4 Mo Old Keeps Losing Pacifier When Sleeping

How about tummy sleeping? I know it's taboo, but I did it with all five of my children and they're all thriving and well rested.

I would suggest taking it away from her. When my oldest would fall asleep with it in his mouth, I would take it out so he could not lose it. He did not wake up. My youngest refused to take a pacifier at all so we had no trouble with him. I have never heard that a pacifier reduces the chance of SIDS but I can see where you would want to take all precautions you could.

I still say to get rid of it though. You can give it to her while she is awake and fussy if nothing else will work but I think she will get more sleep if you just nix it. She will find another way to soothe herself to sleep.

In another month or so she'll be able to put the pacifier back in her mouth so you could just wait it out. But I know that's not what you want to hear.

Hi, I had the same problem with both my kids!!! I have 8 binkies in that crib (basically 2 in each corner)!! ha!!! Because they also play with them, so a couple of them inevitably fall out of the crib, so I always like spares.
The one suggestion though that I would say, is NOT to keep one on a cord or whatever - that just scares me too much-anything could happen.... I used to attach the clip when we would be in the car so you knew where it was, but I just wouldn't suggest it when they are sleeping.
The best of luck to you!
Take care-

I played this game until just recently and my daughter is 3... have you, she was able to most times find the paci on her own but if she couldnt there would be screaming... I was always up and down all night finding paci's and it drove me nuts! I would keep two in her crib one in her mouth and one a small teddy's arm so atleast I knew where one was in the dark... BUT, if you are thinking of getting rid of it now, that wouldnt be a bad idea either... I waited and waited for fear of the no sleeps but once I finally took my 3 year olds paci away (via Paci fairy) we spent a whole week without sleep.... all night tears and shouts "I want my paci" I think I would have much preferred the cries without the "Mommy please!" it darn near broke my heart.... So thats my advice, I know the paci can be a life saver for you so I wish you the best of luck! I think at any point when the paci is taken away there will be tears and a bit of lost sleep but it does get better... Does she have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal that she likes to snuggle?? that also helps top comfort them. Best of luck to you and your cutie!

It's your call on the pacifier. If you let her keep it you may want to have her in a cosleeper in your room. You could also let her go to sleep with the pacifer, but not replace it at night. If you want to get rid of it, but are afraid of SIDS; you could get an angel pad. It detects the breathing motion and sets off an alarm there is no movment. Also, think through the other risk factors: is she breastfed, is she in a non-smoking home, she's a girl, etc. If all other risk factors are okay, you might not worry so much. Good luck. P.S. in the long run babies who sleep sith pacifiers can find it themselves in the middle of the night, but we're talking 8-9 month olds.

They sell pacifier clips that allow you to clip the pacifier to the baby's shirt. Perhaps this would be helpful? You could clip the pacifier to the baby's pj's to prevent it from falling on the floor.

Our daughter is 2 1/2 and still uses her pacifier for sleeping. Everything I've read and heard from my doctor is that you should aim to eliminate them by ages 3-4 years at the latest. I do believe it is a personal choice as to when and how long you allow them to use the pacifier. So don't feel compelled to get rid of it by 4 months unless it is something you feel is best for your baby.

Good luck! : )

whatever you do, you should NOT pin or secure it to them--the cords even the ones sold specifically for pacifiers--are a choking hazard!
From all I've read, and talking to my pediatrician, the baby should not be sleeping all night with the pacifier. Pacifiers are not a magic guard against SIDS, the research goes back and forth.
I know, she's waking up and looking for it, so does my baby sometimes. Mostly, now, she's taught herself that she doesn't need it except to fall asleep or we'll use it when she's cranky/needy. Just takes some time. Hang in there and be safe.

I was advised with my 1st one to always take the pacifier out of her mouth as soon as she fell asleep. This keeps them from becoming dependant on the sucking while they sleep. If they get used to always sucking when they sleep they will wake up when the pacifier is gone. Then take it away completely by the age of 1. It worked beautifully with all 3 of mine. They did not wake in he night and none of this nonsense of a 3 year old walking around sucking a pacifier that is thenoooo difficult to take away. By 1 year old they were completely weaned of it.

My doc encouraged me to help my little one to find her fingers instead of the pacifier. She can't loose her fingers and so they are a great comfort. Once she found them, she lost interest completely in the paci and hasn't used it since. It really helped with the sleeping and at 4 months she started to sleep through the night. So when she looks like she needs the paci, instead guide her fingers to her mouth. it certainly worked for me :)

Had the same problem with my little guy. I started using one of those clips with the short string attached to make it easier for ME to find in the middle of the night. Eventually your little one will figure out how to put it back in his/her mouth. I would not stop using the pacifier, they need it for security. My son is a tremendous "sucker" and has been since birth. The loosing of the pacifier lasts for such a short time, it seems like a long time but it's really not. You could also place several (4-5) extra pacifiers in the crib to make it a little easier.

We used to put 2-3 extra pacifiers in the crib until our son was old enough to find it on his own and pop it back into his mouth. Problem solved!

I wouldn't eliminate the paci. They help build up the mouth muscles. All moms have the same problem as you. You could try to velcro the paci to a short ribbon and her jammies. Maybe she'll rub her face into finding it and maybe not but our sleep loss is a life long problem. Good luck.

You might want to try a pacifier bib. It worked great with my 3 kids. It's a bib with an extra piece of fabric that extends off the front that you can loop and snap around the pacifier handle. Suprisingly, they're not so easy to find, but if you search Ebay or Google for "pacifier bib", you'll find a few. I have gotten them at Kohl's, but they don't always have them.

When my kids were too little to put the paci back into their mouths themselves, I kept their bassinet by my bed and reached my arm in like Tiffany H., but at least I didn't have to "fish around" much for the paci while half-asleep since it was attached to the bib. I don't remember when it happened with my two older kids, but, with my youngest, he could find the paci himself (i.e., attached to the bib) between 5-6 months. Now at 8 months, he doesn't have to have the pacifier bib anymore when he sleep since he is old enough to find a loose paci in his crib. However, I sometimes still use it anyway to keep the paci from falling out of his crib, plus it remains a lifesaver during the daytime since it functions like a pacifier clip while having the added benefit of catching his drool and/or spit-up. I keep several on hand!

I realize there is the concern about kids getting too attached to their paci, but I would rather have that problem than the thumb-sucking one. My oldest, now 5, never cared for a paci too much, but instead sucked her thumb. Unfortunately, she sometimes still sucks her thumb - fortunately, only at night though - since, well, it's there, and that's what she always used to do. Worst of all, it's pushing out her front teeth, which I don't think a paci will do. My second child LOVED his paci. I was concerned that he would still be using one many years later, but he pretty much quit cold-turkey when he turned 3 earlier this year. It was a thing of pride for him - i.e., he was a big boy now, and big boys don't use a paci like babies do. I am hoping things go that well with my youngest, since, like his brother, he LOVES his paci and even keeps it in his mouth the entire time he is asleep, not just as he is falling asleep.

My mom said that, when I was around 2, she used scissors to gradually trim the paci nipple lower and lower until eventually there was nothing there for me to suck on anymore, and at that point I just threw it away myself. She had been preparing me for that day by telling me that the paci was getting too old for me to use (as if it was growing up, as was I). She said I never asked about it again, which I wouldn't have believed if it weren't for my own son who never asked about his paci again once he gave them up on his third birthday.

Hi there how are you? My daughter did the same exact thing when she was that age and it drove us nuts because we were constantly woken up...no one, not even our child got any sleep. So honestly...I stopped the pacifier altogether. It took a couple of days but after that...I got a full nights sleep for once and it was a beautiful thing. The only issue you might come up against is sucking her thumb. My daughter did that and it was fine, but now at 3, I'm going to work towards stopping that habit...after the whole potty training thing is over.

Just be prepared for her to possibly start sucking her thumb. You have to decide which one you want to put up with. It's easier to take a pacifier away than a thumb, but it's totally understandable too about the need for sleep. I chose the sleep over the thumb issue and even now I don't regret it because I remember how horrible I felt with her losing her pacifier.

I hope this helps. You might ask her Pediatrician too for suggestions...there might be something out there that we just don't know about.

Take care and I hope you find peace and quiet! :o)

K.

I have 5 "plugs" in the bed...can't find one, well there are others to have!

I have an 8 month old beautiful boy. He did the same thing when he was that age. We put 2 or 3 pacifiers in his crib so he would be able to find at least one of them. We still do now and it seemes to work. Good luck with the sleeping.

sorry no sleep is not fun. i would eliminate it now. the longer she keeps it the harder it will be to kick the habit. since you are being woken up now you might as well get rid of it. it seems harder than it will be i bet it will be one to two nights at most of some tears about not having it. much easier than trying to break the habit with a two year old. good luck!

All 3 of my kids did this too. I always kept about 5 pacifiers in their cribs within their reach so they could put them back in their mouth by themselves. She might be a little young to do this but keep trying.

I remember when my daughter did that. I had her in the bassinet next to my bed and I would actually lay my arm in her bed, hand on her paci, and hold it in place until she fell asleep. I never had to actually get out of bed and could sort-of sleep while doing this. I remember wishing they made head-gears for those darn things. She would lose it in the car too and SCREAM the whole time. I just had to hang in there until she was old enough to find it herself. Try to remain calme and HANG IN THERE! She'll be able to do it herself soon.

This may sound crazy but I remember at one point having up to 8 binks in the crib at a time:) If my son woke up to find one he was sure to with that many in there. It made a huge difference on sleepless nights. Hope that helps

WOW, we have the same problem with out son. We tried taking the paci away. That didn't go so well... he's back on but only when he is sleeping. I'm thinking of trying to take it away again since he is older now. We have also tried putting extra paci's in the crib so he can find one. He thought this was a game and started finding them, and then scrambling to the corner of the crib to drop it on the floor. Then when they were all gone he started crying. Are there any other suggestions that don't envolve more paci's in the crib?

My 4 month old daughter was doing the exact same thing! We were giving her the paci only for sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS. She wasn't getting any good sleep and I was desparate for it. So we decided to take away the paci about 1.5 weeks ago and help her learn to fall asleep on her own. We tried to go cold turkey (broke down a couple of times).

Started in the morning with her first nap, just put her down in her crib and sat on the other side of her closed door - she cried for ~15-20 min and then she fell asleep. The next nap it was 10 min & by bedtime it was ~5 min. Definitely watch the clock or set a timer, you wouldn't believe how long a few minutes feels when your baby is crying! The first night she woke up 2 times. We tried not to give her the paci, but broke down 10 min after the second time she woke up crying.

She is doing great now. Now, she goes to sleep and 1/2 the time she doesn't even cry or will for only a couple of minutes. She wakes up maybe once a night, will cry for a few minutes and then go back to sleep. As for her naps, she still wakes up crying after 45 min. Usually, she will cry for a couple of minutes and go back to sleep for another 45 min to an hour and wake up happy and all smiles!

Hope you can get some rest. Good luck!

We had the same problem with our son. I would put him to sleep with his paci. After he was asleep for about 10 minutes, I would take the paci out and lay it next to him. At about six months he was able to put the paci back into his mouth by himself. I beleive since I took it out of his mouth soon after he fell asleep, he did not NEED it to sleep. Worth a try!

Will she sleep without the pacifier? The recommendation for SIDS is just that it may have some sort of protective benefit but that you shouldn't force the issue. Besides, if it keeps falling out, maybe it isn't helping that much. I have a 5-month-old. She sometimes uses her pacifier to fall asleep, but she rarely keeps it in for long after she drifts off. She used to wake up looking for her paci, but that phase passed...so perhaps your daughter will stop looking for it soon. Here's wishing you some sleep :)

I would absolutely start to wean her from the pacifier. She does not need this to build muscles, the simple act of eating will take care of that. I am sure you will need to go through a couple of rough nights, but in the long run, it will be worth it. She needs to learn how to fall asleep without one. Good luck.

We would swaddle our daughter with her hands down. So we would make the V of the swaddle a little looser by her mouth so that it would catch the pacifier when it fell out, then it was close enough that when she would sort of wake up and start rooting for it she would find it a suck it back in. That way she didn't wake up all the way at the end of a sleep cycle and would put herself back to sleep. Eventually she refused the paci altogether and became a thumb sucker.

hi,
my little one did the same. I wrapped a recieving blanket very tightly into a roll and taped it. I believe i cut the blanket, so when i rolled it was as big as the empty cardboard roll of toliet paper...or make it thinner, were she can hold it....I taped the little handle part of the paci to one of the ends of my roll....it puts weight on the paci and stays in their mouth..it is also easier to find if it falls out..it worked and I wasn't get up constantly to stick it back in her mouth...they also sell little stuff or beanie toys that come with the pacifer attached...i found them online..sorry i cant remember the name or site...but the blanket worked great for me and her...hope the info helps...good luck