“They’re using you like a pacifier”

Did you know that pacifiers are shaped like nipples, not the other way around? *sarcasm*

Society has parents convinced that dependence as babies will lead to more dependence as the kids get older.

This idea that babies should be independent is so pervasive that when parents nurse their babies for comfort, people often retort that they are being “used as a pacifier.”

But that is sort of the point, isn’t it? As parents, helping to soothe our babies time and time again will lead to them being able to eventually self-soothe.

This is absolutely nothing against pacifiers. I think they can be a really useful tool for comfort and non-nutritive sucking. But I think we should stop shaming breast/chestfeeding parents for nursing their children for comfort, and celebrate any parent doing their best to respond to their babies needs.