5 Week Old Already "Hooked" to the binky.......ideas?

I say get rid of it now. I never gave my kids the pacifier and they were just fine with that. The more it is in their mouths as they get older, the less they speak.

Hi,

Congratulations on your baby! Let your baby have the pacifier-- babies need to suck- there is nothing wrong with a pacifier and if you talk to your pediatrician, you will hear that they recommend it. It helps to prevent SIDS. Get a pacifier clip and when you put the pacifier in give a little tug- he will start sucking more and will not want to let go- it will help him hold onto it longer.

Good luck!
Molly

My younger daughter was that way. She loved her binky from day one and couldn't survive without it. The good news is, your baby has a way of soothing himself! Yay for mommy! =) It will probably take a few more weeks/months of putting the binky back in when it falls out, but eventually he'll figure out how to find it himself. I was really surprised how motivated my daughter was to learn that at quite a young age!

I have two girls, one was hooked to the binky early and one never started using it until we stopped breastfeeding at 18 months. If it helps your baby let him use it, and you will just have to deal with helping him for now. Before long he will be able to find it on his own again and you won't have to "run to the rescue". It will take some time though.

We found a binky that my son could hold onto a little better, I can't remember the brand but Safeway used to have it and I think WalMart still does, it has winnie the pooh characters on the button part and the binkies were yellow or green. It's more of a bulb at the end and he other friends seemed to have good luck with them. If you can't find those there are that are similar, look for the more round bulb on the end and not slanted. They're still orthodontic. Good luck! K.

Yeah, like I said to the other mom -- let him have it!!

Just think: if we American adults, who are consuming drugs to soothe ourselves like nobody's business, could be easily comforted by a plastic thingy -- wouldn't that be much more healthy?

Little babies NEED comfort. It will not hurt him AT ALL. Buy a binky clip and clip it on him, it will help him to find it.

Talk to your pediatrician about the binky. I was just in the doctor's office with my infant newphews and the videos playing talked about using pacifiers - they actually recommended using them until the age of two. Said they help sooth baby as the sucking is a natural reflex, and may help prevent sids.

I have the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and it shows ways to teach a baby how to keep the paci in their mouths. Rather then constantly pushing it in, they push it out enough that the baby pulls it back in him/herself. That way they know what to do when it starts to fall out.
I don't think at 5 weeks a baby can find a paci that feel out. My daughter turns 2 at the end of the month and often has trouble finding her bunny in the middle of the night.
Best of luck!
C.

Both my children were hooked to their binkies too. And we had the same problem. Unfortunately I didn't find a good solution, but eventually they will get big enough find it and put it back in their own mouth. For now, when you put it back in his mouth, try using his hand to push it back in. At least he'll start getting the feel of putting it back in himself. When he's a little bigger, you can show him the feeling of reaching around to find the binky (while still asleep) and putting it back in.

And don't worry about the binky habit. The paci is so comforting to some babies. And when you're ready, you can help them break the habit easily by just cutting the tip off--they won't want the broken binky anymore (it was painless for us and they felt like it was their own idea). On the other hand, if they start sucking thumbs or fingers to self soothe, it's a LOT harder to take those away and break that habit.

I'm a non-binky mom.

We didn't use one with our daughter. She has a bear she loves to snuggle with at night.She doesn't have to have her bear to sleep, but likes it.

If you really don't want the habit, break it now while he can't put it back in his mouth.

S

editing my response....saw this is for 5 week old..the earlier you nip it in the bud the easier it is...though, your child is only 5 weeks......

ahh...the dreaded binky withdrawal........I hate to say this ..but if you are wanting to break the habit....it takes at the most a week...and yes...you will get the screaming and crying....does your child have it all the time or only at certain times...if it is usually when it's time to sleep...then you can start off with the first week of no naps with it..yeah...gonna be fun....but it's gotta be done...with me....it was only at night time with my oldest....the first night we let her sleep with it..but when she fell asleep we took it out...she woke up wanting to know where it was...and of course we did not know...the next night was harder and it took some time to get her down....we probably had every thing known to man to help her out...we stuck with a sippie cup, the nuk kind...and that helped..by the end of the week...she knew that there was no more binky.

of course then we had to deal with the nuk sippie cup...we dealt with it the same way , but instead we replaced it with a little dixie cup fo water by her bed..and by end of week...she knew she always had a a little glass of water by her bed.....

I went through this with all three of my kids. What your're going through is a temporary situation. Soon your son will learn to find the binky himself. I would keep doing what you're doing (as I did it too), knowing that it's a phase that will end soon. It's a small sacrifice for his comfort and everyone's peace. FYI: we got rid of the binky when my kids each turned two years old.

Interestingly enough, I have 2 children: a 2.5 year old who used a binky until just about a month ago (only to sleep, never in the day time) and an 11 month old who we weaned off the binky at about week 5 (same as your son's age).

I can say this:
1) overall - there really wasn't anything wrong with my daughter using her binky to sleep until 2. No adverse affects. She just used it to sleep and gave it up easily the night I told her another baby could use it. She asked for it that night after agreeing to give it to a baby, but then never again. It was so fast, I was the one unprepared!

2) We only weaned my son off of it because we remember how hellish it was with my daughter until she was a few months old and could find the binky herself...we would be up 3-5 times every night putting that thing back in her mouth. We hated that period of our lives. It was enough of an issue that we did not let our son continue to use it. We simply stopped giving it to him...he had a period where he had to *re-learn* to sleep without it which lasted about a week...and now he's such a great sleeper and wouldn't know what to do with a binky if he were handed one. (and yes I've tried - he just plays with it for a couple minutes and then is off to his better and more interesting toys!)

So as far as the children are concerned neither were the worse or the better for going either direction. It was for OUR sanity that we quickly weaned my son off. So I do think that's the ultimate question. Are you okay with many sleepless nights until he's old enough to put it back in his mouth himself? If so - great! If not, then wean him and I'm sure he will wean off of it fine - he's so young, it's the perfect time. If you wait, however, it only gets harder. They're habitual little things! (Just like us adults...)

Something to think about: The American Academy of Pediatrics now RECOMMENDS that you offer a pacifier to your infant, as it may reduce the risk of SIDS. I think someone already mentioned this, but Happiest Baby on the Block explains a method of teaching your little one to keep the binky in his mouth.