It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching our four year anniversary of the Cutie PAT! It all began in October of 2017 when Lindsey’s youngest daughter, Charley, would not take any type of pacifier. She was only four months old at the time, but Lindsey wanted her to have something small to teethe on, that was also similar to a pacifier. That is when the idea of a “pacifier and teether in one” (PAT) was born.
Lindsey envisioned the Cutie PAT to be one continuous piece of material, seamless from end to end. She wanted it to be multifunctional, providing a nipple on one side for soothing, and a teether on the other side to provide comfort for teething babies. With that in mind, Lindsey reached out to her friend Courtney with Crew & Co, and they worked together to put Lindsey’s vision on paper.
Fortunately for us, we already had our wonderful manufacturer, Judy, and her team was able to bring that image to life! The Cutie PAT consisted of 100% medical grade silicone, was non-toxic, durable, and easy to clean.
The original name for our pacifier was the PATpat; however, we discovered that there was another baby company with that name. At Ryan & Rose, we are firm believers in respecting other’s intellectual property, ideas, namesakes, and more, so we later changed our pacifier to the Cutie PAT. This was the start of us expanding to all-things Cutie! While it wasn’t an easy process, it was definitely a God thing.
Our initial launch for the Round Stage 1 Cutie PAT was the color Clear in April of 2018! We sold 1,300 pacifiers in less than 7 hours, and were absolutely blown away by the response! By June, we released our first two Limited Edition (LE) colors, Fresh Mint and Lilac, which was just the beginning of the many colors to come.
In 2019, we launched the Round Stage 2 Cutie PAT. Although the appearance is the same as our Round Stage 1 Cutie PAT, the nipple is thicker to help combat the friction of little rubbing teeth. We later launched the Cutie PAT Flat for babies that preferred a flatter nipple.
In May of 2020, we finally received the Patent for the Cutie PAT! This was such a blessing for us; something we had worked so hard for, and prayed diligently over. God is so good! That year also brought us the Cutie PAT Bulb and Cutie PAT Slant, offering our customers two more nipple styles that they could choose from.
With so many Cutie PAT options available, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for a mom to figure out which style works best for her; therefore, we created the Cutie PAT Kit. Each Cutie PAT Kit contains one of each of the five styles (Round Stage 1, Round Stage 2, Flat, Bulb, and Slant). This way you can try all styles for a discounted price, and see which your baby prefers. You are also able to hold on to the other styles, since some babies change their preference as time goes on.
Our most recent pacifier to release is the Cutie Preemie Kit. Since the beginning, Lindsey hoped to have an option for premature babies and families. Lindsey worked with Callie Lillard, a NICU nurse, to narrow down the most important aspects of the Preemie PAT. She wanted a smaller, thinner shield to ensure the pacifier was lightweight. It also needed to feature a notched shield that allowed room for breathing and any necessary tubes. Lindsey believed that the best solution was to provide a Cutie Preemie Kit that would include two styles: the Preemie Tiny and the Cutie Preemie Stage 1. Both versions have the same size shield, but the difference lies in the nipples. The Cutie Preemie Tiny is geared towards babies up to 35 weeks, and the Preemie Stage 1 is for babies over 35 weeks. The Cutie Preemie Stage 1 is the exact same nipple as our Round Stage 1 Cutie PAT making the transition to full size pacifiers much easier for the baby.
We are so thankful that God chose Lindsey to create so many innovative and beautiful pacifiers. Our belief is that all babies are different, and we are grateful to provide so many options for them to choose from. With the creation of over 100 pacifier colors and 6 different Cutie PAT styles, we can’t help but be excited about what God has in store for Ryan & Rose in the future.