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This Pacifier Has a Nipple That "Pops Back" When Your Baby Drops It

Photo credit: Nordstrom
Photo credit: Nordstrom

From Good Housekeeping

  • The Doddle & Co. Pop Pacifier pops itself close when it's dropped to the ground.

  • The pacifier was featured on an episode of Shark Tank.

  • The company also now offers teethers in addition to pacifiers.


If there's one constant in new parenthood, it's that you're constantly bending over to pick up a dropped pacifier. (My favorite developmental stage is when babies are first learning to use their arms and hands, so they can pull the pacifier out of their own mouths and then give you a shocked, hurt look like they're saying, "Who did that?!") And every time one of those binkies hits an icky, sticky floor, you have to think: Can I run to the sink and wash it off, or can I just wipe it on my pants? Or you can pull the act of the desperate parent: Quickly sucking the germs off inside your own mouth.

Photo credit: Doodle & Co.
Photo credit: Doodle & Co.

Enter the Doddle & Co. Pop Pacifier, which aims to solve the problem. It is a "self-protecting" pacifier, which means when it strikes the ground, it pops itself close, covering the nipple. No more floor crumbs clinging to the spit-covered paci. Take a look:

If this product seems familiar, it could be because it was featured on a Season 9 episode of Shark Tank. Did the founders get a deal? With a design this innovative, of course they did - more than one, in fact. Co-founder Nicki Radzely pitched the Pop Pacifier on the show, and got offers from both Kevin O'Leary and a team-up of Lori Greiner and Sara Blakely (founder of Spanx). She went with O'Leary, getting $250,000 for 10% of the company.

Now, the company has been able to ramp up the Pop Pacifier and offer a second product, The Chew, a teether. Both are made of silicone. I also happen to like the colors they come in, which go beyond your typical shades of pastel pink and blue. And though it's designed to cut down on the amount of time you spent cleaning it, when the time does come around, you can put it in the dishwasher.

Just an FYI: Some parents are complaining that it's very hard for their babies to keep this pacifier in their mouths, so that's something you'll want to consider before purchasing.

And, at $19 for a pack of two, you'll be spending more for your convenience. Plus, once the nipple pops in, it needs an adult to flip it back out again, so this paci can't solve all your problems - you'll still be bending over to pick it up, you'll just get to skip the part where you worry about the floor germs before putting it back in your baby's mouth. And that just might be worth it.

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