Did you know that sucking is one of the five womb sensations known to trigger an infant’s calming reflex? Human survival, especially as a baby, depends on sucking—a skill that is learned in utero, and used for intaking nutrition as soon as they are born. While inside mama’s womb a child’s hands are often naturally positioned near their mouth, hence it becomes easy to suck on their fingers.  Practicing the sucking reflex builds their muscle skill for eating—whether by breast or by the bottle—once born. Hence, the sucking reflex is naturally calming, leading to the answer, YES, babies can sleep with natural rubber pacifiers!

From the calming effect of a baby's sucking reflex, to the relaxing touch of mother's skin during breastfeeding, ecopacifier offers double benefits. The round shield of the Ecopacifier simulates the touch of the mother’s breast against the tip of your child’s nose. That’s right, that big round shield is a purposeful design to mimic the biological soothing design of breastfeeding.

Guidelines to follow when your baby sleeps with natural rubber pacifiers:

Naturally, there are important guidelines to follow when putting your baby to sleep with natural rubber pacifiers or any pacifiers for that matter.

• Confirm you are using a single-piece pacifier, like Ecopacifier. Multipiece pacifiers can pull apart, presenting choking hazards if your child is unattended.
• Don’t coat or flavor the pacifier with milk, honey, or any other substance, as this can lead to tooth decay.
• Don’t attach a string to the pacifier, as this could cause strangulation.
• Confirm your pacifier has breathing holes, as does Ecopacifier! Breathing holes help with airflow for breathing and help reduce moisture on the skin.

The Basics of the 5 S’s Method for Soothing Babies

Smart parents around the world have invented all kinds of variations on the calming womb-like sensations that Dr. Harvey Karp has dubbed the 5 S’s: Swaddle, Side-Stomach Position, Shush, Swing, and Suck, in his bestselling book The Happiest Baby on the Block. The following 5 S’s are reposted from Dr. Harvey’s Blog.

1. Swaddle:  Swaddling recreates the snug packaging inside the womb and is the cornerstone of calming. It decreases startling and increases sleep. And, wrapped babies respond faster to the other 4 S’s and stay soothed longer because their arms cannot wriggle about. To swaddle correctly, wrap arms snug—straight at the side—but let the hips be loose and flexed. Use a large square blanket, but do not overheat, cover your baby’s head, or allow unraveling. Our Organic Cotton Baby Blankets are perfect for swaddling! Note: Babies should not be swaddled all day, just during fussing and sleep.
2. Side or Stomach Position: The back is the only safe position for sleeping, but it is the worst position for calming fussiness. This S can be activated by holding a baby on her side, on her stomach, or over your shoulder. You will see your baby become mellow.
3. Shush: Contrary to the myth, babies do not need total silence to sleep. In the womb, the sound of the blood flow is a shush louder than hoovering! But, not all white noise is created equal. Hissy fans and ocean sounds often fail because they lack the womb’s rumbly quality. The best way to imitate these magic sounds is white noise. Happiest Baby’s Mp3 has 6 specially engineered sounds to calm crying and boost sleep.
4. Swing: Life in the womb is very jiggly. (Imagine your baby bopping around inside your belly when you jaunt down the stairs!) While slow rocking is fine for keeping quiet babies calm, you need to use fast, tiny motions to soothe a crying infant mid-squawk. My patients call this movement the “Jell-O head jiggle.” To do it, always support the head/neck, keep your motions small; and move no more than 2.5 centimeters back and forth. Watch Dr. Harvey Karp’s video online for a visual how-to. (For the safety of your infant, never, ever shake your baby in anger or frustration.)
5. Suck: Sucking is “the icing on the cake” of calming. Many fussy babies relax into deep tranquility when they suck. Many babies calm easier with a pacifier like Ecopiggy’s natural rubber pacifier.