Mute button

I visited my friend Lara at her home in Tokyo yesterday. She just had a baby boy, who is the proud owner of this adorable little pacifier that doubles as his very own mute button.

Update: You can buy it on Amazon for $6.

• [Individual]

  It’s funny my son never took to a pacifier.

  • [IronEdithKidd]

    Neither did mine. The last time I tried to pop one in his mouth he took it out, examined it, then started playing with it. On the happy side, at least we won’t be having *that* particular battle with our future toddler.

• [igpajo]

  I know they’re there to help keep the things from sticking to the cheeks, but I always thought those holes in the side would be perfect for attaching a piece of elastic that would wrap around the head to keep them from spitting them out.

• [Carol Maltby]

  I actually liked having conversations with my babies, and believed in letting them know I valued having them communicate as best they could.

  Silly me.

• [Anonymous]

  Our kid has the same one- it is the only one he will use! ‘Teller’ had good advice: never buy just one…

• [pupdog]

  I might have to order a couple just to have on hand for gift-giving opportunities.

  A friend once presented his 8+ month pregnant wife with a joke pacifier molded to look like some lipsticked-up lips and a cigarette butt.

  She didn’t find it as amusing as we did.

  Hopefully these will be better received.

• [nanuq]

  Where can I get one of those? It seems like the perfect baby gift.

• [Teller]

  This much I know: Never buy just one.

• [Boondocker]

  I predict incoming anti-pacifier parenting advice.

  • [Anonymous]

    That’s because pacifiers increase the risk of ear and sinus infections in babies.

    If your baby is crying, he/she needs something.

• [MollyMaguire]

  It’s funny cuz it refers to a baby as if it were a device! When one of us straps our fussing 10 month old into our Ergo carrier, where she always calms down, I say that we are unplugging her.

  • [Shelby Davis]

    @ Molly Completely off-topic, but baby seats are awesome. I used to commandeer my youngest sister’s booster seat when we were kids because it was hecka more comfortable than our couch.

  • [BassTooth]

    lol. it’s funny to me because i hate kids.

    • [robulus]

      Hilarious! Thats funny to me because you double posted! Ooooh, look at me, I’m almost smart enough to use teh internets and I hate kids!

      Gene pool’s loss, I guess.

      • [EH]

        Heh, it just goes to show that the only thing more insufferable than kid haters are people with children.

        • [robulus]

          Dazzling repartee!

      • [BassTooth]

        hey, trollin’ ain’t easy

        • [robulus]

          Ahah! You admitted… oh right.

  • [BassTooth]

    lol. it’s funny to me because i hate kids.

• [Boondocker]

  @Anon #22

  You bring up a good point about increased risk of otitis media, but you forgot the word ‘may’ in your post.

  This study, Is pacifier use a risk factor for acute otitis media? A dynamic cohort study, talks about methodological problems with the previous studies that had found links between increased risk of ear infection and pacifier use. The cohort study seems better designed, and does find that a higher percentage of infants using pacifiers end up with recurrent infections. However, the results aren’t statistically significant, so I’m not sure how they can be so sure about the link.

  In any case, most of the problems that may arise from pacifier use occur when the pacifier is used for too long, or isn’t cleaned, etc. The Canadian Paediatric Society’s position statement on the use of pacifiers is interesting reading on the subject, covering pacifier use as it relates to breastfeeding, otitis media, dentition, SIDS(!), infection, analgesic effects, and preterm infants.

  Here’s the tl;dr version:

  SUMMARY
  The decision to use pacifiers in infants and children remains controversial and an individual choice for today’s parents. Many experts agree that pacifiers may be associated with otitis media, early weaning and dental problems, but the nature of this association along with the scope of this negative impact is still unclear. Pacifier use may be protective against SIDS, which is significantly consequential, and indeed further research is needed to validate this claim. Due to the lack of strong evidence, either for or against the use of pacifiers, selective use and safe use cannot be over-emphasized to those who choose them. Paediatricians and other child health care providers must be vigilant in advising parents on the appropriateness of pacifier use (see parent handout) and be aware of the available evidence to date to support this advice.

  So, interesting reading on a controversial subject that, on the whole, really sucks.

• [ncm]

  I have always called those things “stoppers”. It would be fun to have one with a cork pattern.

• [Anonymous]

  Clever word play. Funny.

• [Anonymous]

  My kiddo had a few of those, much to my delight when watching the looks on people’s faces we ran across.

  I highly recommend them.

  Further picture evidence:
  http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn271/jjpeloquin/?action=view&current=redstripes.jpg

• [Anonymous]

  That’s funny. My wife took almost that same exact picture of our kid the other day.

• [jim]

  Pacifiers are great. Kid haters are doomed.

• [Flaminica]

  Boobs are free and they can multitask.

• [Berk]

  These have gone on the gift list for my breeder friends, Cheers!