Will you be giving your baby a dummy/pacifier?

[emera35]

I didn't vote as i really don't know. I was certain i wouldn't give one to my little boy whilst i was pregnant with him, as i didn't like the idea at all, but he had one by the time he was 2 weeks old! He just wanted to suck all the time at night, but would make himself sick constantly on the breast. A dummy let us both get some sleep and he actually fed better, i was very suprised how useful it was at the time!. He still has it for sleeping now, but always just throws it away if he's offered it when not sleepy.
This time, i've absolutely no idea. It really depends if they need one or not, some babies don't like them at all, however much you try and introduce one. I'll wait and see

 

[mamawannabee]

We will be using one at least at night and during naps, I would really like to not use it when bubba is awake however. I have read so many different things saying they reduce the risk of SIDS and I am more comfortable with LO sleeping with it. However, I don't want it to become a soothing/comfort thing as we will be trying to get LO off of it around age 1 and I don't want that transition to be too difficult. I don't know how realistic this is, but as of now it is our plan.

 

[brinib1]

not totally on topic but just saw it as a reason not to use dummys on here, is it just me though or is nipple confusion just the most ridiculous idea ever?!?! ive seen plenty of babies when i used to work in a nursery and even now workin in hospital that use both a bottle (and/or dummy) aswell as breast feeding and have never seen one suddenly forget how to breast feed just because theyve had a bottle somewhere in between. they dnt seem to look at boobs and go "wait a minute, these dnt look the same anymore" they just snuggle in and go for it. and isnt it mainly the smell of the milk that gets them to suck? ive had babies that werent mine bury their face in my chest and realise they cant feed and totally lose interest.
silly point i know but is it just me or are the ppl that come up with these things ridiculously overpaid for coming up with this stuff??? xxx

Ashlee-- the nipple confusion thing only applies to the first 2-4 weeks when breastfeeding is first becoming established, and I'm sure it doesn't necessarily happen to all babies, it just is a risk. It doesn't continue on after that.

 

[steph.]

The disadvantages of using a dummy

* Speech problems - Sucking on a dummy during waking hours means that babies miss out on the essential babble and chatter that plays a vital role in their early speech development. Prolonged use can have serious implications for their speech development.

* Dental problems - Daily use also has implications for teeth development, particularly in older infants. Teeth can become deformed and may not grow properly, leading to problems that have to be corrected later on.

* Ear infections - There is some evidence that the frequent use of dummies can cause infections of the middle ear.

* Stomach bugs - Diarrhea, vomiting and other stomach-bug type infections are also more common with babies that frequently use dummies

* Nipple confusion - Use of dummies on a daily basis may also interfere with breast feeding, either by causing nipple confusion (whereby baby finds it difficult to adjust to suckling on their mother's nipple after an aesthetically shaped teat) or by reducing milk production in the mother as a result of less comfort feeding. Either way, the use of a dummy is associated with a likelihood to stop breastfeeding earlier.

Using a dummy may affect your baby's health in other ways too. Babies who use dummies seem to be prone to more chest infections and tummy upsets (Sexton and Natale 2009, Joanna Briggs Institute 2006). The exact cause hasn't been established, but using a dummy has been linked to an increase in:

* vomiting
* fever
* diarrhoea
* colic


The longer your baby uses a dummy, the more likely it is to cause changes in the way his teeth grow. This can result in an overbite or crossbite, where the top and bottom teeth don't meet properly.

Just some of the cons iv read up on, I know someone whos baby had a dummy until he was about 18 months and it has already affected his speech etc... Im not against anyone using a dummy what so ever, it is personal choice xx

I'll see how it goes and if she needs one to settle, she'll get one

I used one til I was almost 3 years old, and one of my teeth ended up a little twisted. I dont know if its connected to the dummy or not and its not ugly if I can say so myself But I also sucked my thumb for a long time so I guess that would have a similar effect.

Also I didnt talk until I was almost 3 but I dont know if that was related either. We moved to sweeden when I was 2 and I was sent to a sweedish nursery so I think I got confused with the languages. When I eventually started speaking I would mumble something in sweedish and my older sister would translate it to my parents so i dont think i felt the need to talk properly.

Didnt have any of the other problems like infections and colic

 

[AimeeM]

I sucked my thumb for years and my teeth are more straight than anyone I know. How do 'they' know that it is caused by thumb or dummy sucking? How would it be known that peoples teeth wouldn't have grown in a certain way anyway?

 

[ilovebabybean]

I was also a thumb sucker and have perfectly fine straight teeth but my daughter has one tooth that sticks out further on one side, is the side she sucks with and the dentist has had a look and said that is the reason for one side growing out like that. May be it depends on teeth as mine are all good but my daughters and my sisters were both effected because of thumb sucking x