4hrs on the boob....time 4 a dummy?

[skittlewatson]

My dd is nearly 3 weeks old and pretty much from day 1 she seems to comfort suck. She will feed both sides,fall asleep and fall off the boob but then wake up and want to suck, im certain shes not wanting more milk. She only wakes onve during the night but it literally takes up to 4hrs to settle her again. All she wants to do is suck. Have tried just putting her in her crib but i can only listen to the grunting for so long. By the time i get her to sleep im exhausted and my son will be upfor the day an hr later. Should i offer her a dummy?? I hate them, ds never had one but then he didnt suck constantly on me.

 

[calliebaby]

It honestly can't hurt. Both my boys used one and i had no problem taking them away when the time came. It sounds like she's an excellent nurser...so i wouldn't worry about any confusion. Good luck!

 

[skittlewatson]

Thank you callibaby, i wrote that through tears as weve been sat here since 1.30 and ive tried putting her in her crib 3x! Oh she certainly is a good feeder so i think i may try it.

 

[skittlewatson]

Actually getting beyond a joke now, we are still awake,its 5.30 and she first woke at 1! She has been in her bed asleep for half hr before waking again. Im fed up,so exhausted and my toddler is now starting to wake!

 

[Rachel_C]

Have you tried (safe) co-sleeping? Honestly I don't think it's unusual for such a young baby to feed all night or for her to comfort suck - it is building your supply as well as meeting her needs so I would be very reluctant to introduce a boob substitute unless it's for short periods like in the car when you can't get a boob out. Co-sleeping should allow you to at least doze while feeding.

 

[history_girls]

My DD2 is a sucker - she likes to shove her whole hand in and chomp away. We gave her a dummy at 3 weeks because she wanted to suck but got annoyed when milk kept coming out. We haven't had any problems latching and she normally wants it to go to sleep and then it falls out and she is ok without.

With DD1 about I couldn't be a constant comforter to her as I need to get DD1 up, ready and out.

Hang on in there x

 

[skittlewatson]

Hi Rachel, i wouldnt feel safe co sleeping! I know its normal but surely not for nearly 5hrs of Which was mainly comfort sucking! Very very reluctant to give her one but hubby is back at work next week so id have to get up at 6 with my toddler even if we have been up for so long in night

 

[skittlewatson]

History girl, thats my issue its just not fair on my ds,hes only 17 months.

 

[history_girls]

Skittle - my DD1 is 4 so it must be so much harder for you with a toddler. At least mine can generally get herself dressed, play with the baby to give me a moment and sit and watch a film every now and then.

Is he still napping? you could all settle down for an afternoon snuggle allowing the baby to suck away whilst snuggling with your little boy? We've done this quite a bit but again she has a longer attention span.

The dummy was our lifesaver. DD1 had one and gave it up really easily. She had it in the day up to about 15 months, then just for sleeps until 2. We then gave it to the fairies to make into new dummies for new babies. She loved that.

 

[skittlewatson]

Hes quiet understanding when im feeding but think he gets frustrated with how long it takes when she just sucks. He naps but will only nap in his bed,he wont sit and cuddle for more then 5 mins.
We have some dummies that were given to us for ds so im going to see what tonight brings and then maybe break out the dummy. A few times she has sucked her thumb but i dont want her doing that as now at 24 i occassionally still without knowing suck mine until my husband tells me off

 

[skittlewatson]

Well today was awful, has spent most if it awake and glued to me becausr if i put her down or took my boob out she would wake up! She slept from 6 till 9.30/10 this morn but has slept properly all day. The dummy is steralised and ready but im still not sure its right but then i cannot cope with this anymore unless i tape her to me!

 

[Noo]

Frequent feeding overnight (read all bloody night!) is completely normal for building up and regulating your supply. It gets much easier beyond week 5/6, honestly! The first few weeks are one massive growth spurt so she needs to feed feed feed and babies know the most effective time for meeting supply/demand needs is to nurse overnight whilst your prolactin levels are at their highest and most efficient.

Introducing a dummy before your supply isn't recommended not just due to nipple/teat confusion but stunting the natural supply/demand cycle by replacing the breast with a dummy can harm/slow the speed of meeting the needs of your baby's demands. This can sometimes mean the cycle continues longer. However, some babies deal will a dummy really well and no harm is done

We use a dummy for reflux but it wasn't introduced till week 10. It hasn't made him feed less frequently though. If anything since week 13 he has fed 4 times as much overnight Keep up the good work!

 

[skittlewatson]

Well she is asleep, should be due a feed at 12 so aiming to get a few hours kip myself shortly. Thanks noo, i just do not remember my ds being like this, he refused a dummy out right when my mil tried to give him one (thank god!) he maybe did feed as much as this but lack of sleep made me forget lol

 

[sue_88]

I gave M a dummy at 1 day old. She would suck on and off and I wantedsome dinner so I put a dummy in and she slept for 2 hours! We never looked back, she was a big comfort sucker, but knew exactly what to do at the breast as she fed her whole feed within 15mins from newborn.

I felt like I already knew my baby inside out and my intuition told me we knew our breastfeeding journey would be fine with a dummy.

We've just cut it out at 6m as it's no longer needed. Give it a try, it can't hurt.

 

[Pearls18]

I tried a dummy with DS1 and he wasn't interested. I tried with DS2 and he sucked it in straight away loving it, I think this was about 2 weeks. DS2 isn't a comfort sucker on me, he has reflux and doesn't feed longer than 10 minutes but will be quite upset afterwards so the dummy has been a life safer for comforting him. My supply is fine, he has gone from the 50th to 75th so is getting plenty. The only thing I would say I do feel it has affected is his latch, it might be the reflux but he can be quite fussy on the breast on times with a shallow suck but he will drink expressed milk from a bottle fine (4oz in 10 mins). But my nipples aren't sore and his weight gain is fab so I am keeping the dummy, it has been amazing for us. I plan on getting rid by 6 months though because we are already in the trap of having to put it back in frequently in the night, but it beats having him on the breast all the time.

 

[Noo]

^^ WSS My LO has had a lazy shallow latch since around the time of introducing the dummy though my nipples had already toughened up by then. This was also around the time the reflux got worse though (hence introducing it).