Sucking and nibbling comes naturally tobabies, and the little ones already prove this in the womb. When they are born, breastfeeding can be practiced with the right pacifier. Many babies can relax better with a pacifier and also fall asleep faster. That’s why it’s worth providing your little one with a good pacifier.
We have compared the most popular models for you and summarized them in our product recommendations have fun reading and shopping.
- Your baby has an innate sucking reflex. Already in the belly it sucks its thumb and shortly after birth starts to look for the nipple.
- The sucking movement is not only important for the intake of food, but can even promote the digestion of your child, since it produces certain hormones during sucking, which have a calming effect.
- However, you should not give your child the pacifier too early, as this can have a negative effect on breastfeeding. behavior. There is no general time for the insertion of a pacifier, but midwives recommend waiting a few weeks after birth.
- However, if your baby consciously refuses the pacifier, give him a little more time. There are also children who can never make friends with a pacifier. Look on the bright side: this way you don’t have to worry about getting rid of the pacifier later!
- If your child already has teeth and chews on the pacifier, you should buy your child a teething ring, otherwise the teeth may shift. After all, the pacifier is meant to satisfy the natural need for the sucking motion and is notmeant for biting.
- But don’t panic: If your child starts biting on the pacifier, you don’t have to take it away overnight. The little teeth don’t shift that quickly. However, it is important that you start weaning early enough.
- When buying a pacifier, look for high quality and adhere to German standards. Buying from selected online stores or baby specialty stores in Germany is usually safe.
- Tip: Change the pacifier at least every 6 weeks. At the latest when you discover holes or cracks on the pacifier, it is time to replace it as soon as possible.
- To avoid germs or soiling, it is advisable to purchase a pacifier box. This should also be washed out regularly.
- This also applies to the pacifier itself. Frequent sterilization and boiling of the pacifier are immensely important to prevent your baby from getting sick.
- Whether you choose a latex, silicone or natural rubber pacifier is ultimately up to the child and should be based on his or her needs. A generally valid recommendation can therefore not be given. However, some babies can react allergically to pacifiers made of rubber.
- Silicone pacifiers are often more robust and retain their shape for longer. Nevertheless, it is also important here to check the material at frequent intervals.
- Tip: When buying a pacifier, make sure that it does not contain bisphenol-A (plasticizer). This is an additive that can cause health problems for your baby. To avoid this and other harmful substances, you should definitely look for a test seal (eg TÜV).
- Sizes: In the beginning, you should offer your child the smallest size. However, you can also use the pacifier packaging as a guide. Here, the recommended age for the respective size is usually indicated.
- As soon as your child is a little older and has become accustomed to the pacifier, you can also orient yourself to size 2 teats.
- The third size then comes into question from 1.5 years.
- Shapes: There are pacifiers in cherry or teardrop shapes. Some are advertised as”jaw-friendly”, while others are supposed to look like the mother’s nipple. Here, too, the baby’s taste is decisive.
- Furthermore, regardless of the shape, care should always be taken to ensure that the pacifier is not permanently in the child’s mouth.
- Pacifiers are often lost. But you can remedy this situation Pacifier chains or straps ensure that you don’t have to buy a new pacifier for your child all too soon. Often they are also a real eye-catcher.
- Pacifierboxes, on the other hand, ensure perfect storage so that you certainly don’t have to spend hours looking for the pacifier.
- With the help of so-called pacifier clips , you can even attach the pacifier to your child’s clothing.
Table of contents
Recommended Pacifiers
We have compiled the best and most interesting pacifiers. You can find the list of our product recommendations here.
Tip: Here you can find baby toys for children from 0-3 months.
The Best Sellers Of Pacifiers
In a list of best-sellers, we have compiled the most popular pacifiers for you.
Current Offers On Pacifiers
You can find the best current deals on pacifiers in this list.
Tip: For even more baby fun: Discover the best baby toys for children from 9-12 months.
Pacifier Advice
Does My Baby Need A Pacifier?
No, a pacifier is not an absolutely necessary purchase, but neither are cuddly toys or a music box and yet we love them. A pacifier has one big advantage: it has a very calming effect on your baby. Babies already suck in the womb and thus prepare themselves for breastfeeding. But babies don’t just like to suck when they’re hungry.
When they suck, happiness hormones are released and babies relax better as a result. However, it is not always the right moment to put the baby to the breast when it is getting cranky. In this case, a pacifier is a great alternative. But as I said, it is a good alternative, but not the only option. Your baby will feel just as comfortable if you cradle him in your arms or sing to him.
The advantages of a pacifier
As mentioned earlier, sucking on a pacifier has a pleasant and calming effect on babies.
For premature babies, the right pacifier can be a perfect sucking aid. With the help of a pacifier, many premature babies can be fed more quickly with a bottle and no longer have to receive food via a tube when they practice sucking with the pacifier.
Pacifiers are also said to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), as sucking prevents deep sleep.
What else speaks for the pacifier? Sooner or later, many children start sucking their thumbs. A pacifier is a good alternative, especially with regard to misaligned teeth, because it is softer and more malleable, it adapts to the mouth better than the thumb.
The disadvantages of a pacifier
There are now particularly well-designed pacifiers that are supposed to be good for the development of the jaw and teeth. This may be true to a certain extent. But as with most things, less is more. Too much sucking on a pacifier can indeed lead to misaligned teeth.
If you would like to breastfeed your baby, then it makes sense not to offer him the pacifier directly in the first weeks after birth, as this can lead to suction confusion. Sucking on a pacifier is different from sucking on your breast and your baby must first get used to sucking. Therefore, you should wait until the baby knows how to suck in order to get the desired breast milk.
In addition, the problem often arises that babies satisfy their need to suck on the pacifier, and thus the breastfeeding intervals increase because parents do not complain that their child is actually hungry and therefore sucks particularly intensively on the pacifier.
How do I or my baby use the pacifier correctly?
So you should use the pacifier consciously and never for too long. Often it is even recommended to stop using the pacifier from the age of 9 months.
So use the pacifier only consciously.
To avoid infections, you should clean the pacifier regularly. The safest way is to simply sterilize it together with the bottles.
Pacifier Info
What To Look For When Buying A Pacifier
Which size is the right one?
There are extra pacifiers for newborns and those that are suitable directly from birth to six months, etc. When buying you should definitely pay attention to the right size, because too large pacifiers are not good for the jaw and too small pacifiers can be swallowed quickly. Some manufacturers only specify size 1, size 2, etc. In this case, size 1 can usually be used until the sixth and size 2 until the 16th month of life.
The shape of the teat
There are pacifiers with different teat shapes, all of which have advantages. Which one is the right one for your baby depends on his age, the benefits, and also his preferences?
If you are breastfeeding, it is advisable to choose a pacifier with a cherry pit shape, i.e. with a teat that is quite round. This most resembles nipples, which is good to avoid suction confusion.
Teats with a rounded top and a flat bottom are especially good for the jaw, as they adapt well to the oral cavity.
Especially when it comes to the first teeth, very flat and soft teats are also recommended, as they are less likely to lead to misaligned teeth.
The shape of the pacifier shield
During my research, I found that pacifier shields come in all sorts of shapes. Some are quite straight, because this is more reminiscent of breastfeeding, as some space remains between the child and shield and others are extra rounded.
I think in this case it depends very much on the preferences of the baby or toddler. In any case, it is important that sufficient ventilation is provided. With ventilation slits and free spaces, skin irritation is prevented.
The Material
Pacifiers are made of latex/rubber or silicone as standard. Both are well suited for a pacifier. Latex pacifiers are usually yellowish to brownish and more bite resistant than the silicone variety. This makes them more durable if your child is already teething. However, latex deforms more quickly at high temperatures, which is not so practical for hygienic cleaning.
Silicone teats, on the other hand, are very heat-resistant and can be cleaned in a sterilizer.
As you can see, both materials have advantages and disadvantages. In the end, it is often the child who decides which material he or she finds more pleasant to suck on.
FAQ About Pacifiers
The pacifier is made of latex, silicone or natural rubber and has a mouth part. It also has a shield that prevents the mouth part from being swallowed. The pacifier is also essentially there to satisfy the sucking needs of small children
Pacifiers are for sucking and suckling, so it is recommended to start using a pacifier only when drinking works without difficulties.
A pacifier should be changed approximately every 6 weeks. It is important to clean it properly until then and store it as clean as possible (e.g. in special pacifier boxes). If the pacifier is used daily, it should also be sterilized every day. There are several ways to do this, one of which is boiling.
The pacifier is used for sucking, it should not be chewed on. If your child has teeth, you can offer him or her a teething ring instead. Using a pacifier for too long can cause teeth to shift. When exactly a weaning makes sense is therefore individual, there are many different opinions on this and even among experts there is no clear consensus.
There are round, symmetrical and jaw-shaped pacifiers. However, there is no universally perfectly valid pacifier shape. Pay attention to which shape your child accepts best and orient yourself to it.
Often the pacifier falls out again during the first attempts. You can hold the pacifier gently at first. Later, your baby will no longer need help and will be able to keep the pacifier in its mouth by itself. It can also help to offer your baby several shapes or sizes to see which one suits his needs. However, you should not force your baby, because this only leads to a lot of crying and is certainly not effective.
First, you should hold the pacifier under running water to remove coarse dirt. Then you can put it in a pot, cover the pacifier completely with water, and then let it boil for about five minutes. Finally, let it drain on a clean cloth. Now the pacifier is ready to be used again!
This varies from child to child. The pacifier was a loyal companion for your baby for a long time, which is why many find it difficult to say goodbye. It often helps to offer children a substitute for the pacifier. This can be a cuddly toy, for example, which helps your child to fall asleep.
If there is no pacifier at hand, it is important to pay attention to your child’s signals and needs. For example, if he clenches his fists or turns his head away, this may indicate that he is tired. Then make sure that your baby relaxes and possibly falls asleep
The sucking reflex is innate in babies and has a calming effect. First and foremost, sucking on the mother’s breast should naturally take priority, but the pacifier can provide a good complement when the mother needs a break
Not every child needs a pacifier or feels the need for one. This is individual with each child. It is important that you do not force the pacifier on your child. You should only use it when all of your child’s other needs (for example, food or sleep) have already been satisfied.
Your child’s milk teeth may grow crooked because they are pushed forward by the pacifier. In the worst case, this can even affect the permanent teeth. Pacifying for too long can also lead to poor speech development or restricted mouth/nose breathing . It is therefore important not to overdo the use of pacifiers, so that your child can develop optimally.
More on the topic
Children in the household
- The 9 best corner and edge protection products – guidebook
- The 10 best stair guards – guidebook
- The 10 best door safety gates – guidebook
- The 8 best child safety gates for cribs – How to guide
- The 15 best child safety locks in the household – Advisor
- The 15 best child-proof locks for sockets – Guidebook
- The 10 best child-proof locks for cupboards – guidebook
- The 10 best child-proof locks for windows – Guidebook
Baby accessories
- The 10 best breastfeeding pillows for babies – advice
- The 10 best footmuffs for babies – guidebook
- The 9 best baby mattresses – guidebook
- The 8 best bassinets for babies – guidebook
- The 9 best cribs for babies – guidebook
- The 10 best baby monitors with camera – guidebook
Clothing for babies
- The 5 best neoprene swimsuits for babies – advice
- The 12 most beautiful sun hats for babies – advice
- The 14 most beautiful baby hats – guidebook
- The 13 most beautiful baby socks – guidebook
- The 13 most beautiful tights for babies – guidebook
- The 12 most beautiful rompers for babies – Guidebook
- The most beautiful baby clothes for boys – guidebook
- The most beautiful baby clothes for girls – guidebook
- The 7 most beautiful baby first sets – guidebook
- The 11 most beautiful Nike baby shoes – guidebook
- The 11 most beautiful Adidas baby clothes – guidebook