But once the baby booties are on the other foot, and the crying just won't stop, a pacifier suddenly seems like a gift from heaven. While doctors and moms continue the debate over the relative merits of using a pacifier and linguists add to their list the number of names used for pacifiers (binky, nummy, nuckie, smucky a few companies have looked into the world of pacifiers and designed some to meet the special needs of children along the way.



The Hospital's Choice

Forget those nasty rubber/latex things they sell at Wal-Mart at 2 for 1.99. There are high quality pacifiers out there that will help comfort your baby and be medically mindful of your child at the same time. Baby's First Smoothie is the pacifier most used in hospitals for infant care. The characteristics that make it sought are many.

First, it's made of silicon, not latex. Latex allergies plague many people, and can actually be developed by the continued use of latex. In other words, you child may not be allergic to latex today but after continued use could develop an allergy later. Smoothies are also shaped like a nipple to encourage a natural sucking reflex in infants and have a ventilation hole to keep air flowing well. The only downside to Smoothies is that they are slightly larger than an average pacifier so they require a special clip to be used to attach it. Smoothie now makes specialty clips designed to do that.

Especially for Preemies

Many times a child born too early comes out with special needs including a much smaller head and the need for a CPAP or respirator. Preemies are also more likely to be born without a natural suck reflex and may need help developing one. The Gumdrop pacifier was made for just such situations. It is also made of silicon and has a smaller nipple shaped plug. It is also designed a little smaller than a normal pacifier and is curved to fit more closely to an infant's face. The other important feature is the two small holes in the pacifier for CPAP or respiratory tubes to pass through so its does not interfere with any machinery needed for a child's health.

For The Baby With Everything

Just when you thought you had seen all the bling possible, there now exists pacifiers full of personality to match your child's love for living large. Unbelievably, available at personsonalizedpacifiers site is a white gold pacifier with 278 pave cut white diamonds. It has a silicon nipple, and moveable handle. It can also be engraved with the baby's name and birth date. The cost? $17,000. Now that's a lot of binky! For people who don't intend to spend quite that much there are pacifiers that can be personalized with the baby's name, holiday pacifiers, and fun ones that say things like "princess in training".

The jury is still out on pacifier use but as long as there are babies who cry and mothers who want to, there will be pacifiers to keep the peace.