When to Start Pacifiers: Why We Started Immediately

Yes, they can screw up teeth. But not until they’re way older. If I had a third kid, I would start immediately.

Nipple Confusion

The bigger reason people often don’t do pacifiers is because they’re concerned about nipple confusion. You do you, but in my experience neither of my kids has had any issue with nipple confusion. If anything, they’re all about the nipple no matter what you do.

We waited the "recommended" 4 weeks with Cleo before introducing paci or bottle......Cleo wouldn’t take either until she was like 10 months. That was a LOT of working from home hectic nursing sessions. Mouse is fine on bottle (because we started him at day 10) but still won’t really take a paci (because we held off two weeks—I REGRET).

If I could do-over, I would give both babies a pacifier as they came out of my body. (Ok probably after golden hour and successful latch. But still—would have given in the hospital.)

The Teeth Concern

The concern is that as their mouths grow and they suck on the pacifier it can start to change how they speak and can start to have their teeth move, sort of like a retainer might.

The speaking concern seems to be mostly about them having the paci while they’re talking. For us, we only ever used the paci with Cleo while she was sleeping. We always removed it and put it on a shelf after she woke up.

The teeth concern is about teeth development. Talk to your kid dentist about it, but in general the advice is lose it between 2 and 3—really between 18 months and 2.

We let Cleo keep hers for too long. Evan started noticing her teeth tipping out a little bit and we pulled it.

Pulling the Pacifier (The Hard Part)

Learn from our mistakes. We waited way too long. It was a pretty neutral sleep tool for Cleo until she was about 18 months. We let her keep it because we didn’t want to deal with the pain of taking it away. There was always a reason not to: we were about to go on vacation and we want her to sleep well. We’re about to have a baby and it’s too much change. She’s moving into a toddler bed and that’ll be hard enough. Etc. etc.

DO NOT DO THIS.

There was a brilliant window at about 20–26 months where we could have just taken them away. It would have been rough for a few nights but fine. Taking it at 2.75 years has been a complete nightmare. We took it away about three weeks ago and she still tells me it’s hard to sleep without it.

The moral: pull it earlier than you think you should. Your life will be easier.

Our Picks: MAM Pacifiers by Age

Both kids used MAM pacifiers exclusively. The shape is symmetrical so it sits right no matter which way baby grabs it, and they're super easy to clean — the whole thing pops apart. Here's what we used at each stage.

Newborn (0–6 Months)

Start with the Original. I wish I had. The Day & Night version glows in the dark, which sounds gimmicky until you're fumbling for a pacifier at 3am. The Matte version is the same nipple shape without the glow — good for daytime, and a little less bulky.

MAM Original Day and Night Pacifier 0-6 Months

MAM Original Day & Night (0–6 mo)

Glows in the dark. Symmetrical nipple. Our go-to from day one.

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MAM Original Matte (0–6 mo)

Same nipple, no glow. Lighter feel, good for daytime.

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The In-Between (3–12 Months)

The Comfort is all silicone — one solid piece, nothing to pull apart. Lighter than the Original, and both kids seemed to like the feel of it during the teething phase.

MAM Comfort Pacifier (3–12 Months)

One-piece silicone. Lightweight. Great for teething babies.

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Older Baby (6–16 Months)

The Air has extra ventilation holes, which is nice for skin sensitivity — neither kid ever got a rash around the mouth with these. Day & Night version glows, same as the Original.