-
Hi JC!
It’s great that your little one has learned to roll in both directions. But as you have noticed, this can impact sleep. Generally, once babies learn to roll over, they start to sleep on their tummies. Would you consider leaving your baby when he rolls over onto his tummy before he falls asleep and using the settling pyramid to help him fall asleep in this position if needed?
In regards to the pacifier, there are two options.
1. Teach him how to put the pacifier back in his mouth independently.
You should teach him this when he is happy and awake. So, during playtime, lay him in his crib or sleep space and place pacifiers around him. Then, let him practice finding the pacifiers and putting them in his mouth while lying down. The hope is that once he learns this skill, he can find the pacifier during the night and put it back in himself. Keep in mind, though, your baby might not have the fine motor skills required to achieve this skill until around 7 months of age, so until then, you might need to keep popping the pacifier back in.
2. Remove the pacifier.
If you need to pop the pacifier back into his mouth often to get him to fall asleep or encourage him to stay asleep, and you don’t want to continue doing this, you can remove the pacifier.
It’s important to note that removing the pacifier will be challenging at any age, as your baby will need to learn how to soothe himself to sleep without using the pacifier. However, removing the pacifier at this age can be easier than when he is a toddler. Either way, if you decide to do it now or in future years, you will notice a change in his sleep habits as he learns a new way to fall asleep.
If you do choose to remove the pacifier at this point, I recommend you stop using it for all sleep (naps and overnight) and use the settling pyramid to help your little one fall asleep. Removing it from all sleep is less confusing for your baby and gives him lots of opportunities to learn a new way of falling asleep, which will help him learn this new way of falling asleep quicker.
It is going to be a little challenging at first but with time your baby will be able to soothe himself to sleep without the pacifier.
I hope that helps,
Emma