Giving 16 day old breastfed baby a dummy?

[butterflylove16]

Hi everyone, I posted on here last week & had some great advice - so I was wondering if anyone could please help again?

DD is 16 days old, & for this past few days is constantly feeding & won't sleep otherwise. I'll feed her for say an hour, cuddle her for a while, lay her down then 5 minutes later she'll wake up crying for my breast again. Last week she wasn't putting on weight, but was weighed on Sunday & Tuesday & is now gaining weight well. A lot of the time on my breast I don't think she's really getting anything, it's just the comfort she likes.

The problem is this is making my breasts very sore, & I'm getting no sleep as she'll only sleep on my breast. I'm feeling tempted to try a dummy maybe just at night time so I can get some sleep, but unsure if this is a bad idea? I'm worried about nipple confusion as I'd hate to undo all of our hard work, & also I would be concerned in case this caused her weight to stop going up.

Right now though I just can't see any alternative - she's spent about 18 hours at my breast today, & about the same this past few days. She seems to be getting a good amount of milk, so I don't think that's the issue.

Thank you if anyone is able to help

[OlennasWimple]

DS didn't get confused

[Numberoneisgone]

I think you are in the middle of a growth spurt so I would try to give it literally one more day and see if it improves. I am all for dummies but if she is trying to up your supply it might just prolong the spurt. Best of luck.

[LastOneDancing]

I can only give you an opinion based my personal experience - try the dummy!

I found both my DS spat it out after a while asleep, they still woke regularly for feeds. It just helped them drop off and became a cue for sleep for my eldest which was actually really useful.

They both had dummies from a few days old.

[butterflylove16]

That's reassuring to hear. I was speaking to mil earlier who used dummies & breastfed all 3 of hers as well. It's just the midwives advise against it & I was reading you shouldn't introduce one until 6 weeks.

[butterflylove16]

Thanks for your advice!

I'm thinking about perhaps giving it until the weekend, & then perhaps trying one? I was hoping to not use one but will if it helps us.

[fruitpastille]

Dummies are an absolute godsend - many, many babies have them. I wouldn't wait to be honest! Sometimes they need gently holding in for a few moments to help them get the idea. If you keep it for sleep cues it should be fine.

[chipmonkey]

I was totally against dummies but ended up using them as all my boys were colicky. I found they helped them to settle when they wanted to suck but weren't actually hungry. With ds1 in particular, he was sucking to ease the tummy pain but more milk only made the problem worse and he would end up puking. All my boys were breastfed for at least a year and ds3 was almost three when we stopped so it certainly didn't stop them feeding longterm.

[butterflylove16]

It's reassuring to hear that using a dummy doesn't necessarily mean that they won't be able to breastfeed again being a first time mum I'm especially worried about getting things wrong, but as dh said the midwives/hv are there to advise not dictate what you should do. Thank you everyone

[MrsHardy1]

hard hat on I gave my baby a dummy at 5 days old for the same reason. In desperation I asked a midwife to sterilize a dummy. She did start the 'it interferes with breastfeeding' but another midwife called over that he'd been attached to me for her whole shift and they'd checked daily that he feeding. When we stopped breastfeeding it was nothing to do with the dummy and he gave it up easily.

If it works for you, it works. Don't feel bad trying it. It was like a miracle for us as ds fell asleep instantly. I think dummies are brilliant.

[officerhinrika]

One of mine took to a dummy, one hated them. The one that had a dummy was like yours inclined to stay on for comfort, long after the feed was done. 16 days is quite young but you have got breastfeeding going & you're not giving a dummy for the whole day, just for a bit of comfort. To preserve your sore nipples I'd definitely try a dummy but be selective.
Sounds like you are doing really well :)

[Outnumb3red]

DC3 is 5 weeks, I've introduced a dummy last week. He doesn't need it the majority of the time, but it is handy when he is having an awake spell and wants to suck, but isn't hungry. He is a particularly 'sucky' baby though and had little blisters where he had sucked his hand/arm before he was born. He had also taken to sucking his thumb, and I'd prefer he had a dummy rather than a thumb. DC2 is a thumb sucker!

He is putting on large amounts of weight and hasn't had any nipple confusion. DC1 also had a dummy and took expressed milk from a bottle at a similar age to your lo, never caused any problems and we BF until 13 months x

[schbittery]

i have 3 dc, one had dummy from about 5/6 weeks, one from about a week and one from the way home from the hospital, in that order. All bf for over a year, all slept fine, none have issues with teeth or speech. One stopped using it spontaneously at 2, others gave it up easily on 3rd birthday. I am over dummy guilt. Use one if you need it.

[butterflylove16]

Thank you all maybe the dummy is worth a try soon then, I wasn't sure if I was wrong to be considering using one but it's nice to see that so many others have done the same. As I said it wasn't really in my plan to use one - but then giving birth at home with dd delivered by my dh also wasn't in my plan & that all worked out okay haha! I'm quickly learning to just adapt & that having everything planned out doesn't always work.

I'll speak to dh about it & we might get one at the weekend if dd is still constantly at my breast.

[GipsyDanger]

I gave my ds (3 months) a dummy at around the 2 week mark to. He cluster fed for the first 3 weeks of life and my nips needed a break. I asked on here as well
Trust me, he knows the difference between a nipple and a dummy and spits it out when he's asleep. He likes the "avent" dummies, get the glow in the dark ones

[Strokethefurrywall]

I gave DS2 a dummy on day 1!! He had spent the 17 hours since he's born nursing and was on for comfort. I needed sleep and he didn't give a tiny bugger what kind of nipple was in his mouth, just that he had a nipple.
He went boob, to expressed bottle at 3 weeks (combining breast and bottle) and has never had any nipple confusion.
As long as they're gaining well and nursing well, you've no worries.

Congrats on your little one!

[sycamore54321]

I honestly can't understand how a dummy can interfere with breastfeeding. I can understand the theoretical argument about a milk bottle potentially leading to a preference but surely if a baby distinguishes between a dummy and the breast, then it will only ever be in favour of the breast. My view is that dummies are a godsend for a 'sucky' child and they give the mother the sort of break she needs for her nipples to recover and for more milk to be produced in between feeds. Of course, not all babies need or want one, but for those who are extremely sucky, then they are a lovely way for the mother or any other caregiver to give the baby what it needs at that particular point in time.

Like another poster said, I'd much prefer my child has a soother than sucks his or her thumb - the soother can be removed, but I have a colleague now mid-40s who thumb sucked into her teens and still has a malformed shrunken thumb on one hand. She no doubt is the extremely rare end of thumb sucking behavior but it influenced my decisions around soothers.

[sycamore54321]

There is also some early evidence suggesting soother use as a factor in reducing the risks of SIDS, which was another important part of my decision.

[butterflylove16]

I've never heard about the SIDS thing, that's really interesting. It's so great hearing all of your experiences as well, really glad I posted on here. I just feel my breasts are getting more & more sore right now & they just need a break. Also not only would I like even a little sleep but I want dd to get better sleep too as she's waking up as soon as she realises she's not on my breast. Who knows, she may not even like a dummy, but it's definitely worth a try!

[sycamore54321]

If you want to encourage her to take the dummy, you may need to try several different brands/styles if she rejects them at first. Also when first she is trying it, if you feel she is about to reject it, try gently easing it half-way out of her mouth, this can trigger her to suck and away she goes.

The SIDS issue is considered sufficiently significant that it is offered as standard public health advice here in the U.S. in recent years.

[timelytess]

Please do not use a dummy.
To maintain milk production at the appropriate level and consistency, your baby needs to do all her sucking at the nipple. To suck elsewhere is to waste her effort and to deprive your body of the messages it needs to feed your baby appropriately.
If your nipples are sore, use ice or a commercial spray to numb/ease them temporarily.
Adjust your feeding position to avoid further soreness. Sit with your back straight, supported by pillows and cushions. Raise the baby so that her cheek is level with your nipple - she should be able to turn to the nipple and take it without pulling. You will probably need several pillows under her to support your arm and her weight. Having a no-tug feeding position is extremely helpful and you might find your soreness disappears overnight.

[threadender]

Another vote for dummies here! Doesn't interfere with bf at all. DH suggested we introduce it for the same reason, and to help settle DS when he cried, it did the trick! In fact it worked so well that we're trying to figure out how to convince now 3yo DS he no longer needs the dummy to sooth him to sleep!

[threadender]

timelytess why are you so against dummies? Also the op asked for advice mainly because she is struggling to get enough rest while having to bf almost constantly

[butterflylove16]

Timelytess - that has been my main concern, but at the same time I desperately need a break. Dd has been nursing since about 8 pm, & it's now 3:40 am & it doesn't look like she's stopping any time soon. In this time I've genuinely had about 30 minutes where she hasn't been on my breast (a short nap in her crib before she woke up crying &nappy changes). I'm physically &emotionally exhausted as she's been like this 24 7 all week. But at the same time I of course want to keep my milk production up.

Thanks again for everyone's replies & opinions.

[butterflylove16]

&Before she started nursing at 8 pm I only had a short break where I got her to nap. In total dd has been on my breast about 20 hours in the past 24.

[threadender]

You must be exhausted op! I remember those days, wonderful but tough.
As suggested earlier it may be that she's having a growth spurt and it will settle down soon. However, babies have regular growth spurts so even if that is the cause you have to find a way to get enough rest to keep yourself healthy.
If you really think dd is using you for comfort after she's finished feeding, then she's getting enough milk. If you do still want to increase your milk production then you could try expressing (with an electric pump, manual ones take ages).
There's no harm in trying a dummy, dd will still feed and will not favour it over you.