Jan, I saw a reference the other day to the pacifier article somewhere
(newspaper, maybe?), and as per my usual response to just about anything I see
on the news, I wondered how bf might fit into the picture. Perhaps those kids
who used the pacifier so much were not getting ear infections because of the
pacifier usage so much as the pacifier was used instead of bf....

Does anybody else out there constantly mumble to themselves, "this wouldn't have
happened if he[she, they] had been breastfed!"? For those of you nodding in
agreement, do you also go on to contemplate whether you have totally lost all
perspective? Ok, for those STILL nodding in agreement, do you ultimately shout
"NO! IF THEY HAD ONLY BEEN BREASTFED!!"? ;-)

One quick note on thumbsucking--my kids both sucked their thumbs and I think my
daughter probably fell into the category of thumb-sucking due to oversupply. She
kept it up until around age 7, I think. I told my dentist (and others) that I
would far rather pay an orthodontist than a psychiatrist!!

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
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