Dummies and breastfeeding!!

[Mummy_to_be87]

What is your views on giving your newborn dummies while you are establishing breastfeeding?

 

[Autumntx]

whats a dummy? We use such different words in the US:/

 

[ashlee23]

whats a dummy? We use such different words in the US:/

a pacifier, and personally i think its fine. think the whole nipple confusion thing is a bit silly anyway. i know plenty of mums who've given baby both (breastfed and bottle) and never seen a baby just forget how to breastfeed lol xxx

 

[Laurenmomma]

i had to give dd a dummy after about 2 weeks otherwise she would have been permanantly attached to me! its a personal choice, if u can hold it off then thats good but if baby needs somethin else then i wouldnt hesitate with a dummy! x

 

[Laurenmomma]

oh and dd was succesfully breastfed for a while after! x

 

[lynnikins]

i would say to avoid it for the first week or so till your milk comes in as the amount of suckling the baby is doing is what triggers your milk to come in properly , after that then they can be helpful for sucky babies but can caus issues so just be careful, ive used them with both the boys once my milk came in to help them settle when in the carseat or at sleep times and had no problems from it

 

[Mummy_to_be87]

I wasnt sure whether it would confuse the baby my OH really wants to use them but I wasnt keen...I think I will hold it off for a week and see how I get on

 

[ashlee23]

ive always thought the nipple confusion things a bit silly. baby's just gonna forget how to breastfeed cos he/she's been suckin on something else??? i just dont buy it xxx

 

[lynnikins]

the sucking motion needed for a dummy or a bottle is very very different to the way they have to suckle to get milk from the breast, its not so much with dummys but with bottles it is easier for them to get the milk out which can make them lazy so when they try to breastfeed then they dont suck hard or long enough to get the "let down" of the milk flowing freely so give up in favor of a bottle which barely needs a feather touch to get the milk to drip out of the teat

 

[ashlee23]

i can understand that theory behind it but just think surely wen baby's hungry they're just gonna suck not get fussy that theyve not got a bottle. totally understand if theyve always been given bottles (and as i understand babies that have always had breast sometimes wont switch to bottle) but just cant see it from them having bottles now and again. xxx

 

[10thSept]

Gosh. That's a very sweeping statement that nple confusion is silly!!
Having dealt with many many women who are suffering from bleeding, cracked or sore nipples due to nipple confusion, I think that's very misleading.
Lynnikins rightly pointed out that's it's to do with the different sucking motion and because getting milk from a bottle is much easier than from a breast because the milk pours in rather than the baby having to really work at it, they can become very reluctant to latch onto the breast and this leads to immense frustration and usually the mum either letting them latch badly causing ineffective milk transfer and soreness OR they give in to the bottle, which has many problems I won't get started on right now.

The dummy is th same - the sucking motion is different and actually a dummy will suppress the feeding cues and stop the baby from telling you when it is hungry. Therefore, you get babies missing feeds because the suckling satisfies them when in fact they are getting hungrier and hungrier. When they realise they are actually hungry, they are at that reaaaalllllyyyy hungry point, where it's quite difficult to get them to latch because they are distressed. It's v common. And because they have been sucking on the dummy, it's harder for them to latch as its an entirely different motion.
Breastfeeding and establishing a latch can be v difficult for some mums. If you are struggling with it, I'd try to avoid the dummy for as long as your can bear it in order to establish breastfeeding and also so you know your baby's feeding cues well. When you do intro the dummy (or if) then make sure you keep an eye out for feeding cues more vigilantly and try to make sure baby continues to wake at night for feeds so as to keep baby full and your milk supply up.

 

[Sherileigh]

Well I had a baby that was given a bottle at the hospital by the nurses and he would never latch!! Forced me to express milk for 9 months. It may have been other factors, but some babies get it very quickly with bottles that getting milk is a lot easier and quicker than at the breast. I'm not sure about the pacifier though. But confusion between breast and bottle is definitely not a myth.

 

[Sherileigh]

Oh and you also may not have a choice with pacifiers as my son and both my nieces refused to take them. They would gag and spit them out.

 

[MommyMoore503]

Gosh. That's a very sweeping statement that nple confusion is silly!!
Having dealt with many many women who are suffering from bleeding, cracked or sore nipples due to nipple confusion, I think that's very misleading.
Lynnikins rightly pointed out that's it's to do with the different sucking motion and because getting milk from a bottle is much easier than from a breast because the milk pours in rather than the baby having to really work at it, they can become very reluctant to latch onto the breast and this leads to immense frustration and usually the mum either letting them latch badly causing ineffective milk transfer and soreness OR they give in to the bottle, which has many problems I won't get started on right now.

The dummy is th same - the sucking motion is different and actually a dummy will suppress the feeding cues and stop the baby from telling you when it is hungry. Therefore, you get babies missing feeds because the suckling satisfies them when in fact they are getting hungrier and hungrier. When they realise they are actually hungry, they are at that reaaaalllllyyyy hungry point, where it's quite difficult to get them to latch because they are distressed. It's v common. And because they have been sucking on the dummy, it's harder for them to latch as its an entirely different motion.
Breastfeeding and establishing a latch can be v difficult for some mums. If you are struggling with it, I'd try to avoid the dummy for as long as your can bear it in order to establish breastfeeding and also so you know your baby's feeding cues well. When you do intro the dummy (or if) then make sure you keep an eye out for feeding cues more vigilantly and try to make sure baby continues to wake at night for feeds so as to keep baby full and your milk supply up.

I agree. As I learned last night they are two skills that need and should be mastered at different times. It was recommended in my class last night that you should wait at least 2 weeks as to allow enough time for baby and mum to master the 'dance' of breastfeeding. I say 'dance' because it's a skill where mom and baby need to work together to get a good latch down and understand one another. Adding a pacifire in the mix early on only confuses to poor LO who is just trying to get suck, swollow, suck, swollow down. Of course everyone will have their own opinions. I'm sticking with what I've been told and researched. Plus, the more LO is on the breast the first 10 days the more your body learns the pattern and amount in which it needs to produce milk.

 

[BabiMama]

I spoke to a breastfeeding consultant and she said that it is best to leave the dummy for the first two weeks to ensure that you have 100% chances to establish breast feeding well. Then after that, it is fine to use a dummy.
(Her explanation was that a dummy sometimes stretches out a feed, then the baby become really very hungry before you feed her..making her increasingly upset and then they struggle to latch properly..which can make breastfeeding more difficult)

 

[Natalie1a]

I was going to wait and see when it came to a dummy if baby took it and it soothed her then we would give her it, however at my antenatal class we were told no dummies for 6 weeks if you breastfeeding.....I think we will still wait and see I'm sure every baby is different and we will learn what's best for our bubbas! Nx

 

[poppytal pope]

whats a dummy? We use such different words in the US:/

same as a soother no difference x
or pacifier.

 

[poppytal pope]

well i think its a suck and see scenario ( sorry) i have bought dummies on the strength that some babies just like to suck and that would make you and your nipples sore but i think for me i may just abstain from the dummy till breast feeding is established but yes i have bought some, i have two weird looking knuckles because i use to suck them ! every one will have their ideas on dummies for me personally i think for the cost of them just have a couple for just in case situations, i cant see it does any harm ,well unless they are 15 years old and still have one! ( i worry that if he just sucks for the sake of it , i will get too sore to breast feed properly)

 

[AimeeM]

We gave DS a dummy in the hospital. It never got in the way of his BF but of course it is not the same for everyone. The midwives kept advising against it though.

 

[Jchihuahua]

Daisy had a dummy for the first 4 months until she rejected it and it didn't affect breastfeeding for us at all.