How to Get a Baby to Take a Pacifier With Strong Tongue Thrust Reflex

Parents of newborns are often desperate for advice about how to get their children to take pacifiers. After all, a pacifier can soothe infants during fussy periods or help them fall asleep more easily, and there is some evidence that pacifier use may reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). But getting a reluctant infant to take a pacifier can be difficult when her tongue seems to keep pushing it out again. There are steps you can take to help.

Things You'll Need

  • Several types of pacifiers

Instructions

    • 1

      Introduce the pacifier during the first month of your child's life. Introducing it too late can lead to your baby intentionally pushing the pacifier out of her mouth.

    • 2

      Determine a time that your baby is relatively happy. Introducing the pacifier during a cranky period is bound to fail, because at first the pacifier is a foreign object to your baby.

    • 3

      Place the pacifier in your baby's mouth and hold it there. Although you will feel your baby's tongue thrust reflex kick in, if you hold it there long enough, your baby may figure out how to suck on the pacifier.

    • 4

      Shake the pacifier around, rubbing it along the edges of her lips, so that your baby feels that the pacifier is there. This can help your baby learn how to suck correctly without pushing the pacifier out.

    • 5

      Tap the pacifier gently and rhythmically, for the same reason.

    • 6

      Place your finger inside of your baby's mouth, and see if the baby sucks. If so, quickly slide the pacifier in and slide your finger out so that your baby continues sucking.

    • 7

      Continue offering the pacifier at least once a day through the first several months of your baby's life. Children who refuse the pacifier at birth may decide to take it several months later, as their tongue thrust reflex weakens.

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