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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

So are dummies the work of the devil?

28 replies

Enid · 05/06/2006 10:11

I might try one with dd3 (5 weeks), the world's crying-est baby.

OP posts:

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Angeliz · 05/06/2006 10:13

Both my dds had them .
DD1 has it still. I think they're great when needed. I limit it to bedtimes and naptimes. It's best if you get into the habit of removing it as soon as they're asleep and then they don't seem to need it so much upon waking.

Good luck!

Angeliz · 05/06/2006 10:14

Sorry dd2 still has it. DD1 does not.

throckenholt · 05/06/2006 10:14

no - very useful sometimes. We used one with DS1 who would not breastfeed for the first month. It really helped get him to sleep. He gave them up after a month or two. But beware they fall out in their sleep and then they wake up and scream !

hulababy · 05/06/2006 10:15

No. If used appropriately they can be great comforters. My pet hate is when children are older and have them in their mouth all day when talking and running about. DD had one till she was 2yo from sleep and nap times.

leander · 05/06/2006 10:16

they are not the work of the devil. If it soothes baby and helps you that is FINE.Ds had a dummy and he loved it he didnt have it all the time but we struggled to get rid of it when he was older,it took a couple of screaming bedtimes but it went.DD never had a dummy she wouldnt take one,she sucks her two middle fingers and jhas constantly got them in her mouth we cant cut her fingers off can we, so basiclly dont feel bad or let anyone make you feel bad about giving your dd a dummy.

Enid · 05/06/2006 10:16

thort I might use it in the car/in supermarket - basically occasions where it is physically impossible to breastfeed

ahd to walk round Sainsburgs with my finger in her mouth yesterday

think she is having a growth spurt

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 05/06/2006 10:19

No, of course not.

DD1 was SO sucky. It was the only thing that worked for her.

Enid · 05/06/2006 10:20

screw your eyes up
open mouth as wide as you can
move head frantically from side to side
go 'uh uh uh uh'

that's her 22 hours a day

OP posts:

Angeliz · 05/06/2006 10:20

Supermarket yes because you'll be able to replace it but be careful in the car. When dd2 was younger (she's 15 months now) she screamed blue murder when she lost it and i couldn't replace it. One trip i had to keep stopping as i couldn't drive with the screaming!!
Now i drive with a stash of them next to me and i pass them back to her

anniemac · 05/06/2006 10:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Enid · 05/06/2006 10:28

I have two willing helpers in the car to stuff the thing back in

OP posts:

Angeliz · 05/06/2006 10:29

Excellent
Go for it then. Bet she'll love it.

expatinscotland · 05/06/2006 10:31

Definitely worked for those times when she couldn't be attached to the boob. And when you have other kids and a house to run, there are times when she can't be attached to the boob.

I liked the MAM flat ones. She seemed to like those.

singersgirl · 05/06/2006 10:39

Whatever gets you through... I think dummies are very useful and were essential to my sanity in the early weeks with DS1. He would be screaming while I tried to cook dinner - I gave him a dummy and he could calmly look around for 10 minutes and then fall asleep. Much better for both of us.

We used them briefly (around 6 weeks to 10 weeks) with both boys, just to be able to eat dinner in peace. DS2 took to his thumb at 10 weeks and still sucks it at nearly 5 (but I was a late thumb-sucker).

anniemac · 05/06/2006 10:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pepperrabbit · 05/06/2006 10:43

Dummies absolutely saved my sanity with DS1, who must have been the second cry-est baby in the world after Enid's!
If it's any help he moved seamlessly on to being the chewiest baby in the world when he started teething and teethers replaced dummies with no effort whatsoever on my part, then he gave up those as well.
I have been told I'm lucky he gave up by himself, at say 5 months.
DS2 much less reliant but we'd bought 6 just in case...
Before DS1 I was convinced I'd never use one - just shows how wrong you can be when you don't have kids

Hoopoe · 05/06/2006 12:37

My dd LOVES hers! And she doesn't always want it at sleep times now. Such a pleasure - she goes to sleep really easily with them and she finds them such a comfort.

robin3 · 05/06/2006 12:43

DS1 now 2.5 and asks for his dummy when he's very tired or upset. He also has it at night if he needs it.

In other words he's not toddling around with it in all the time but seems to find comfort in it some times.

That said, hope not to need dummy for baby No 2 simply because it's another thing you have to think about when leaving the house. Sounds like your DD may benefit though.

babyonboard · 05/06/2006 13:16

I agree..they are very useful!

I stopped giving ds his at around 4 months old with no problems at all..

Much better than thumb sucking imo, dp's cousin used to suck her thumb so hard she sucked the nail off..and her skin was permanently crinkly..not good!

nailpolish · 05/06/2006 13:38

enid, what are you worried about? what other people might say or think? i have STRONG views on dummies but i would never ever voice them.

dummies can make happy mummys and happy babies, so if thats what you want to do then go for it.

(btw both my dd's have comfort blankets )

wannaBe1974 · 05/06/2006 14:04

I personally don't like them and I vowed that my ds would never have one. But i think that if that's what works for you then no-one has the right to criticise. I also think that what works for one baby doesn't necessarily work for another and vice versa. My ds sucks his thumb to go to sleep and i think that's fine, he doesn't suck it during the day and I never had to get up in the middle of the night to replace it when it fell out. But I understand that for some a dummy works and that's entirely up to them. I think that especially when a baby is very young and not asleep, it thinks it should be feeding even if it's not hungy, and in that instance a dummy is good for the baby to suck on. You have to do what is right for you.

donnie · 05/06/2006 14:13

dummies rock.
seriously!

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louismummy · 05/06/2006 14:14

enid your dd3 sounds similar to my ds2.. would love to be attached to my boob... i can't belive a 3 week old would cry so much in the car. ds1 use to fall asleep as soon as the car left the drive.....

louismummy · 05/06/2006 14:15

ps i dislake dummies BUT it has become very useful in the last month.... saved my nipples..... he prefers the rubber ones... hth

JILS · 05/06/2006 14:17

Totally agree with Angeliz. DS only got his to help settle him at sleep times. At 10 months he decided it was much more fun to play with the dummy than to suck it and we took it away. No probs!!

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