Most babies need a little coaxing before they’ll take a pacifier. Some latch on right away, but many spit it out repeatedly, which can be frustrating when you know it could help soothe them (or reduce SIDS risk during sleep). The good news is that a few simple adjustments to your timing, technique, and pacifier choice can make a real difference.
Start With the Right Timing
Babies are most receptive to a pacifier when they’re calm but slightly drowsy, not when they’re screaming hungry or fully asleep. The sweet spot is after a feeding, when your baby is content and relaxed but still awake enough to engage their sucking reflex. A hungry baby will get frustrated that nothing is coming out, and a deeply sleeping baby won’t latch at all.
If you’re breastfeeding, wait until your baby is at least four weeks old before introducing a pacifier. This gives your milk supply time to establish and lets your baby get comfortable with the breast first, reducing the chance of latch confusion.
Use the Gentle Tug Trick
This is the single most effective technique most parents haven’t tried. Once you place the pacifier in your baby’s mouth, give it a very light tug backward, as if you’re about to pull it out. This triggers the natural sucking reflex and encourages your baby to clamp down harder and suck more actively. It sounds counterintuitive, but that slight resistance is what tells the baby’s mouth to hold on. Try it a few times in a row during one session, and you’ll often notice the baby starts keeping it in longer on their own.
Try a Different Shape or Material
Not all pacifiers feel the same to a baby, and rejecting one brand doesn’t mean your baby hates pacifiers. It may just mean that particular nipple doesn’t feel right in their mouth. There are three main nipple shapes to experiment with: round (cherry-shaped), cylindrical, and orthodontic (flattened on one side).
For babies under six months, cylindrical or round shapes tend to work best because they encourage natural tongue movement similar to breastfeeding. Orthodontic pacifiers, while popular and often recommended by dentists for older babies, have a flattened shape that can promote a less natural sucking pattern in young infants. If your baby is breastfed and refusing a pacifier, a round nipple that more closely mimics the breast is worth trying.
Material matters too. Silicone pacifiers are the most common. They’re odorless, tasteless, and easy to clean, but some babies find them too firm. Latex pacifiers are softer and more flexible, with a texture that feels closer to skin. That more natural feel can win over babies who’ve been spitting out silicone options. The tradeoff is that latex wears out faster and has a slight smell, so it’s not every parent’s first choice. But if your baby keeps rejecting silicone, latex is absolutely worth a shot.
Make It Familiar
A cold, brand-new pacifier straight from the package isn’t very appealing. Before offering it, try warming the nipple under warm (not hot) running water so it’s closer to body temperature. You can also dab a drop of breast milk on the tip to give it a familiar taste and scent. These small sensory cues help bridge the gap between what your baby knows and what you’re asking them to try.
Some parents find it helps to offer the pacifier while holding the baby in their usual feeding position, or while gently rocking or swaying. The familiar comfort cues signal to the baby that this is a soothing moment, not something strange.
Keep Sessions Short and Low Pressure
If your baby spits the pacifier out after a few seconds, don’t force it back in repeatedly. Give it a rest and try again in an hour, or later that day. Babies can develop negative associations if the pacifier feels like something being imposed on them. A relaxed, no-big-deal approach works better than persistence in any single session. It may take days or even a couple of weeks of casual attempts before your baby starts accepting it.
Try offering it at different times throughout the day. Some babies will accept a pacifier during a car ride but not while being held. Others take it right before a nap but refuse it during the day. Pay attention to when your baby seems most open to it and build from there.
Why It’s Worth the Effort
Pacifiers aren’t just for convenience. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends offering one at nap time and bedtime because it reduces the risk of SIDS, even if the pacifier falls out after the baby falls asleep. You don’t need to reinsert it once they’re sleeping. Sucking is also genuinely calming for most babies, activating a self-soothing reflex that can help with fussiness, sleep transitions, and minor discomfort.
That said, once your baby is a little older, it’s smart to limit pacifier use to sleep times. This keeps it from interfering with babbling and early speech sounds during waking hours.
When to Phase It Out
The critical age to keep in mind is three years. Research consistently shows that children who stop using a pacifier before age three have substantially lower rates of dental problems. In one study, children under three who used pacifiers had an open bite prevalence of about 19%, while those who continued past three jumped to 65%. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends discontinuing use by age three to avoid structural changes in the palate and teeth that could need correction later.
Keeping the Pacifier Safe
Before the first use, sterilize a new pacifier by placing it in boiling water for five minutes and letting it cool completely. After that, washing with hot soapy water after each use is sufficient. Check the nipple for cracks, tears, or stickiness before every use, especially if your baby has recently taken liquid medicine, since some medications can break down the material. Replace pacifiers every two months as a rule, even if they look fine, because microscopic wear can create weak spots.