Dummy & Newborn

[ronnie1234]

Does anyone else give dummy to newborn?

Midwife thinks it might help pacify little one a little bit between feeds

 

[flou]

Before I had DS I was really anti dummy. However, I gave one to him when he was about 1-2 weeks old. He had trouble bringing up wind and suffered from colic. I found the dummy helped to relax him, which helped the wind come up easier. As he got a bit older he only had it when going to sleep and this helped him to self soothe. Just trust your instincts, if you think your little one will benefit, give it a go. Some don't take to it though.

 

[ronnie1234]

Before midwife suggested it we had tried & lo wasn't very taken with it but think we may try again.

I too am a bit anti dummy even thou we used one with dd1 & succcesfully got rid of it! I feel a stigma towards them & people judge....I know this is silly! As most children have a dummy, comforted or boob or something to help calm / comfort them

 

[loeylo]

I was very anti dummy, however WHO advise to use one until 6m as it decreases the risk of sids. That was the selling point for me.

We took it from her at 8m no problem.

 

[ronnie1234]

I was very anti dummy, however WHO advise to use one until 6m as it decreases the risk of sids. That was the selling point for me.

We took it from her at 8m no problem.

How did you wean lo off it?

 

[krissie328]

We used one from 3 days to 15 months at bed time. It was a true life saver for us.. DS weaned himself one day. He stood up, threw it on the floor and never used it again.

I've heard cutting the tip can be really helpful in weaning.

 

[xdxxtx]

I certainly do. I used a paci for two of my kids and none with the other two. I definitely prefer the paci. The two who didn't use it are 3 and 4 and suck their thumbs constantly!!! I hate it; they get us sick all the time from it! With the paci, I just take it away at about 6 months old. No weaning. I jus throw them all away and comfort my baby more in my arms as they learn to settle themselves over the course of a couple of days. Everything is normal again in a day or two.

 

[ClairAye]

My son had one from 6 days old and it helped him greatly! I took it away at 22 months and it only took one day (well, 10 minutes, no joke) for him to lose interest. I tried to give my daughter one but she was breastfed to start and prefered comfort sucking or thumb sucking!

 

[loeylo]

I was very anti dummy, however WHO advise to use one until 6m as it decreases the risk of sids. That was the selling point for me.

We took it from her at 8m no problem.

How did you wean lo off it?

We just took them all off her and put them in the bin. The only time we regretted it was if she was really upset, but she was too young to really understand. I wanted to do it at 6m but she was teething and I had just went back to work so it wasn't the right time. I'm so glad we took it off her before she could speak or understand properly, I can't imagine the fights we would have had if she was 1+, plus I was really worried about it ruining her teeth or slowing her speech.

 

[MindUtopia]

I think it's worth a try. Mine has a high palate and struggling to suck anything (nipple, bottle, you name it), so we found the only ones that worked were the cherry ones (not the newer orthodontic ones, those are crap). It definitely helped and yes, the correlation between dummy use and reduced risk of cot death was a selling point too (it's something to do with strengthening muscles for breathing with all that extra sucking). Getting rid of it was no big deal. We only used it for settling a bit between feeds during the day the first few months and then nighttime. After the first few months, we used it only for nighttime (rarely even for daytime naps). She had it until she turned 2 and then we just explained she was a big girl and it was time for it to go. We had a few nights of unsettled sleep, and that was it. So much easier than months or even years of being unsettled, 2-3 nights of it was no big deal. No effect on her teeth at all, even using the non-orthodontic friendly ones. The dentist says her teeth couldn't look better. I think really the key is not to get into the habit of using it all the time, day and night. Save it for when you need it for sleep.

 

[ronnie1234]

I think it's worth a try. Mine has a high palate and struggling to suck anything (nipple, bottle, you name it), so we found the only ones that worked were the cherry ones (not the newer orthodontic ones, those are crap). It definitely helped and yes, the correlation between dummy use and reduced risk of cot death was a selling point too (it's something to do with strengthening muscles for breathing with all that extra sucking). Getting rid of it was no big deal. We only used it for settling a bit between feeds during the day the first few months and then nighttime. After the first few months, we used it only for nighttime (rarely even for daytime naps). She had it until she turned 2 and then we just explained she was a big girl and it was time for it to go. We had a few nights of unsettled sleep, and that was it. So much easier than months or even years of being unsettled, 2-3 nights of it was no big deal. No effect on her teeth at all, even using the non-orthodontic friendly ones. The dentist says her teeth couldn't look better. I think really the key is not to get into the habit of using it all the time, day and night. Save it for when you need it for sleep.

We done this with DD1 not longer after she was two told her dummies for babies she's a big girl etc your right it was 2/3 nights of asking for it crying a bit then forgotten about!

So far only trying lo with it between morning feeds as cranky & evening feeds when cranky before last feed, a little at bedtime but she not that keen on it in bed.....at mo!

 

[loeylo]

I think it's worth a try. Mine has a high palate and struggling to suck anything (nipple, bottle, you name it), so we found the only ones that worked were the cherry ones (not the newer orthodontic ones, those are crap). It definitely helped and yes, the correlation between dummy use and reduced risk of cot death was a selling point too (it's something to do with strengthening muscles for breathing with all that extra sucking). Getting rid of it was no big deal. We only used it for settling a bit between feeds during the day the first few months and then nighttime. After the first few months, we used it only for nighttime (rarely even for daytime naps). She had it until she turned 2 and then we just explained she was a big girl and it was time for it to go. We had a few nights of unsettled sleep, and that was it. So much easier than months or even years of being unsettled, 2-3 nights of it was no big deal. No effect on her teeth at all, even using the non-orthodontic friendly ones. The dentist says her teeth couldn't look better. I think really the key is not to get into the habit of using it all the time, day and night. Save it for when you need it for sleep.

Whereas for Gracie she couldn't take the cherry ones, she would only take the tommee tippee ortho ones!

 

[Cariad_x]

Both my kids had/have one. Ollie was given his by the midwives as he was badly jaundiced and under double phototherapy where I couldn't lift him so they suggested it to give comfort. I have Sophie one because she was using my nipples to comfort suck and it hurt. She only has it to go to sleep and spits it out when she's out cold.

 

[ronnie1234]

I'm trying not to give all the time only for naps but sometimes she's a bit cranky & I find it settles her a bit