Getting a newborn baby to fall asleep with a pacifier is quite a challenge. The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford explains that most newborn babies sleep eight or nine hours in the day and nine hours at night. Pacifiers comfort the baby, which may help her to fall asleep easier. But according to the Mayo Clinic, pacifiers can also interfere with a baby's ability to breastfeed and lead to ear infections in the baby. Thus it's a good idea to get a baby to sleep without a pacifier. It just takes a little extra patience, practice and skill.
Step 1
Understand the signs of readiness to sleep in a baby, and don't force a baby to sleep if he isn't tired. Though using a pacifier may soothe a baby to sleep, you shouldn't actually put a baby down to sleep until you know she is ready. The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital states that when babies feel sleepy, they begin to show signs like yawning, rubbing their eyes and looking away. If your baby shows these signs that she is tired, then you know it is the right time to lay her down to sleep without a pacifier.
Step 2
Hold your baby for at least 20 minutes before putting your baby down to sleep. Many parents notice that their baby falls asleep fine in their arms, but the second they go to put the baby down to sleep, the baby wakes up. The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital explains that this is because babies have different sleep cycles where they go between stages of sleep. It may take a good 20 minutes before your newborn falls into a deep sleep, so if you hold her in your arms for 20 minutes once she falls asleep and then put her down, she will not even need a pacifier.
Step 3
Be consistent in creating the same nap and sleep-time routines, which comfort your baby so that she can fall asleep without a pacifier. Dr. Bill Sears, pediatrician and clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California-Irvine, explains on his website that singing a lullaby, rocking the baby and speaking repeatedly in a soft calm voice, time after time, will help your baby to get used to falling asleep without a pacifier.
Step 4
Put the baby to sleep on her back, never on her stomach. You can let her play on her stomach while you are watching her, but for sleeping and napping, it is better to lay her down on her back. Putting her on her back to sleep reduces her risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to the National Institutes of Health.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Safe Sleep for Your Baby: Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Dr. Sears: 6 Ways to Help a High-Need Baby Go to Sleep and Stay Asleep
- The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford: Newborn-Sleep Patterns
- The Mayo Clinic: Pacifiers: Are they good for your baby?
