When registering for baby stuff before my son was born, I came across a pacifier with a stuffed animal attached to it. Perhaps you've seen it? It's called a WubbaNub (though I've always thought it was called a "Wubba Nubba"), and comes in a plethora of adorable animals. I thought it was cute but kind of frivolous. Close to $15 for a pacifier?! But I bought the giraffe pacifier anyway, just to try it out (and because it was just too cute!)
Though when I bought it, I didn't think it could possibly be better than any other pacifier - plus I was planning on using pacifiers sparingly - but I quickly fell in love with it. We almost forgot about every other pacifier - I had them stuffed in diaper bags as our "backup," but we never went anywhere without what we began referring to as "THE Pacifier." (I wouldn't even leave the room without grabbing it).
What makes this pacifier so great?
I'm glad you asked.
Here's my list of things I like (and don't like) about the WubbaNub.
1). The pacifier/nipple itself is a Soothie, which is the kind our boy preferred. It's also the type that our hospital used to soothe him during his circumcision. So this was great for us - I didn't waste $15 on a pacifier we'd never used. (He only rarely took a Nuk pacifier and any others almost never. There are still some rejected pacifiers in the nursery somewhere...) If your baby prefers a flat nipple such as the one on a Nuk over the round one on a Soothie, then this may not be the pacifier for you.
2). The attached stuffed animal makes it larger - therefore easier to find when you're fumbling around in the dark looking for it. Or when fumbling around in a cavernous diaper bag. It also makes it less likely to get lost in the sheets or blankets. This may seem trivial, but trust me. When you're dealing with a crying, upset baby, you don't want to be spending precious minutes digging around for a tiny pacifier.
3). Aside from making it easier for you to grab, it's also easier for little baby hands to hold on to as well. Baby G didn't hold the giraffe right away (too young!), but he got into it eventually and now whenever he sees the giraffe he grabs it and stuffs it in his mouth. Some may say this is because he knows that it's something he likes to suck on... some may say it's because he's stuffing everything in his mouth...
4). A potential downside of the WubbaNub is that you can't attach many paci clips to it. However, because of the plush animal, you can shove it places to get it to stay. For example, it gets wedged quite nicely between my body and any of our baby carriers (like my husband in the Ergo, below).
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| The WubbaNub between my husband and the Ergo shoulder strap. The nipple rests in the perfect spot for baby to suck on! |
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| It's hard to tell, but the giraffe's body is actually in the front pocket of the Balboa Baby Ring Sling. |
5). Other than the actual nipple, the WubbaNub provides many things for baby to suck (or chew) on. Though I haven't tried any of the other animals, the giraffe in particular has feet that are the perfect size and shape to fit in baby's mouth. He loves to suck on those almost as much as he likes to suck on the pacifier part. Though, now he's teething, so he's really chewing on the poor giraffe more than anything else...
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| Mouthing on the giraffe's foot. |
6). It's slightly more difficult to clean than standard pacifiers - depending on how neurotic you are. I don't like to rinse the nipple because then the giraffe gets wet - and normally when I'm rinsing it, I need to use it right then and don't have the time to lay it out to dry. Not a big deal... but I'm a bit weird. :P You can throw it in the washing machine though. I actually don't do that too often (or put regular ones in the dishwasher) because I read that heat wears down the plastic and it can eventually break off. (Apparently you're supposed to replace pacifiers every 2 months. Not a big deal for $3 ones, but I really didn't feel like replacing a $15 pacifier when he may only use it for another month). I do stick it in the bottle warmer (which doubles as a sanitizer). The warmer isn't huge, so I just tip the pacifier piece in, letting the giraffe's body hang over the edge.
Do you have a WubbaNub for your little one? What did you think of it?
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