To pacify or not to pacify?

This is a big decision for many new parents as they bring their child home from the hospital. You may find that many individuals have very strong feelings about whether or not to use a pacifier, but I on the other hand believe in the happiness and health of the new mother. If the pacifier does in fact pacify the child, then why not? Mary refused to have anything to do with it, and Anna and Jacob gave it up around 9 months and would have nothing more to do with it. Well, Brooke is my first child to become addicted to her pacifier. Having Brooke so hooked on her pacifier really began to worry me, especially with new babies on the way. I had decided to let her keep it until she was a little older and could negotiate, or be bribed off it.
Our plan changed abruptly as Brooke allowed our pet hamster Silky to chew up her last pacifier. I thought this would be our chance to break Brooke from her "passy". She could explain very well what had happened to her dear passy, but in the end the affection was too strong. She teared up as she explained to Moss that "Hampter ate da passy". To complicate the transition, she came down with a fever 2 days later which only made it worse (now I wonder if it wasn't psychosomatic). But after 3 nights of very little sleep we were begging for a pacifier, anything to get a little sleep. So now we are back to square one. (Although I do think the attachment has lessened somewhat.)
So back to the question, "to pacify or not to pacify?". All I can say is that the pacifier allowed for a lot of peaceful days and great naps. I am pretty sure we will be using them again when the new babies come:).