I’m due to give birth soon….

My son isn't dependent on a pacifier, but we did give him one for sleep for the first 6 months of his life, because it's proven to help reduce the risk of SIDS. For self soothing we have always put in bassinet/crib drowsy but awake, which gives them the opportunity to learn to regulate and settle themselves. We also let him fuss for a minute or two to see if he will settle himself before we intervene, which he does do about 80% of the time.

@MK thank you! At 6m, you quit cold turkey?

He's only 5.5 months right now. We will probably give it to him for nighttime sleep through his 6th month,just because I am a PICU nurse and have my own PTSD from work lol but we don't give it for naps anymore and he does just fine so I'm sure we'll have no trouble going cold turkey.

A baby doesn’t have the brain development to self soothe for several years after birth they rely on their caregiver to co-regulate. Some babies self settle but it’s largely temperament driven and luck of the draw