SUMMARY:
- Babies' need to suck: an innate reflex
- The thousand and one benefits of breastfeeding
- Breast, pacifier or pacifier, thumb or comforter: soothing the need to suck
- Our tips for managing your baby's need to suck
- The physiological pacifier: how to choose a pacifier for your baby?
- Sucking disorders: how to recognize them?
Babies' need to suck: an innate reflex
At the time of the ultrasound, it is sometimes a big surprise, baby is sucking his thumb! A prenatal reflex that will be refined throughout the pregnancy to reach its peak at birth. It is also thanks to it that your child can take his first breastfeed.
This is called nutritive sucking, which the baby uses to feed himself and during which he is focused, sucking the breast milk for a long time and swallowing between each suck.
At the same time, non-nutritive sucking at the breast, bottle, comforter or pacifier is faster and involves long pauses. Here it is not a question of hunger, but of comfort.
Recognizing the need for sucking
But then, how do you differentiate hunger from the need for comfort ? If mealtime is past (even by a little) or if it is approaching and baby is hungry , there is a good chance that he will start crying. You may also be able to recognize his mouth movements and attempts to suck on his comfort blanket, his fingers or his entire fist, without being able to calm down.
The need for comfort can be marked by a rather agitated child, who has difficulty falling asleep, who gets upset or who turns his head in all directions. If he suckles, he calms down automatically and very quickly.
Do the test yourself! If in doubt, if it is not yet time for a meal and his diapers are clean, give your baby your little finger to suck. If he does not calm down, you can prepare his milk meal.
The thousand and one benefits of breastfeeding
An innate reflex (or archaic reflex) associated with the grasping, cardinal point, Moro, automatic walking, crossed lying down and head support reflexes, the sucking reflex plays many roles in your baby's life.
- Feeding : above all, suckling allows your child to drink their milk, whether breast or infant, given at the breast or in a bottle.
- Regulate milk production : by suckling at your breast, baby stimulates and modulates your milk production according to his needs and appetite.
- Soothing : Sucking provides a feeling of soothing and calm that comforts or soothes your little one depending on their needs.
- Managing stress and pain : sucking releases endorphins. A hormone of relaxation and sleep, it also has an analgesic effect that is particularly useful during medical examinations, for example.
- Interact : at each breastfeeding, if baby stops sucking, you change breasts. This is a first form of exchange for him, often accompanied by looks and little sounds (so cute!).
- Growing up : sucking and reassurance play a significant role in the child's psychoaffective development.
- Developing the palate : perinatal osteopathy teaches us that the pressure exerted by the tongue on the palate (during breastfeeding and at rest) helps it to be put in place by the movement of the cranial bones that compose it.
- Develop the jaw muscles : sucking works all the muscles of the face, partly shaping its shape.
- Finally, sucking forces baby to breathe through his nose : the best way for him (and for everyone) to oxygenate his brain.
Breast, pacifier or pacifier, thumb or comforter: soothing the need to suck
Over the weeks and months, the sucking reflex evolves into a need, as your child understands that it comforts him. It is often at this time that he adopts his comfort blanket, his thumb or a pacifier to accompany him.
On the parents' side, the great relief of having found a remedy for their babies' crying and discomfort quickly gives way to questioning its advantages and disadvantages.
The thumb, impossible to lose
A real asset, especially appreciated at night. If he wakes up , your little one doesn't need anyone to help him fall back asleep , he finds his thumb very easily. On the other hand, when it comes time to stop sucking, it's another story. Because if the main advantage of the thumb is that it is impossible to lose, this is also its first disadvantage.
Experts also blame it for greater orthodontic deformation, mainly in children who suck their thumbs for a long time.
Breast, hard to refuse
Breastfed babies tend to mix up nutritious feeds with comfort feeds , by latching on to the breast. While these moments are often filled with sweetness and magic , it is not always easy to tell the difference between the two, much less to refuse the breast or remove your baby from the breast because you feel like he or she is not latching effectively.
For this reason, many mothers choose to give their child a pacifier, or pacifier or soother.
The pacifier, easier to stop
Unlike the thumb, the pacifier is easier (and especially physically possible) to give up , even when you know how much love babies have for their pacifier. Interchangeable for hygiene and practicality, it can however be lost while walking or misplaced at night . This is often why, as parents, we have a real collection of them.
More flexible than the thumb and more profiled (we speak of an anatomical or physiological teat), the pacifier finally has a reduced impact on the oral-dental development of babies.
The comforter and its emotionality
Finally, the comforter, a transitional object par excellence , accompanies children during moments of separation from their parents . It therefore happens that it more or less temporarily takes the place of the pacifier (which stuffed rabbit has never had its ears sucked?), but also that the pacifier transforms into a comforter with babies who use the nipple to rub their nose and soothe themselves.
Our tips for managing your baby's need to suck
Doctors and pediatricians recommend reserving the use of the pacifier for sleep time (at night and during naps). However, most children also seek it out when they are tired , sick or if they have hurt themselves . In short, when the need for comfort is at its peak. There are also babies who need to suckle "all the time" and babies who only fall asleep at the breast . However, certain habits should be avoided:
- give the pacifier instead of meals (or during),
- dip the lollipop in jam, honey or sugar to make it more appetizing,
- leave the pacifier available without limits.
However, in the first weeks and even during the first months, do not feel guilty about giving your baby the breast, pacifier or little finger . If, outside of meals, he asks for a breastfeed, it is because he needs it to calm down, soothe himself, reassure himself or fall asleep. Gradually, as he grows, he will end up regulating himself like a grown-up.
Pacifier and breastfeeding, a duo to avoid?
On this point, opinions differ. While some doctors recommend not using a pacifier while breastfeeding to avoid any risk of confusion , various studies show that, in healthy full-term babies, the introduction of a pacifier has no particular impact .
The general recommendation in the United States, but also in Denmark, is that pacifiers should only be offered once breastfeeding is well established .
The physiological pacifier: how to choose a pacifier for your baby?
Because once adopted, a pacifier is difficult to change, here are some tips for choosing it without making a mistake.
- For comfort and ergonomics, choose a pacifier adapted to your child's age , which you will change at each stage (from birth to 2 months, from 2 months to 6 months, 6 months and more, etc.).
- Choose an extra-soft physiological pacifier designed to adapt to the palate and respect the correct positioning of the teeth when they start to grow.
- The pacifier must always allow the baby to close his mouth.
- Also check the composition of the teat and the nipple shield. to favor the healthiest materials . This is the case, for example, of medical silicone or natural rubber.
- Finally, the shape of the shield is also important to avoid any pressure on the mouth and to allow the skin to breathe, often wet with drool in this area.
- Of course, for fun it is also recommended to choose your baby's pacifier based on its unique design !
Did you know? Just as it is no longer recommended to sterilize baby bottles after each use, it is no longer recommended to sterilize pacifiers. Wash them, yes, rinse them too, but, for your child's immune system to develop, good hygiene is sufficient. At the same time, note not to forget the pacifier in the sun, not to freeze it or put it in the dishwasher to avoid damaged teats!
Sucking disorders: how to recognize them?
The sucking reflex allows your baby to feed from your breast or bottle. However, certain disorders can complicate his life and yours too. Here's how to try to recognize them.
Breastfeeding is long , more complicated, sometimes chaotic and above all unsatisfactory for you and your child. Symptoms such as refusal of the bottle or breast , milk leaks , choking , RGO or greater agitation during meals can alert you.
If you are breastfeeding, you may experience breast pain, cracked breasts, or significant engorgement.
Consulting your pediatrician can help you identify the cause of this sucking disorder (mechanical, functional or sensory) and find its origin in a tongue tie that is too short, a narrow jaw or even the prematurity of your baby.
When to stop thumb or pacifier sucking?
Ideally, health professionals recommend stopping the pacifier between the ages of two and three, in order to preserve the good oral development of children. In general, the start of nursery school coincides with a progressive disinterest in the pacifier. However, if you feel your child is struggling with this big step, do not hesitate to praise him, tell him that older children do not have pacifiers and install a small pacifier box in the house to store it safely.
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In conclusion
- The sucking reflex is present from birth. Over the months, it transforms into a need for sucking used by babies to soothe and reassure themselves.
- Sucking allows your child to feed, to stimulate lactation if breastfed, to calm down or even to fall asleep.
- To choose the right pacifier for your baby, take into account its size, shape and the materials it is made of.
- Sucking disorders, when they exist, can manifest themselves by refusal of the breast or bottle, crying, choking or the appearance of RGO in the baby.
- There is no age to stop sucking your thumb or pacifier. Each parent must support their child in this process, avoiding going beyond the age of 3.
