My son was born on November 5th, 2018 and he has never used a pacifier. I always forget that pacifiers even exist, let alone are the norm for babies. Until he was a month old, I had never thought about giving him a pacifier, and the only reason I thought about it was because a family member asked me when I was going to give him one.
During my pregnancy, I planned on breastfeeding my son and decided to wait until he was a month old before I gave him a bottle or pacifier so that he wouldn't get nipple confusion and not want to latch anymore. Once he was born and started nursing, I knew that when the time came, he would have no problems with using a bottle or pacifier and then switching back to my nipple. He was almost 4 weeks when we gave him his first bottle, and once be figured out he was getting milk from it, he was fine; but he had no issues with switching between bottle and breast.

During the first month, we learned all of his cries and what they were for. Every time he cried, it was because he had a dirty diaper, was hungry, wanted to be held, or simply wanted attention. He never really cried for any other reason, and I always nursed him if he wouldn't calm down. Because he's been such a happy baby, I never thought about a pacifier.

The first time I realized that we had never given him one was when a family member asked when we planned on giving him one since he did so well with his bottle. At that moment I decided that we wouldn't be giving him one. Why try and get him used to using a pacifier when he hasn't had one for over a month?

Time has went on, and even when my son gets fussy, I've never thought about getting the pacifiers out. It's just not something I feel is necessary for him. If he gets so fussy that nothing seems to help him, I'll nurse him, even though I know he just ate, and he calms right down. I nursed him during the first month as a comforting thing for him since I didn't think he was ready for a pacifier, but now we don't have any issues with that. Most of the time now when he's fussy and nothing fixes it, he's just fighting sleep, so I'll nurse him to sleep. And this isn't an everyday thing; it'll happen maybe once every two or three days.

Of course, I've heard from family that I need to give him a pacifier because he doesn't need to rely on me nursing him. The thing is, he doesn't rely on nursing for comfort anymore; he only did that during the first few weeks, and he hardly ever cries now. I got very lucky that my son isn't a crier, so I never saw the point of giving him a pacifier.

Another thing I get told is that babies want to have things in their mouths all the time. This is true, especially once they get older and teething starts. They tell me that if he wants something in his mouth, he's just going to get stuck sucking his thumb and he won't give it up like he would a pacifier; it's harder to take their thumb than their pacifier. This could definitely happen, but we'll still break him from his thumb just like we would a pacifier.

I never thought during my pregnancy or even during the first month that I wouldn't want to give him a pacifier, but as time goes on, I know he doesn't need one. On the rare occasions that he dies cry and not just make fussy sounds, my thoughts never go to the pacifier, I'm trying to figure out why he's so upset if I don't already know; and if he's still upset after I bounce or rock him, I can nurse him and then he's fine. Even though I've had some people ask me about it when he does seem to be getting fussy, I tell them there's a reason he's fussy, and once it's fixed, he's fine.

Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with using a pacifier, as long as it's not being used for too long. It's recommended that babies stop using a pacifier once they're 2 years old or younger. Some doctors recommend using pacifiers in babies under 6 months to reduce the risk if SIDS, but after this period, to lessen the use of the pacifier so it's for soothing and not a formed habit.

Soothing your baby is one of the important things to do as a parent, and pacifiers are extremely helpful. If my son needed to be soothed more often and I wasn't able to nurse him, I would definitely consider a pacifier, but, as of right now, my son doesn't need one, so I don't give him one.