spent the first two weeks of her life cramming all her fingers into her teeny mouth. If she wasn’t nursing, she was sucking those digits.
My daughter, Kati, finally gave her a pacifier. A pacifier! I am shocked.
“I won’t be chasing around her binky,” I huffed when I got the news. “How long?”
Kati said the binky will disappear in three months. A friend of hers said after a year, she plans to tell her child the binky went to some other baby’s house. Like a security blanket. I left my oldest son’s security blanket at my sister’s house when he was 4. Ron never got it back.
Maybe that was kind of mean, but my daughter had a high school friend who still carried her hanky-sized, shredded blankie to slumber parties at age 16. Now that’s a security blanket. It made me glad that Ron’s got left behind.
Binkies are a pain. Fastened to shirts with pins. Dropped in the dirt, rinsed and shoved back in their mouths. Obnoxious-looking for 3-year-olds. Don’t they ruin their front teeth?
Apparently, a binky also can increase the risk of ear infections, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site. Ear infections are more common in children younger than 3; however, rates of ear infections are generally lowest during the first six months of life.
The Mayo Clinic site says babies are born wanting to suck. Some even suck their thumbs or fingers before they’re born. Beyond nutrition, sucking is often an important method of self-soothing, a comforting, familiar and calming mechanism in a new world.
That’s why many parents give them those binkies. But are pacifiers really OK for babies? Let’s look at new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
* For some babies, pacifiers are the key to contentment between feedings.
* A pacifier may soothe a fussy baby.
* Pacifiers offer a temporary distraction. When your baby is hungry, a pacifier may buy you a few minutes to prepare a bottle or find a comfortable spot to nurse. A pacifier also may come in handy during shots, blood tests or other procedures.
* A pacifier may help your baby go to sleep. If your baby has trouble settling down, a pacifier might do the trick.
* They’re disposable. When it’s time to stop using pacifiers, you can throw them away.
* Early pacifier use may interfere with breast-feeding. Nursing is different than sucking on a pacifier or bottle. Some babies have trouble learning how to nurse properly if they’re given a pacifier too soon.
* Your baby may become dependent on the pacifier. If your baby uses a pacifier to sleep, you may face frequent middle-of-the-night crying spells when the pacifier falls out of the baby’s mouth.
* Choose the one-piece, dishwasher-safe variety. Some pacifiers have been recalled because they can break into two pieces, which poses a choking hazard.
* Once you’ve settled on a favorite, keep a few identical backups on hand, because the baby may not take a different brand.
* Keep it clean. Before you use a new pacifier, wash it with soap and water. To keep fungus at bay, soak your baby’s pacifier in equal parts white vinegar and water for a few minutes a day. Allow the pacifier to air dry thoroughly before giving it to your baby.
* Resist the temptation to “rinse” the pacifier in your own mouth. (Yuck.)
* Replace pacifiers often. A worn or cracked nipple can tear off and pose a choking hazard.
* If you use a string or strap to attach the pacifier, never use one long enough to get caught around your baby’s neck.
Or how about trying other ways to calm your infant? At my house, we’ve found the best way to settle a fussy baby is an adoring Grampie and a rocking chair.
But, of course, as with all grandchildren, if Peyton Addyson wants a limousine for prom, a spring break cruise to the Bahamas or a binky, she’ll get one.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
