Dummies/pacifiers - yay or nay?!

[boobee]

What are people's thoughts on dummies?? I'm expecting my first and I've always had the idea of buying them, in my eyes I figure you can take away a child's dummy, unlike if they suck their thumb or fingers. Someone lately has said there's no need and is totally against them. I don't understand what's so bad about them?!

 

[Princess Lou]

I've bought them.

I don't intend on giving one to him straight away but if I feel he wants/needs one then I will. Sometimes babies just like to suck as it soothes them and unfortunately, my boobs won't be available 100%.

My sister and cousin give their daughters one but they only have them for sleeping and hand them back to whoever is getting them from bed once they get up. It's just the same as a security blanket.

If it means my baby is comforted whilst I am doing other things then so be it.

 

[ickle pand]

I'd prefer not to use one, but I'm not totally against it if it turns out that baby wants one. I'm not going to buy any I'd advance though, supermarkets sell them and are open all hours so I can buy them easily anytime

 

[Louise88]

There's pros and cons on them. I was adimant I want going to use them with my daughter however I caved and gave her one when she was 2 weeks old because she used my nipple as a soother and it got to the point where she wouldn't sleep in her Moses basket as she'd wake up and get hysterical the second I moved her off my nipple! But she now feels she needs her dummy to sleep in a night time and during naps so I know its going to cause alot of stress and tears when it comes to taking it away from her completely. I'm happy I gave her a dummy as a whole because the whole soothing on my nipple was just to much for me and was literally effecting my sanity! I would like to try and avoid a dummy this time but buying some in just incase as I wouldn't think twice about using a dummy again if my boy decided to take comfort on my nipple.

 

[monkee12]

We used them and wouldn't have been without them x

 

[Xpecta]

Neither of my kids would take them. And now I work with tons of babies all the time and I see how wonderful they are! They make a baby stop crying right away! I'm determined to make this next blessing take one! Also I'm wondering if it'll be easier to wean them off of it. Because my son is 5.5 and still sucks his thumb. Don't know what to do

 

[x__amour]

Yay for sure as long as you're prepared for when you have to take them away.

 

[hshucksmith]

I'd prefer not to use one, but I got one for free with my sterilizer and figured that if the baby wants one I'd rather let him have it if it's going to comfort him than let him scream and scream and scream for a comfort. I used to babysit newborns and I'd often let them suck on my knuckle when they cried even though their parents were against dummies because they settled so much quicker and seemed to sleep a lot better. I haven't actively bought any yet, but if baby takes to them then I will.

I didn't want a dummy when I was a baby apparently! My little sisters did but my mum was careful with usage and didn't just give in to them when they wanted one. She'd try other methods first!

I am nervous about having to deal with taking it away if he gets attached to dummies, but I'd rather deal with that in a couple of years than have to deal with being an FTM with a baby who just wants comfort!

 

[Dream.dream]

I used it with my first and will probably with this one after breastfeeding is established .

There are pros and cons but they Arnt all bad. For me i see nothing wrong with allowing a baby to use it to soothe them self since its natural for them to want to suck o soothe themselves

With my first it wasn't actually hard to get rid I it . I alway made sure that he I ly had it when he was gling to sleep, he never had it pinned to his chest or was waking around with it. I controlled when he had it so It was really easy to take it away

 

[megrenade]

No. Usually babies fuss because they need something.. the only time I wish DS would have taken a pacifier was in the car.. but again, I think there was a reason for him being so fussy.. probably motion sickness like I have. So, "pacifying" my child is kind of a last resort considering how bad it is for their teeth and can develop into a bad habit..

 

[lavenderbrown]

i hate them with a passion. my brother was a dummy baby and ended up using one until he was nearly 5! it became a comfort thing for him and he couldn't live without it. once my mum decided enough was enough he just went from sucking on a dummy to sucking on the neckline of his shirts :/

my partner bought a few cute ones though because he was a dummy kid and doesn't see anything wrong with them. i would prefer not to use it, but *shrug* at the end of the day if its what baby needs at the time, so be it.

 

[boobee]

No. Usually babies fuss because they need something.. the only time I wish DS would have taken a pacifier was in the car.. but again, I think there was a reason for him being so fussy.. probably motion sickness like I have. So, "pacifying" my child is kind of a last resort considering how bad it is for their teeth and can develop into a bad habit..

The teeth thing hasn't put me off getting dummies, purely because I know more people who sucked their thumb with bad teeth than dummies. I think it will be a challenge to take away the dummy BUT without one I fear my child will thumb suck and that you cannot wean! I sucked my thumb until my early teens, my step daughter sucks hers still and we've tried the horrible nail varnish etc! I think the pros probably way out the cons for me

 

[AC1987]

My teeth are AWFUL even as a child and I was a thumb sucker

I'm either or... if my LO didn't want one I wouldn't force one on her, my in laws were SO against them I heard constantly how I should never ever give my LO one that babies look ugly with them and ON AND ON

So I started out not giving her one. But when she started using me to pacify herself, my boobs HURT so I caved and gave her one. I will probably take it off her shortly

also she only uses it for naps and bedtime and knows how to find them herself.

 

[sojourn]

I used a pacifier for a long time and my teeth are exactly the same as my brother's, who didn't use one at all (because I was always taking his!). We both have a small gap between our front two teeth. Just like my mom, grandmother, great grandmother and all of my aunts.

Modern pacifiers (at least in the U.S.) are almost all orthodontically correct. They are formed to a shape that doesn't interfere with the baby's palette, soft palette and tooth development. You can always be extra careful by purchasing special orthodontic ones.

The general advice seems to be that it needs to be gone by the time permanent teeth come in (between 5 and 7 generally). There is no evidence to support that the reasonable use of a pacifier will negatively impact a child's orthodontic development. In fact, many orthodontists will tell you that if your baby sucks their thumb, you should give them a pacifier instead to break the habit.

Babies always cry for a reason, but sometimes that reason is that they need to be soothed and comforted. I see no problem with giving your child something to soothe them.

At work, we work with parent to get kids away from their pacifiers. We simply have the parents cut down to one pacifier. We then cut a small piece of the tip off and tell the kid that it is breaking. Then every few days we cut another small piece off. By the time it is a nub, there is nothing soothing about it anymore. The kids are usually ready to throw it away (obviously this works with kids that are 2ish, not 5!)

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Pearls18]

SIDS guidelines recommend them for the first 6 months for sleeping actually, however, advice is normally to "be careful" if you are BF, nipple confusion can occur. DS wouldn't take to it at all, I used to hold one in his mouth to get him to sleep because I didn't like being a human dummy when BF, but in the long term I was grateful I didn't have to get it off him! I think dummies are great in the early months when they have that uncontrollable urge to suckle, but it really bothers me seeing older babies and toddlers with dummies while awake, I feel like they are used to silence children. I will do the same as last time, have some to hand but concentrate more on BF and see what the baby wants.

 

[Pearls18]

Oh and just to add it's not just nipple confusion but babies need to suckle on the breast sometimes in the beginning to encourage milk production even if they aren't seemingly drinking, so as much as it is tempting to use a dummy to give yourself a break you need to be careful not to rely on the dummy too much if you decide to BF to give your milk supply a good chance, that's why they're recommended for sleeping mostly.

 

[amytrisha]

I'm hoping to BF, so we'll see how much baby needs to suckle to settle & go from there.
I've heard so many people have this 'debate' though! OHs family are convinced every child needs a dummy, ill see what my baby wants!

 

[snowfia]

When I was pregnant with DD I never wanted her to have one and she never did. Neither will this one. When they're tiny especially, getting BF established is more important imo and they need to feed/suckle for that to happen, not suck on a dummy :L I just don't like them, but that's my opinion.

 

[ickle pand]

One thing that annoys me, is when people say (to others, not me yet) "they're just using you as a dummy/pacifier" when a baby is comfort sucking at the breast. Surely it's the other way round, babys are programmed to find comfort from being close to their mothers and a dummy is a fake nipple, regardless of whether you think they're good, bad or indifferent.

Sorry for going a bit off track

 

[megrenade]

One thing that annoys me, is when people say (to others, not me yet) "they're just using you as a dummy/pacifier" when a baby is comfort sucking at the breast. Surely it's the other way round, babys are programmed to find comfort from being close to their mothers and a dummy is a fake nipple, regardless of whether you think they're good, bad or indifferent.

Sorry for going a bit off track

Yep. If they don't suckle for comfort and only eat every couple hours, your milk supply is doomed.

I remember having Jericho latched on almost the entire time in the hospital. Every time he cried the first year, I would offer him "boobie" - and I've never had a supply issue.