The best pacifiers for your baby
The best pacifier overall
The MAM Perfect Pacifier comes in different sizes for babies ages 0 to 6 months, 6 months and up, and 16-months plus. From the moment my daughter was 3 months old, to the day she put her pacifier down for good, MAM pacifiers were her favorite.
I basically bought them in bulk. We lost or misplaced so many pacifiers between home, daycare, baby music class, and rides on planes, trains, and automobiles, that we were continually buying and trying more brands on the go, based on whatever the nearest store was carrying. We tried probably over a dozen brands throughout her infancy and early toddlerhood, but we kept coming back to MAM.
When I was researching pacifier brands for my family, I was attracted to MAM because of the company's impressive record of scientific and medical research, all of which went into product development. After reading up on the use of pacifiers, the only possible negative effect that really worried me was potential dental damage down the road. According to MAM's website, its pacifier design was developed with dentists and orthodontists to "reduce the risk of misaligned teeth."
During my daughter's prime days of pacifier use, she was too young to tell me exactly why she preferred the MAM brand, but I think the round, soft shape and subtly bumpy silicone texture that, according to the website, best approximates the real thing, felt most familiar to her, and also kept the point from simply falling out of her mouth while she wasn't actively sucking. They also come inside a clear plastic storage case that can be used to disinfect the pacifiers in your microwave.
My daughter used the MAM "original" pacifier. Recently, the company has come out with a brand-new "perfect" pacifier made from the same ultra-soft patented silicone (BPA- and BPS-free), which is now even thinner and softer.
The pacifier is also thinner and softer than regular silicone pacifiers meaning it stays comfortably nestled in your baby's mouth without causing extra pressure. I picked one up to check out the new design for this article and will definitely be keeping it on hand for my next baby.
Pros: Orthodontist-recommended design and high-quality materials make for a comfortable and soothing option with several safety features
Cons: A few moms have reported the airflow design leaves marks on extra chubby cheeks
The best pacifier for newborns
This pacifier is actually a two-for-one product since the ingenious WubbaNub pacifier is really two products in one. The inventor, momtrepreneur Carla Schneider, started with the hospital-recommended all-star newborn pacifier, the Philips Avent Soothie for newborns and connected it with a wide variety of small bean-filled and adorable plush animals designed to rest on baby's chest and keep the pacifier from falling out when babies fuss.
And believe me, if you're a parent you already know this, but if you're doing research for a future baby, you will soon learn: The struggle to keep a pacifier in a neonate's mouth comfortably is incredibly real.
Before my husband and I found the Wubbanub, we took turns popping the pacifier back in our sometimes-colicky tiny daughter's mouth all night long. We even tried kind of wedging the top of her swaddle over the edge of her Philips Avent to keep it in place which, looking back, was probably not a great idea.
The Wubbanub isn't a perfect solution for falling pacifiers, but it's much better than the unweighted alternatives when you're a desperate, sleep-deprived parent of a newborn.
One of the only drawbacks many parents discover is that the combination of a fabric plush with a silicone pacifier tip is rather hard to disinfect. What I did was throw the whole thing in the washing machine occasionally and hold just the silicone tip in boiling water as needed.
Pros: Noninvasive shape less likely to cause "nipple confusion" in newborn infants, while the attached weighted plush toy keeps things in place when baby fusses
Cons: Hard to disinfect
The best pacifier for toddlers
The Tommee Tippee brand is a well-known maker of baby bottles that are built to resemble a mother's breast. As the product description states, the "symmetrical orthodontic nipple has been specially designed to help optimize baby acceptance and in independent tests, more babies accepted these new pacifiers the first time." Basically, Tommee Tippee bottle bases and nipples are made to approximate the experience of breastfeeding, so that babies who use both breast and bottle won't get confused or prematurely self-ween. Tommee Tippee's pacifiers follow the same basic idea.
Instead of a big round bulbous tip on the end like many pacifiers, the Tommee Tippee "closer to nature" design is a bit larger at the tip but is totally symmetrical and narrows into the base without a big curve. This means that the shape and feeling of the silicone is more like a real live nipple. It won't stay put in baby's mouth as well as brands that have a bulbous tip, but by the time your little one is a toddler, they can handle that part all on their own.
Pros: A BPA-free symmetrical silicone shape that toddlers love
Cons: The design sometimes allows water to get trapped inside
The best pacifier for teethers
The RaZbaby Silicone Teether has earned quite a cult following. While the nipple shape is similar to that of your average pacifier, the texture is quite nubby and bumpy like a large silicone raspberry. Teething infants love the varied texture, which also stimulates their gums and helps them massage the areas where little teeth are beginning to poke through.
When my daughter was teething, we bought her lots of options, even similar supposedly hands-free teething and sucking combos, like the Molar Muncher Hands-Free Teether. But the problem seemed to be that none of them were actually hands-free or interesting enough texturally to warrant her keeping them in her mouth long enough to really help.
That's where the design of the RaZbaby really shines. Since the shape and sucking function are very similar to a normal pacifier, my daughter could keep this in her mouth on her own and had plenty of opportunities to stimulate and soothe her gums. You can also stick it in the freezer for some cooling action on inflamed spots.
The double-duty capacity is great if you're frequently on the go with the kids in tow, or if your child goes to daycare. Instead of packing or attaching both a pacifier and a teething toy to your teething baby's shirt, you can make it all day with just one soothing object.
Pros: Hands-free, safe design for sucking or teething
Cons: Some color options might accidentally break into two parts
The best pacifier for late-night criers
For this pacifier, MAM took its incredibly popular orthodontic pacifier shape and design, and then made the handle glow in the dark to help with those midnight wakeups. If you've ever experienced the frustration that is needing to soothe your crying baby but not being able to find where they've tossed their pacifier without turning on the light, you know that a self-luminescent feature is genius.
If you turn on a light or shine your phone's flashlight in search of the missing pacifier, you might wake your baby up too much to fall back to sleep, but this pacifier glows in the dark so you can always find it. At first, I was worried that the glow so close to the baby's face would keep her awake, but I never noticed any problems of that nature in actual usage.
There are other pacifier brands that offer a glow-in-the-dark option. There's Philips AVENT BPA Free Night Time Pacifier, which is affordable, but parents say that the glow-in-the-dark functionality barely works and runs out of charge very quickly. So, because of the good quality of the materials, the popular nature of the design, the widespread availability, and the good price, the MAM is still the all-around best.
Though some have found it takes a very bright light to charge the MAM enough for it to really glow well all night, we still found that this brand glows better than other options. It comes in blue, pink, or green styles, and two different sizes for older or younger babies.
Pros: High-quality form and functionality that glows-in-the-dark for nighttime wakeups
Cons: Needs a very bright charge in order to glow all night
Check out our other baby gear guides
While swaddling does come with some controversy, it's hands-down one of the best ways to get a fussy baby to sleep. But like all baby products, swaddles come in all shapes and sizes. Here are the best baby swaddles you can buy.
The best baby monitorsA great baby monitor is one of the most important and expensive purchases you'll make when you're outfitting your nursery. There are three main types of monitors: audio baby monitors, video baby monitors with dedicated viewers, and Wi-Fi baby monitors, and we've rounded up the best of each. These are the best baby monitors you can buy.
The best cloth diapersCloth diapers are easy to use, offer money-savings, and are nothing like the ones your grandma used to use. When you get down to finding the perfect cloth diaper, it comes down to four factors: cost, sustainability, absorbency, and cuteness (your baby has to look good, after all). These are the best cloth diapers you can buy.
The best breast pumpsWhether you're running an errand, taking a short trip or heading back to work full-time, you'll need a good breast pump to get you through those times when you can't breastfeed your baby directly. These are the best breast pumps you can buy.
The best bottle warmersWhen your little one is screaming in the middle of the night for warm milk, having a baby bottle warmer will save your sanity, and hopefully, some sleep. Pop a bottle in one of these warmers, and you'll have a ready-to-go meal at an ideal temperature. These are the best bottle warmers.
The best pregnancy pillowsA good pregnancy pillow can help support a growing bump and take the strain off your back and joints so you can get a good night's sleep. Pregnancy pillows are priceless for postpartum respite, too, and they even work for nursing. It's never too late in a pregnancy to get a great maternity pillow.
Next Story
Tesla tells some laid-off employees their separation agreements are canceled and new ones are on the way
Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' is the messiest, horniest, and funniest album she's ever made
One of the world's only 5-star airlines seems to be considering asking business-class passengers to bring their own cutlery
9 Foods that can help you add more protein to your diet
The Future of Gaming Technology
Stock markets stage strong rebound after 4 days of slump; Sensex rallies 599 pts
Sustainable Transportation Alternatives
10 Foods you should avoid eating when in stress
