How to get baby to sleep without looking for his pacifier at night?

Hihi


I've been told that it's good to let my baby eat the pacifier cos you can throw the pacifier and not the thumb! Plus, it does soothe the baby when we are training him not to take the night feed.


Problem is now, he starts looking for his pacifier in the middle of the night cos it will drop out of his mouth when he goes into deep sleep. Initially, I thought that he was hungry but he only ate for less than a minute. Then, he'll wake up 15 mins later looking for the pacifier. Any advice on what should I do?

the basic rule of thumb in infants is this -


whatever the conditions he fell asleep with - are going to be the ones he desires upon waking or stirring during light sleep. IF something is different - then he will wake up, cry and look for his original conditions or comfort.


so the simple answer is - don't let him fall asleep with it in his mouth. Let him get good and drowsy in his crib, and then right before he is totally asleep pull it out. IF he stirs, wakes up and cries again - then put it back in and try and remove it a moment later. Repeat as necessary.


this method (gentle removal method) is the one described by Elizabeth Pantley in her "NO Cry sleep solution."


depending on the age of your baby, you can try a much stricter method, but as you don't tell the age of your infant, it's not one to do unless the baby is at least 6 months old.

Thanks hkcc! I've been cold-turkeying my bub from the pacifier for the last 3 days. Felt so bad cos he'll be crying so badly when he's sleepy. Am trying to use the controlled-crying method and boy! He does wail so loudly!


My bub is into his 6th month now. It's so tough to know when he's almost totally asleep. Tried the "gentle removal method" and he'll just wake up and scream!