tips required for getting ds to take dummy

[Frenchfancies]

Tried tommie tippee, nuk, avent brands since about 3wks old. He's now 20wks. He just won't have it just looks confused and pushes it out. Tried when he's happy, tried when's he's crying. Tried BF him then slipping it in. Put a drip of calpol on the end of one for him to have some flavour. But he's not having any of it!

[milkysmum]

Why do you want him to have it if he doesn't want it himself? Genuinely curious

[CallieTorres]

He does not want it don't force it, why are you insistent

My first had 4 at a time, my second didn't want one at all


They're both fine now

[ExitStageLeft]

Is he feeding to sleep?

[FattyNinjaOwl]

Why force it?
DS1 had a dummy until he no longer wanted it at 8 months old.
DD never had a dummy
DS2 has a dummy. He's 6 months.

I offered a dummy to all of them if they were upset. The boys took to them, DD didn't. She just didn't want it so I left it.

[Frenchfancies]

I'm not forcing it. I'm trying it. HUGE difference. I would never stand there holding it in his mouth ie. Forcing it.

I would ideally like him to have one so he isn't using me as comfort. He feeds very regularly and I feel I just need something else in between feeds if just wants to suck something. At night he's waking every hour and I don't think it's because he's hungry yet that's all I've got to send him off.

[FATEdestiny]

My dummy refuser was younger, so I am not sure if my tactics will work with your older baby. She was about 3 weeks old when we started trying the dummy and refused it until about 7 or 8 weeks old. Things we tired:

• Whipping nipple out and dummy in after a feed
• Me holding baby in BF position with dummy where nipple would be
• Someone else cradling/rocking baby with dummy (my Mum and DH)
• Gently holding dummy in mouth as going to sleep
• Tapping on outside of dummy sometimes triggers sucking reflex
• "Cherry" dummies are our favourites. This is the shape of the teat, it is more bulbous, less flat. Tomee Tipee do a range of cherry dummies. Other people swear by MAM dummies.

With us, DD used to just sit there with her mouth open and the dummy in there, doing nothing. It just took a fluke of her sucking, quite by accident, for her to realise "Ohhh, this feels nice". It was just a few days from her first "getting" that she needed to suck until she loved her dummy. The problem is you cant make a baby suck. You just have to keep trying and hope one time it happens.

Does your DS take a bottle? Just wondering because my DD was also a bottle refuser and we were also working hard with a bottle of expressed milk every day because I wanted her to be able to have a bottle when needed. I found that she accepted the two at the same time - when she accepted the dummy she started taking a bottle too.

[Frenchfancies]

Fate hello again he will take a bottle and has done since about 6wks as express some milk occasionally but it wouldn't be a regular thing, like once a fortnight or so.

[Annarose2014]

Mine refused dummies for 6 months. At that point I reintroduced them to try to make him sleep. But they were too small for him. So I went out and bought the next size up - the 6 month +.

Worked immediately. Maybe try that at this age. They're just not comfy if they're newborn ones.

[Frenchfancies]

Thanks annarose will have a look at the sizes too

[Havalina1]

I'm in the same boat French. 4.5 months and comfort nipple-searching at night to get back to sleep. I can't get him to substitute me for a dummy.

During the day though he can nap for up to 3 hours without me resettling him. So I'm even further perplexed by it all!

I want a 5 hour stretch of sleep, not 35 minute snippets :(

I'm tying various dummies too. I tried the suggestions you have tried.... watching this space :)

[Frenchfancies]

Havalina im on another thread too for sleep will tag you in if that's how it works. If not it's called 4.5months waking every hour. Might be some tips on there for you too

[Havalina1]

French thanks! I was just reading it, wrote a massive reply that j then lost, gah!

[Frenchfancies]

Havalina urging typical. I probably would have cried at that doesn't take much these days!

[Frenchfancies]

And when spellchecker changes things!!! That's was meant to say urghhh typical!!

[icklekid]

Mam dummies and tilt upwards so they suck at the roof of their mouth worked for us