This Mom Found a Brilliant Pacifier Trick to Help Her Baby Self-Soothe

A mom named Laura Gerson took to Facebook to share a hack that other parents love that's also doctor-approved!

When it comes to helping babies fall asleep—and stay asleep, a parent will do just about anything. That's why one brilliant trick shared by a mom on Facebook went viral.

U.K.-based mom Laura Gerson shared her sleep secret in the closed Facebook group The Motherload. She discovered the hack when her daughter Amelia was about 3 months old. Her baby kept waking up because she couldn't find her pacifier (which Gerson calls a "dummy" and some other parents call a "binky") in her crib after it fell out of her mouth. She'd end up crying all night looking for it. Then, Gerson discovered a trick to help her little one self-soothe.

Gerson wrote on Facebook, "Weird bedtime routine that’s worked… Lol. Since my little one was about 3 months old she’s gone to bed with roughly 10 dummies in with her. Found that when she cried of a night all she wanted was a dummy then she’d go back off."

Whether you want to teach your baby to self-soothe with or without a pacifier, you'll likely agree this baby sleep hack is pretty genius!

Related: 9 Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Better

How to Help Your Baby Sleep Using Multiple Pacifiers

Gerson realized that if her baby had multiple pacifiers around her in the crib, she would be much more likely to find one for her mouth, and maybe one to hold. It's occasionally "trial and error with her losing a few down the side but 99% of the time she feels around, finds a dummy, sticks it in and she’s sorted!" she explained. "Haven’t had to go into her of a night for about 8 months now… WINNING!! I don’t even wanna think about the time when the 'Dummy Fairy' comes to take them away though."

The proud mama told PopSugar that her daughter "isn't a total dummy-fiend and doesn't even have them through the day really, but it really soothes her having them through the night, and having more in there makes it easy for her to find one and hold one (or two). Just made sense that if that was all she wanted to make it easier for her to get to them without getting herself stressed when she couldn't. Happy baby, happy mummy!" No kidding!

Related: 5 Truths About Pacifiers Parents Should Know

How to Help a Baby to Self-Soothe Without a Pacifier

Of course, there are also ways to teach a baby to self-soothe without using a pacifier, such as letting your child cry for a few minutes to give them a chance to settle down on their own. There are many other sleep training methods you can try as well. Ultimately, there is no one perfect method. As long as your baby's basic needs (including food, safe sleep space, diapering, and attention) are being met, follow the sleep routine that feels right to you.

Some strategies to try include the following:

• Gently rock your baby before setting them down or rock them in a cradle.

• Keep as calm and quiet as you can, if you become stressed (which is totally normal), your baby will likely follow suit.

• Pat or stroke their forehead, tummy, or head.

• Play a noise machine to offer a soothing reminder of the muffled noises they heard in the womb.

• Put your baby down at the first signs of drowsiness, before they get overtired.

• Sing lullabies or play soft music for your baby.

• Stay in their room offering comforting words or touch but do not pick them up. Move farther and farther away over the course of a few days.

• Swaddle your baby.

However, stocking the crib with several pacifiers may also do the trick, especially if your baby is very fond of using a pacifier and is good at putting one in their mouth. And bonus, this technique may even involve fewer tears than some other methods.

Safe Sleep Guidelines

Put your baby down to sleep on their back. While it can be tempting to try another sleeping position, safe sleep protocols require having babies sleep on their backs. Additionally, do not put blankets, bumpers, or plush toys in their cribs either. This is because front and side sleeping positions and having soft, loose items in the crib increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Is It Safe to Put Multiple Pacifiers in Your Baby's Crib?

But what do experts think about this seemingly brilliant parenting hack? Robin Jacobson, MD, a pediatrician at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone says, "I think having pacifiers all over the cribs help to soothe the child like a security blanket. I remember a friend of mine’s child used to walk around with a pacifier in his mouth and one in each hand for comfort. Certainly having many pacifiers at easy access would make finding one and falling back to sleep easier."

Related: Newborn Sleep Schedule: Birth to 3 Months

That said, Dr. Jacobson warns that the trick does have a potential drawback: "One issue that parents have when their child sleeps with a pacifier is when they go through sleep patterns and are partially awake they can’t fall back to sleep without a pacifier because they have not learned to self-soothe themselves," she notes.

However, if you and your baby are exhausted, you might choose to worry about weaning them off the pacifier at a later date. Ultimately, it seems like Gerson's genius move is a safe one that many parents will want to give a shot—if only for the sake of a few more precious Zs!

Related: The Best Baby Sleep Tips Ever

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Read the original article on Parents.