Yes I've heard of this.  Apparantly in our NICU they use cherry
syrup to dip them in!  Unfortunately, this crept into our holding
nursery (our term for normal newborn nursery-they are supposed to be
in the room with mom so that's where they are "held" anytime they
aren't with her).  I posted a comment on this not long ago so it
should be in the archives.
At our WALC (Wisconsin ILCA affiliate) conference recently Linda
Smith cited a study that indicated being help skin to skin with mom
for(I think) 45 minutes before a stressful experience also had an
analgsic effect!
The reference is Pediatrics 2000;105(1)
Winnie Mading RNC, IBCLC

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