Lucas is a little over 7 weeks old now and he has had his share of crying spells. These can get a little frustrating for me since I don’t have mommy’s magic touch (yet) and when I’m alone with him, it can get a little hairy. I’ll try to check the usual causes: diaper, hungry or sleepy. If everything else checks out, then I’m pretty lost on what to do. I’ll try to comfort him the best that I can but sometimes it just doesn’t work.

I’ve read that babies will use their sucking tendencies to sooth themselves whenever they are fussy, but Lucas is just starting to find his hands so he is yet to regularly suck on them to calm himself. So naturally, I get desperate and go for the pacifier. Of course, in the beginning, Tey was totally against using it. She doesn’t want Lucas to be dependent on the pacifier in the long run. After some research, I’ve learned that the pacifier is not as evil as most people claim it to be. I decided that when all else fails during crying spells, I will use the pacifier.
Of course, it works and Lucas soothes himself when sucking on it. Tey has realized that in some rare instances, it is an indispensable tool for crying spells.

The controversial issue with pacifiers deals primarily with breast fed babies. I guess moms don’t want them to be too used to the fake nipple when still breast-feeding. But Lucas is now being fed both through the breast and the bottle, so he is used to both ways.

Thumb and finger sucking is another topic that we have argued on. I’ve read that most babies suck on their fingers to pacify themselves and there is nothing wrong with it. A lot of parents get paranoid and discourage them from doing so, but it’s proven that babies need to sooth themselves. In some instances when Lucas accidentally sucks on his hands, he loves it and immediately calms down. Then when his hands fall out of his mouth and he fails to find them again, he gets frustrated and cries. I’m sure that in the next month or so, he will fully learn to use his hands to pacify himself, but in the meantime, if all else fails, I will continue to use the pacifier.