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Behaviour/development

Tips on getting baby to suck a dummy

11 replies

ElleOhElle · 27/12/2014 15:16

Help, baby needs to suck but can't keep dummy in his mouth.
any tips?
shape / make etc???
he's 6.5 weeks
thanks

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moggle · 27/12/2014 15:28

My DD is the same age! She can't keep it in for long but is progressively getting better. I'm not sure there's much you can do other than try different shapes. I bought some avent ones - they seemed too big for her little mouth and she almost gagged. Then some newborn ones from asda and they were much better. Don't think she's kept IT in for much longer than a few minutes at a time up to now though. Can't wait til she does!

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mummybare · 27/12/2014 15:30

The MAM newborn ones work quite well for DS. At 3.5 mo he can increasingly keep them in his mouth for a while now.

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fuctifino · 27/12/2014 15:37

Genuine question.....why make a baby have a dummy if they don't want one?

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iklboo · 27/12/2014 15:41

DS wouldn't have a dummy, so we didn't bother after a couple of tries. They don't really need one. Some babies just don't like them, I think.

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Mrsgrumble · 27/12/2014 15:43

I think I wouldn't bother. I didn't and there are pros and cons to them.

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Fullpleatherjacket · 27/12/2014 15:43

Going back donkey's but mine all had the cherry teat type. The flat ones seemed harder for them to keep in.

It still took a while before they were really expert though

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Mrsgrumble · 27/12/2014 15:44

If the purpose is to settle baby try a white noise app

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moggle · 27/12/2014 15:45

fuctifino DD will go to sleep much easier if she's sucking one of our fingers. That is fairly uncomfortable at night even with a bedside cot, so dummy it is. For DD It's not that she doesn't like it but that she's too young to realise that if she stops sucking and opens her mouth it'll drop out, and too young to put it back in. But I knew she didn't like the avent one as she never really even sucked it properly, just spat it out immediately every time.

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ThinkIveBeenHacked · 27/12/2014 15:47

I used to hold it in their mouth (gently!) and use my little finger to stroke just beside their mouth, which stimulates the sucking reflex. A minute or two of stroking and I could let go of the dummy (which was worth it for bedtime or a long nap).

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fuctifino · 27/12/2014 16:17

I see moggle.
My dd gagged if given a dummy, so didn't persevere.
Dd2 had one and I hated the reliance on the damned thing.

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ElleOhElle · 27/12/2014 17:05

Thanks, he likes the dummy if I'm cradling him and it's in his mouth but he just can't seem to keep it in if he's lying down or in his swing. he us very clingy and would suck on me all day given half the chance. my daughter was the same until we gave her a dummy at 8 weeks then she was much more settled and happy