Picking a pacifier

When Griffin was born I said I would never get him a pacifier.  As the weeks went on, we realized there were times that we just couldn't soothe the kid.  Like, when he was in his car seat.  After a few weeks we decided to give in and he seemed to be pretty happy about it.  The question was, WHICH PACIFIER SHOULD WE GET???

There were so many to choose from and I am a very indecisive person.  Some were shaped one way and they were 'the best'.  Some were shaped another way and those were 'the best'.  Honestly, they are probably all just fine.  We decided initially on the Avent Soothie for two reasons.
- Hospitals use them.  If hospitals use them for new babies, they have to be good, right?
- They are made out of a single piece silicone.  This is really important because, I admit, I'm not going to clean these pacifiers every time he uses them, like they recommend.  They get boiled every now and then (ok maybe once a month), always inspected for dog hair, and rinsed in the sink occasionally, but I didn't want any of the nooks and crannies for bacteria to lurk in like 'regular' pacifiers have.

Here is Griffin with his Soothie next to him.

We also chose the First Years 'Gumdrop' pacifier, mainly because its just like the Soothie, but has an area for the nose cut out.   

Here he is with both of his pacifiers.  Somehow he ended up with both in his swing with him.

I have no clue which one he likes better.  If I had to guess, I'd say the Gumdrop one, but its really a toss  up.  I did buy these wipes -

just in case they fell on the ground when we were out, but it hasn't happened yet.  I did use one once just for the heck of it, and they smell really good.  Turns out they are apple flavored.

In the end, Griffin doesn't use his pacifier all that much.  If he is REALLY upset, he doesn't want it.  If he is happy, we don't give it to him.  He mostly likes to have it to help him get to sleep in his car seat, or for a nap.  He will spit it out before he falls asleep, which is nice because then he doesn't wake up looking for it.  He doesn't get it at bedtime, mainly cause he like to go to bed at night and doesn't need it.  I'm not too concerned about weaning since he doesn't use it that much, but I'm hoping by 6 months he won't need it for a nap either.  I think I'll let him decide....