Character Dummy Debate?! :\

[SophiasMummy]

I didnt want my LO to have a dummy and she never wouldve if she hadnt been so ill when she was born, unfortuniatly she had to have a lot of needles and things that hurt and the neonatal unit like to give something they called sweets which is like a sugar solution thing that takes LOs mind off the pain and the easiest and most effective way for them to do that was to put it on a dummy and let her suck it off, the dummy help release calming endorphins aswell from then she had a dummy, she barely uses them now though only if shes ill or going to bed other than that she doesnt want them. I dont do character dummies purely because alot arent orthodontic plus my LO will only take MAM dummies x

 

[Lellow]

Aymen never took a dummy but i had tried him initially and i opted for the clear versions, i think i used the Avent ones.

Im not a massive fan of the ones OP is referring to either.

 

[kmumtobe]

I hated the idea was defiant he wouldnt have one but like others said when you're newborn is crying and just wants to suck all the time theyre such a help, sucking is a comfort reflex. Charlie used to have his alot but now as hes getting older he has other interests besides just laying on me sucking so its not really bothered with apart from when he goes off to sleep or if hes impatient in his pram. Hes just started sttn 12 hours which i think the dummy plays a big part in as when he stirs i just pop it back in and it comforts him back to sleep rather than needing to do that on a bottle. When hes older im adamant they will just be for sleep and id like it gone as soon as i think is fair to do. He doesnt have patterned ones as i dont like to draw attention to it, hes cute not his dummy that just serves a purpose.. so obviously the ones you pictured arent my taste!

 

[nugget80]

my lo does not really have dummies but as i have 2 dd who are 9 and 10 and still suck their thumbs (even in public if they feel tired!) i wanted ds to have a dummy. as it is he is not really fussed with them however the ones he does have are an elephant wubbanub and a monkey pacimal which he only tends to have in the car where he will suck for a while whilst playing with the toy before he falls asleep. accasionally he will use them while out in his pushchair but less so now he is older. our emergency ones are the plain mothercare ones which i love as they come with their own nipple cover on and stay sterile!

 

[carly_mummy2b]

I think its best to wait until your baby is here before you decide what your feelings about dummys are. If you have a baby that needs to suck 24/7 you may change your mind.

 

[Eve]

Yeah, I don't see where there is a debate really...? Soothers do not hurt your baby, they don't have any massive effects on teeth, they are recommended to help prevent SIDS, some people find the character soothers cute...

Same shit. Different day.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

some babies like someone said like to suck 24/7 Ellie is one of those babies lol she sucks when shes sleeping its so cute lol. Ellie was given a thumbie in NICU to help her go between feeds, so some babies need them, also I do think that some of the "blingier" dummies are cute too

Ellie doesnt have a dummy and hasnt since about 14 weeks old x

 

[kerrie24]

Im not really bothered to be honest,I wouldnt have that awful toothy one the op attatched,but maybe the parents thought it was funny.I wouldnt waste my money on a blingy one and I would be frightened the little bits came off and choked him.Doesnt bother me what other people do though,as long as they are not beating up their kids

 

[midori1999]

The info on dummies and SIDS actually isn' that clear. The study relates to FF babies anyway, not BF ones, so there's no evidence that giving a dummy to a BF baby reduces the risk of SIDS. There's also evidence that if you do give a dummy and then don't give it one night, the risk of SIDS actually increases to greater than if they never had a dummy.

I don't like dummies, I've never felt the need for them with four children, they just weren't an option for me, I have never used any other comforter either. I think there are always ways to manage without them. However, what other people do has nothing to do with me and I couldn't care less tbh.

At least people who use 'billybob' dummies have a sense of humour though...

 

[nikkip75]

I was a lazy parent then! Both my first and second daughter had their dummies until they were 3. Until you have a child who loves something so much they would probably choose it over their own mummy any day then it's fine looking and thinking look at the lazy mother can't be bothered to take that child's precious dummy away from them.

It's a dummy bit of rubber a child likes to use for comfort. It's not going to endanger their life. It's not impacting on anyone else so I personally don't bother when I see an older child with one. infact I see a little girl at my daughter school who has just been picked up from pre-school, runs out and first thing she asks for is her dummy. I always think awww look at her still with her dummy. Makes me giggle!

There's a lot of things I said i would never do before I had my kids. Most of it goes out of window

As for the Billy bob dummy, i bought my nephew one just for a few funny pictures. There's no way he could have ever used it normally. They are so heavy!!

 

[flower74]

I don't like dummies, have 3 DS and have managed to avoid using them. I'm not sure a dummy is 'advised' to be used to prevent SIDS, it's my understanding that research has shown that using a dummy may reduce the risk.

I don't like them for the same reasons others have said, an older child (toddler+) with a dummy, but I also don't like seeing older children (toddler+) using a bottle. But my main 'anti-dummyism' is when a baby has a dummy held in their mouth when they clearly don't want it.

I work in a primary school and very often come across children who have unclear speech due to dummy use.

X

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

The info on dummies and SIDS actually isn' that clear. The study relates to FF babies anyway, not BF ones, so there's no evidence that giving a dummy to a BF baby reduces the risk of SIDS. There's also evidence that if you do give a dummy and then don't give it one night, the risk of SIDS actually increases to greater than if they never had a dummy.

I don't like dummies, I've never felt the need for them with four children, they just weren't an option for me, I have never used any other comforter either. I think there are always ways to manage without them. However, what other people do has nothing to do with me and I couldn't care less tbh.

At least people who use 'billybob' dummies have a sense of humour though...

this isnt the case for everyone, as a mummy to a prem baby thats the ONLY comfortt that we could give to Ellie when she was screaming to be fed but her stomach couldnt take the food and we werent allowed her out the incubator to cuddle her

 

[Eve]

I think the words *help prevent* and *reduce the risk* to be pretty much the same thing....

 

[sam1984]

i think a dummy can have its place, there are obviously a few people on here that used them for medical reasons like when tube feeding.
i was lucky that my girls would settle without one and the one time i offered one to my second was on a plane to stop ears popping but she spat it out and fell asleep.
my sister was a thumb sucker and my mum has said that she wished she would of taken a dummy because at 25 she will still suck her thumb if she is worried/tired/emotional and if she holds both thumbs together one is smaller than the other.
i think dummies are a problem when baby is waking in the night every time it falls out of there mouth, i have a friend whose lo would wake 10 times a night for her dummy

 

[heather91]

My 2.5 year old walks around with a dummy in her mouth. No im not a lazy parent. Your comment is extremely offensive. Why would I make her miserable by all of a sudden ttaking it away when shell put it down herself soon?

 

[Eternal]

Well information on the SIDS leaflets recommend dummys, i have heard the fact that if you take it away the risk goes up though, but my LO wouldnt settle without it so wouldnt have happened.

As for not needing one, when he was 6 weeks he has surgery for PS, he has hardly used one before then but we were encouraged to use it and as he was straved for several days they gave us sugar water to use on the dummy, it gave him something to keep him content and was a lifesaver. without it he was in a state as he was staving.

 

[jacks mummy]

I'm also one that couldn't take a dummy away from her 3yr old son! He loved it soooooooooooo much lol I wouldn't let him have it in public just at home. We managed to get rid of it last Xmas when we put the tree up and told him Santa would come early and leave him a present if he put his dummy's under the tree he did and he was fine only cried once about 2days later but soon got over it! But I do believe u would cause more problems to take it away at an age the child dosnt understand why your doing it! My Evie is 6days old and isn't botherd with her dummy at all I'm not forcing it upon her but if she decided to take it I would be happy for that I think it's nice to have a comforter x

 

[stardust599]

My LO has a dummy. She had it from about 2weeks - 3months then I took it away as she was waking for it. Then at 7/8months I introduced one attached to her comforter to help with sleep. I don't regret using one at all.

I like plain, boring ones better though. We just get the little Tesco Value latex ones and LO only ever has it for sleep and sometimes if she is really ill. She never crawls around playing with it or has it in the pram etc. She likes it in the car if she can't see me. It's just a comfort thing and I'm in no hurry to take it away xx

 

[Kittifer]

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[Lellow]

Is this a discussion on dummies with designs on or just giving your baby a dummy full stop - Im confused