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Behaviour/development

Talk to me about dummies...

39 replies

LittleMilla · 30/07/2013 21:28

I loathe them, and yet I did myself staring at one on the coffee table contemplating giving it to my ds2.

He's a wee one at just 11 days old but already I'm shattered after another shit night. He's feeding overnight every 1-2 hours and will sleep for up to 4 hours in the day. I know I need to try and flip him and have attempted to keep him awake more today to feed him more.

So what do people think about dummies? Ds1 never took one but ds2 seems to suckle more and we have short feeds where I know he's not taking much.

Can they be used as the baby whisperer says - just to help them self soothe in the early days and only for the first stage of dropping off to sleep?

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LittleMilla · 30/07/2013 21:30

Meant to add. He was 8lb 9oz at birth and had already gained 2oz at 5 days old. Being weighed tomorrow and looking at his chubby cheeks, I'm sure he's gaining weight well.

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gymboywalton · 30/07/2013 21:31

Mine both had dummies. One breastfed for 10 months and the other for 13 months. They both spoke early and both have beautiful straight teeth.

They did love their dummies though!

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craigslittleangel · 30/07/2013 21:34

There is nothing wrong with a dummy. I used it with my hungry DD1 and got rid of it at 2.3. She never gave it up willingly but it did take the 3 nights everyone talks about. It saved me a whole lot of energy and time when she was small. I understand that if you take it off them before 1, there its easier.

DD2 takes it reluctantly. Another hungry one who likes to have a good suckle. She tends to go for her fingers more, though.

I am of the, "if it works and it gives you some rest, try it".

Hope that helps

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craigslittleangel · 30/07/2013 21:35

By the way, both were over 8lbs at birth. DD2 was always in the top 92 percentile and dd2 is in the 78th.

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notnowbernard · 30/07/2013 21:35

Life savers IMO

what's to loathe? Confused

They are also called soothers, pacifiers... for good reason

IMHO as long as feeding is well established dummies won't interfere

My older 2 had dummies. No. 3 TOTALLY refused -

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Ponyboycurtis · 30/07/2013 21:37

Same here, both had dummies & slept through the night from 6wks. The rule was they only had when tired & due a sleep, once asleep & it had fallen out I tried not to pop it back in unless necessary. Both started talking really early & lovely teeth!! Try the orthodontic ones, they have a flat side & are supposedly better than the 'cherry' ones. Best advice to you is use it wisely & they are a godsend, hope that helps.

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MJP1 · 30/07/2013 21:44

I too was very anti dummy per birth, then after having a colicky baby who originally wanted to use me as a comforter (breastfeeding) I gave in at 3 weeks and it saved me and my nipples. Now at nearly 6 months we do still use it to soothe her if shes upset but to be honest my baby isn't too fussed she spits it out when calmer or asleep or she prefers to chomp on the hard plastic bits.
They're not evil and they saved my sanity and encouraged me to continue breast feeding when I nearly gave up. I will be scaling the usage back sooner rather than later. But if it makes things a little easier for you and baby go for it. Xx

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Layl77 · 30/07/2013 21:45

At 11 days I'd leave it a while if I were you. Try feeding more in the day and nights should eventually switch. Dummies remind me of plugs!
They do have an impact on breastfeeding , teeth and speech (not always yes but t has been proven to affect these) so I wouldn't use one especially for first few weeks until bf established.

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Amiee · 30/07/2013 21:45

Mine wouldn't take one but I would have if i could. But i would have taken it away as soon as they start to babble and get teeth. A lot if kids won't be affected but some are.

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LittleMilla · 30/07/2013 21:58

My loathing comes from seeing older children with them (and trying to talk through one) and also people shoving them in to children at the first squeak. Whilst I wouldn't do that...I am nervous about how to stop it becoming a permanent fixture.

Can I ask when people first introduced one?

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Sheshelob · 30/07/2013 22:06

I was anti-dummy, but had a big, sucky baby so gave him one after my nipples exploded on day 10. Combined with a swaddle - something else I was dead against during pregnancy - and he was a sleep machine.

It was such a lifesaver that I stupidly started popping it back into his mouth when he grew out of it at 4 months. He was having a sleep regression and nothing was settling him, so it would have been a prime time to chuck it. But we didn't. I am still kicking myself.

Roll forward to now, and at 21 months, he's an addict. We're pretty strict about when he is allowed it - bed and travel only - but I can't wait to get rid of it. If he is having an unsettled night, he will still wake up repeatedly if it falls out and he can't find it. And if he gets hurt or very upset, he struggles to calm down without it.

In terms of speech, it hasn't slowed him down in any way - he talks more than any of his peers. But his teeth are starting to look a bit wonky...

So I guess the moral to our story is we found it amazing in the short term but wish we'd had the courage to get rid of it before he developed a habit.

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Jakeyblueblue · 30/07/2013 22:12

I gave one to ds and it was a life saver. He was almost 10lbs born and never lost an oz of his birth weight, just put on straight from the off. He wanted to feed hourly day and night for months and the dummy just helped me push each feed out a little further and give me a little bit of respite.
Having said all this, I did have rules though. No unnecessary use of the dummy and as he got older it was used for sleep only. At about 10 months he stopped wanting it himself and hasn't had one since.
In general dummy's are great if they are used sensibly ( and not like a plug! ). The mere fact you've posted on here means you are aware of the risks related to dummy's and I'd imagine you would ensure these were minimised.
I

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Minminbel · 30/07/2013 22:15

I was totally anti dummies and resolutely refused to give one to my very sucky and hungry boy.

Roll on four years and he is and always has been a passionate and committed thumb-sucker.

Wish I'd given him a dummy now. At least I could then pretend I have some sort of control over it....

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notnowbernard · 30/07/2013 22:39

Dc1 had one at about 4w

Dc2 about 1w

Dc3 day 2 (10lb 2 baby, v hungry!)

All excl bf . Dc1+2 had for sleep only from about 9m and ditched from 3y. Dc3 refused entirely from about 2m iirc

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Descriptivist · 30/07/2013 22:50

God, go for it. You sound like you'll be a judicious user! DD refused one and is a finger addict at 18months. You can take away the dummy...

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NaturalBaby · 30/07/2013 23:10

All of mine had/have a dummy (I'm trying to convince my 2 1/2yr old to give up his) from quite early. It was a life saver on many occasions but I also had to get up and put them back in quite a few times in the early days until they could find them in the cot themselves.
I'd rather have a dummy sucker than a thumb/finger sucker.

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heidihole · 30/07/2013 23:33

I gave a dummy and took it away at 12 weeks before he became an 'addict'. I replaced it with cuski (google it) which is a god send. Oh my god he loves his cuski. He's 14m not and not a thumb sucker just a cuski sucker/stroker. Cuski lives in the cot though he doesn't come downstairs.

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Nicknamegrief · 30/07/2013 23:41

I have four children and while none of them have had dummies, two are thumb suckers and I wish I could swap the thumb for a dummy.

While I have never had to do it I think a dummy is easier to wean a child from than a thumb.

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BackforGood · 30/07/2013 23:49

All 3 of mine had dummies, but only to go to sleep with, and they were all rid of them by 2yrs old.
Wouldn't have been without them as babies. The key is, to not let toddlers - or worse 3 and 4 yr olds - wander around with them, preventing, or hindering speech development.

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Mouserama · 31/07/2013 04:51

I was very anti-dummies - until my LO was born. She is a very sucky baby, and was using me as comfort. I gave her a dummy at about 7 days when I saw her in her moses basket with 6 fingers in her mouth and the remaining fingers/thumbs in her eyes (she hadn't quite realised how to suck her fingers without poking herself in the eye at the same time!). At first the dummy was just at night, but after 3 days I started giving it to her during the day as we. She loves it, and it instantly calms her. I'll deal with taking it away at a later date...(she's only 6wo at the mo)

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StupidFlanders · 31/07/2013 05:36

I love dummies. As far as I'm concerned for the first few months of a baby's life it gives them joy and that's enough for me. They have also helped me establish good sleeping very early for all of mine.

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StupidFlanders · 31/07/2013 05:37

mousarama mine also did all the fingers shocked in a mouth with two in the eyes regularly without one!

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Lagoonablue · 31/07/2013 06:41

Mine never took one. I was the dummy.

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LittleMilla · 31/07/2013 11:38

Just had him weighed again - he's gained 4oz in under two weeks. MW thinks that my mental supply means he needs to do little to be full - milk just pours in to his mouth. So happy to feed little and often. Dummy could help stretch him between feeds and regulate my supply a little.

I'm going to wake him up more today too to try and adjust this day vs night sleeping. Last night he was up again every 1.5-2 hours. Yet happy to go 3 hours + in the day.

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Lagoonablue · 31/07/2013 11:41

He is only a few days old. The day night thing can take a while. 2 hourly feeds at night pretty normal.

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