Pacifiers, Bottles + Teethers
☆ pacifiers ☆
☆ bottles ☆
☆ teethers ☆
oh my!
☆ pacifiers ☆ ☆ bottles ☆ ☆ teethers ☆ oh my!
Pacifiers
When feasible for your family, sure, I do recommend avoiding pacifier or bottle use until your feel your baby’s latch and your milk supply is “well established” - around 2-4 weeks. However, many of my clients are still working on establishing their milk supply and/or latch well beyond this so this recommendation may be unrealistic - so let’s use it mindfully.
If you introduce a pacifier, please know it can be a very useful tool, and does not have to be seen as a compromise, risk, failure, etc.
Example: Overfeeding is common with bottle feeding and can really set back your breastfeeding goals, but often babies are just instinctively “demanding” because their nervous and GI systems are attuned to long, active breastfeeding sessions rather than faster, easier bottle feeding. Offering a pacifier to help them soothe after you’ve offered “enough” by bottle can be a great way to give them a few minutes to tune into their full bellies and settle down.
My product recommendations below are all designed in a way that can help your 0-3 month old baby find soothing but also to give babies practice lifting, curling and creating a seal with their tongue — all critical skills to effectively latching (breast or bottle).
If your baby spits out a pacifier while sleeping, leave it out. This way you will be able to tune in to their hunger cues when they need to eat again.
Please keep in mind that whenever your baby seems like they want to come back to the breast, that from a supply and demand perspective, that’s the ideal place for them. A lactation consultant I know calls the traditional “hunger cues” = “breast cues” which helps us understand that babies want to be at the breast for SO many reasons - not only “my belly is empty, I need milk.” As much a blessing as it can be exhausting, you are their world: comfort, safety, warmth, food, sleep… the list goes on.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends weaning from the pacifier at around 12 mo, since pacifier use after 18 mo is not conducive to oral development in the toddler years.
Pacifier Recommendations: If you choose to use one, these are my recommendations for all young babies, especially 12 weeks and younger.
Ninni Pacifier: I love this pacifier for any breastfed baby, but especially babes that are working to improving their tongue strength & coordination (tongue ties, born premature, etc). For many babies, this one is going to take practice and initially will serve as a “suck training" tool. So it's best to have another, easier pacifier that you can use for soothing.
A local physical therapist has an on-demand tutorial for how to improve oral function with the Ninni.
Avent Soothies: Circle or heart shaped, nipple is the same on both. Avoid ones with a lovey/animal attached to them.
Dr. Brown’s: https://amzn.to/3qCf9Ot
I don’t recommend giving young babies pacifiers attached to a lovey or stuffed animal, as this causes a drag on the pacifier that can be very tiring for your baby’s developing mouth. These are more useful and appropriate as a baby gets older and may need help holding a pacifier with their hands or finding a pacifier in the crib after it’s fallen away from them.
Bottles
Paced Bottle Feeding: A highly recommended technique for bottle feeding all babies, not just those also learning to feed at the breast. Find out more here!
Bottle Recommendations: Here are some options of bottles I think are most supportive for infant feeding and oral development, especially for babies with oral restrictions and/or those switching between bottle & breast.
Demonstration of a deep, engaged latch to the bottle and how the mimics their latch at the breast. Pictured here is the Pigeon bottle & nipple, which is the same design as Lansinoh.
Evenflo Balance+: Chronically having supply chain issues, so sometimes unavailable and other times way overpriced. Try searching Amazon for other sellers - wide or narrow neck is fine.
Try searching for the Evenflo Balance slow flow nipples - they fit in many wide neck bottles.
Alternatively, order the 9oz bottles and just use the nipples on a generic wide-mouth bottle.
Come with slow flow nipples, or try Pigeon Super Slow (SS) for an even slower flow
Note that just within the last few months, most Spectra bottles that come with your pump are the same design at Lansinoh slow flow!
Dr. Brown's (come with slow flow nipples, try preemie nipples for an even slower flow)
Generic wide-neck bottles: glass or plastic available that will work with most wide-neck nipples. Buying these bottles will cut down on dishes because you can pump into them with a Spectra and then you can put the Lansinoh or Evenflo nipples into the caps. Unfortunately the bottles that come with the Evenflo do not fit quite right onto the Spectra pump.
For the early months, I recommend sticking to 4-6oz bottle sizes. Most breastfed babies will never really need larger than this.
Teethers + Toys
Here are some suggestions of toys and teethers that are great for oral motor play & development as your baby begins engaging more - grasping, swiping, bringing things to their mouth - typically by around 3-4 months old. These are suggestions that benefit all babies and their oral motor skills (think transition to solids) but it’s especially critical to be mindful of what we’re offering to babies with ties (pre-, post- or without-release), low tone, torticollis, etc.
Ninni Pacifier More info on this unique pacifier in the “Pacifier” section above
Comotomo Teether Good for older babies working on molars too!
Bunny Teether Also good for molars (up to 15+ months)
Haakaa Teething Ball Comes with a crown toy which is fine but not as beneficial
