To say that every child is different is an understatement. They definitely are different. From the moment you first hold your baby in your arms and every day that comes after. They are unique and special. It’s amazing that from the very beginning there are different things that make them tick.
Our first son, loved the pacifier when he was a baby. He only used it for sleeping. But, it seemed to make my life really easy. He found comfort in the pacifier. From the time he was a tiny baby I could lay him down in his cradle wide awake, pray over him, place the pacifier in his mouth and he would literally turn his gaze away from me and fall asleep. He LOVED his pacifier. When he learned to talk, he gave the pacifier a name and called it “Ba Ba.”
Our second son never took to the pacifier. He just didn’t care for it. So, he didn’t use one. And, it was fine. He still slept great. We just found other ways to comfort him. He really loved stuffed animals. So, once he was big enough, we gave him a lovey to sleep with.
Our third child, our daughter, finds comfort in the pacifier when she is going to sleep by herself. She doesn’t use it at other times throughout the day. When I’m laying her down at night or naptime, I place 3 or 4 pacifiers in her bed. She falls asleep with one and then in the night it makes it easier for her to find another. It works well.
For our first son, who loved his “ba ba,” I was nervous about giving up the pacifier. But, it turns out, it was a much bigger deal to me than it was to him. Between age 1 and 2, he only slept with his pacifier. When he turned 2, we took the pacifier away. We put him to bed that night and there was no “ba ba” and that was it. He asked for it, but when we told him “ba ba” was gone, he was fine. I couldn’t believe it.
Why do I always seem to worry about the outcome so much more than necessary? Things always work out. I just need to have a little more faith sometimes.
