Binki? Pacifer? Nuk? Button?

[ktod]

I've posted this on other dummy threads but I had one till I was 7 or 8. Can't quite remember when I gave it up. I loved my dummy soooooo much. I knew I was too old for it even before I started school and I only ever had it at home when we didn't have guests (my choice) one day I just decided to quit completely. Anyway, I know it's not always the case but my teeth are fine, my speech is fine and I have a masters degree and am married so I don't think I'm developmentally scarred........ Well I hope not lol

 

[ktod]

Btw I'm not advocating dummies till that age!!! IMO it's pretty harmless and there is plenty of other stuff to worry about already

 

[LilOopsy]

I thought I was against dummies BUT then I had a baby! Lol

My LO would hang off my nipple for comfort and I'd get no breaking to mention she would over feed due to this and throw up like that girl from the exorcist!


She then developed a hand sucking habit... Which I didn't want to develop into a thumb sucking habit.
As my mum always says... You can take away a dummy as you're in control of it... But you can't take away her thumb


I only give her the dummy IF she has been fed, slept well, temp checked changed and entertained and STILL crying her head off.


on rare occasion she will fall asleep with it... But most the time she sucks it for a while then spits it out happily.

PS... A friend of ours got their LO to stop having their dummy at two years old by telling them Santa swoops dummies for big kid presents I'm so using this one next year lol

PPS. There will always be something they use as a comforter, be it a dummy, a blankie, a teddy, a fave toy etc... It's just remembering that at the end of the day you're the boss and you control how long and how often they have it.


(We bought a friend of ours a blanket set when their baby was born... He's 4 now and they still let him walk around with his blanket... He screams the house when he can't have it... Me personally would have taken it off him before he was old enough to notice)

 

[tokyo]

LilOopsy - your daughter sounds EXACTLY like mine!

I too am an Early Years teacher, before that was a nursery nurse and due to seeing children who'd been allowed to have dummies for too long with adverse effects always thought I'd never give my child a dummy (though I always said I'd keep an open mind when people asked me).

Fast forward to having an actual baby to look after and I changed my mind pretty quick!! She developed colic and all she wanted to do was suck - however if gave her my nipple she'd take down milk and it would make her more uncomfortable. She occasionally sucked on her hands but is still too little to co ordinate doing this - it happens more by chance so can't be used reliably to comfort her. After several night of screaming and crying from 8pm to 4am I offered her a dummy in a state of total sleep deprivation and exhaustion and both of us got our first chunk of decent sleep in days.

She has the dummy very occasionally - if she'll go off to sleep without it then fine but if she's suffering with her colic or looking to comfort suck then I'll offer the dummy. I prefer her not to have it when we're out and about as I know that it's something people can be very judgemental about but once or twice when we've been out and she's been struggling to sleep due to being over stimulated I've offered it and it's really helped. Much better to have a baby sucking a dummy than screaming down the shop.

I was very apprehensive about giving the dummy but it was actually my health visitor who allayed my fears. She agreed that dummies can have adverse effects when used for too long or when given just to keep a child quiet. However, she pointed out that as someone with a good understanding of child development I would never use a dummy in that way and that as long as it was only used for sleeping / comfort and my LO is weaned off at an appropriate age then there's nothing to worry about.

It does make me smile now to think about how so many of my good intentions went out of the window when the baby was born!

PS - has anyone noticed how in the UK the name seems to have been changed from 'dummies' to 'soothers'? I wonder if the manufacturers are trying to improve the perceptions that people often have of them?

 

[Bumblebee117]

I was totally against binkies but at 8 weeks old, I tried to give my twins both one... my boy took it and my girl did not. she wanted one on the day she was born, always sucker her fingers which I pulled out! (mean me! ) my mum bought her a preemie dummy and she LOVED it but I found it looked stupid and never gave it to her again as I was afraid of "nipple confusion".

At 12 weeks old she found her thumb and since then sucks it to comfort herself and when she falls asleep. My son still has a binky now but only in bed or when we go for walks sometimes. He doesn't just use it during the day while he is playing and he definitely doesn't use it all night. Only to drift off to sleep.

I fear the time when I will take it away, but I fear the time of trying to stop my daighter from sucking her thumb much more than that! I offered her a dummy DAILY from 8-12 weeks as she was such an annoying little girl, ALWAYS moaning when not on me, but she paid me back for not giving it to her when she wanted it.

So far my boy is babbling more than my girl, he says mama, dada, wawa, baba, ella and ayayaya. My girl only says baba, mama and wawa.

xx

 

[mamaduke]

My little man had a pacifier when he was younger, mostly to help settle and lower the SIDS risk. But by 6 months, he weaned himself from them - throwing them and arching his back if offered one.

Every parent and child is different. This is just my experience with my LO.

 

[maria2611]

Ieuan has one, but only for sleeping and naps. I wasn't originally going to give him one, but it was literally the only way we could get him to have a sleep when he always was in pain with his stomach, and needed something to calm him down. I also believe in it reducing the chances of SIDS. He's never been that big into it and we put it away when he wakes and only bring it out when it's time for a nap. He is extremely vocal and I don't see any problems from him having it for 15 mins as he is going to sleep, after which it falls out anyway.

 

[_jellybean_]

I've read that they may decrease the risk of SIDS. My lo was in the nicu, where they used them. He only used one until he was about four months (iirc), and then I would try to give him one if he was fussy, and wouldn't calm, and he wouldn't take it. At six months when he was teething, DH and I tried it again to see if it would comfort him, and he literally laughed at us. He thought it was hilarious.

For us, it was no big deal because he weaned himself off. He really just became disinterested.

We'll use one with our next baby, and if she uses it past one year old, we'll wean her off.

I was a thumb sucker, and I vividly remember my parents bribing me with gifts to get me to stop sucking my thumb at five years old. I'd rather use a pacifier, but that's just me. Every family is different, and what works for one does not work for all.

Do what you think is best hon. xx

 

[C_baby]

After one night of a marathon 7hour boob sucking for comfort session my "I don't really like dummies" stance turned into "dummies are the best invention ever" pretty fast. I give it him when he's fussy and he loves it but will happily spit it out when he's had enough. Happy baby= happy mummy, and that's enough for me.

 

[FirstatForty]

We got rid of the paci just over a month ago as DS was waking every 30 minutes on the dot demanding to have it replaced at night.

It wasn't as hard to get rid of as we had thought it would be. We just have to actively entertain him a bit more.

HOWEVER... in the last 2 weeks, he has found his THUMB. He's beginning to suck it more and more... THAT is bothering me... Any advice on that one??

 

[C_baby]

PS - has anyone noticed how in the UK the name seems to have been changed from 'dummies' to 'soothers'? I wonder if the manufacturers are trying to improve the perceptions that people often have of them?

I've noticed this. TBH I never call it a dummy in real life. I call it a No-ni or a Doe-di, my stepdaughter has kind of picked up on this and today was calling it a dodo! I'll have to take it away before he can talk or it'll get very confusing!

 

[babydust1990]

Tbh I'm kinda offended by the OP. My OH had a dummy until he was 5 and is not by any means damaged or unintelligent. He also has perfectly straight teeth and never had braces. I have a comfort sucker so use a dummy. Ideally he wouldn't have it until 5, just because I don't like the look of it but if he does I hope people don't turn around and say he's developmentally delayed. It's really judgemental.

 

[MJCP]

anyone using or used a dummy for naps but not bedtime? LO self-settles at night every time, but naps are difficult. Today I caved and gave him one (up until now we only had it in the car seat or stroller if necessary) at nap time, he had been screaming for 45 mins (I was with him the whole time) and wouldn't settle, so I gave it to him and he was asleep within seconds, and spit it out within a few mins. I really don't mind if he can't settle, I just don't want to somehow mess up his nights....