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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Dummies and breastfeeding???

23 replies

Joggers · 05/03/2006 19:33

Any advice on using a dummy whilst bf?? I know you are told not to but I gave in yesterday. Daughter is 4.5 weeks and for last few weeks I feel she has been using breast as a dummy. No matter what I tried I could not stop this happening.

She will take a good feed aprox every 2 - 2.5 hours but in the meantime keeps crying and rooting, I would put her on breast but she would feed for 5 mins or less then let go, or grunt and struggle whilst pushing away from me, or just keep boob in her mouth and spit milk out. If I try to re-latch or take boob away she would cry relentlessly until it went back in. No amount of cuddles, stimulation or being left alone would pacify her. She was given dummy yesterday and has sucked it today for aprox 30 mins on and off and seems to be a lot calmer. Feeds going much better and staying latched on.

I am worried though that if she carries on with dummy she may not want to bf or may not latch/suck properly. Please can I her from other mothers who use dummy and bf successfully.

OP posts:

CaptainDippy · 05/03/2006 19:45

Used dummy and bf DD1 sucessfully, no worries!! Anything to make life easier!! Have to admit, struggling to wean DD1 off dummy now (2 yrs), but we're getting there. I think dummies are great. I think bfing is great. Hey - best of both worlds!!

nulnulcat · 05/03/2006 19:51

got told by midwife in hospital to give her a dummy as she was using me for one! had no problems feeding but same as previous post try to get rid of it sooner rather than later dd now 2 and totally obsessed with her dummy!

tanyac · 05/03/2006 19:52

Hi,

I gave my son a dummy within 36 hours of birth!
I was desperate to breastfeed....and was a little worried that a dummy could cause 'nipple confusion'...as a midwife myself I had been trained to not encourage the use of dummies.....but in the real world..mmmm
ds just cried and cried as soon as he was off the breast....anyway, to cut a long story short....he was still breastfeeding a 23 months!
The dummy did not do any harm in my experience!

Flossam · 05/03/2006 19:52

I did. DS used to lie and scream for ages, not feed properly. Used it with varying success, used it for a few weeks while getting him used to a bedtime in his own cot. Then he found his thumb!

starlover · 05/03/2006 19:58

i used dummy and bf successfully!

in fact, my son refused to feed at all for first 2 days so was formula fed, then ebm in bottle AND had a dummy.
at 10 days old he started to breastfeed!

so i am sure it'll be fine!

CaptainDippy · 05/03/2006 20:09

nulnulcat - Sympathy vibes to you my dear - The obssesion is quite frightening at times, found her wandering round the living room today - two dummies in mouth, four in either hand and a few lumps in her top (four dummies stuffed through neckhole!) We usually only allow dummies in the nursery, in the cot, so I've no idea where she got this little hoard from - must be stashing them somewhere! Damn it!

nulnulcat · 05/03/2006 20:46

captaindippy dd does exactly the same thing recently discovered clothes have pockets so puts dummies there! just been on holiday thought i was in luck when she chucked them all in the bin! 2 hrs later screamed until i found a shop selling them and now everytime we go out she goes on about the dummy shop!! stash of dummies is partly my fault i found the answer to getting woken up in the night to look for dummy is to place plenty of them round cot, she only used to have them for sleep but now seems permanently attached to one or 6!

threelittlebabies · 05/03/2006 21:14

I did the same thing, gave dd a dummy at 4wks old, as couldn't seem to put her down, and it's worked for us. She is 6mo today, and is still exclusively breastfed and still loving her dummy!

koolkat · 05/03/2006 21:19

I am sorry to disagree, but a baby at 4.5 weeks can not possibly use a boob as a dummy. A dummy is a dummy, i.e. a replacemnet for the real thing.

starlover · 05/03/2006 21:21

why can't they koolkat? IMO a lot of small babies suck for comfort, rather than for milk... isn't that the same thing?

koolkat · 05/03/2006 21:34

starlover - that is absolutley true.

I have a breastfed 20 month old toddler and he comfort sucks !

I just think that it is unusual for a baby as young as 4.5 weeks to comfort suck.

If she is feeding every 2 - 2.5 hours she is getting breastmilk as well as comfort.

She may also be going through a growth spurt which would explain the frequent feeding.

The frequent crying and rooting also sound normal for a baby that age.

nulnulcat · 05/03/2006 21:42

i was in hospital and still had my dd attached to me after over 2 hours!!! i didnt know that it doesnt take that long to feed a baby! midwife said she was using me as a dummy

ja9 · 05/03/2006 21:46

Our situation was similar to yours joggers. I gave ds dummy very early as result (before midwife had signed us off - 10 days old perhaps?). we have had absolutely no trouble with bf, and are still going strong 18mths later!

Original poster

Joggers · 06/03/2006 11:27

Thanks for all your messages I'm glad to hear others have successfully bf and used dummies.

koolkat - her succesful feeds every 2 - 2.5 hours are not a problem. As I explained she feeds very well at these and seems to be hungry. What was getting me down was after these feeds she would fall asleep or stop sucking only to be crying 20 mins later. Thinking she may not have finished her feed I'd put her back on. She latched on but very quickly let go and only wanted nipple in mouth for occasional suck. If I tried to re-latch she would scream and push away or turn head and spit all milk out. Similarly if I put boob away she would also scream and nothing else I could do would comfort her.

With the dummy, it seems, if she only wants to suck she's happy with having it. If she is genuinely hungry, she'll still cry and spit it out. I only gave in because I was at the point where I was thinking of giving up bf because I felt I was constantly attached but still did not have a very happy baby. I think it is a better solution to carry on bf and use the dummy as a last resort when nothing else but sucking works to calm her.

OP posts:

Bubblesmum · 06/03/2006 21:06

Similar question but for much older baby... anyone succesfully subsituted a dummy for a baby/toddler who likes to comfort suck overnight ? I am having no luck getting my little guy (15mo) off the night feeds and I really feel its comfort rather than hunger and would love to give him a substitute... (he wouldn't take a dummy as a newborn despite trying various makes/shapes/sizes).

expatinscotland · 06/03/2006 21:07

I used a dummy and bf successfully.

koolkat · 06/03/2006 21:44

Bubbles - I have a 20 month old toddler who feeds 4 - 5 times only during the day.

I think you are right. Many babies over 1 do wake up during the night out of habit and for comfort not because they are hungry.

Do you still co-sleep ? I ask because I have a friend who has a 19 month old who still wakes up, but I am pretty certain it is because he is used to sleeping next to mum since he was born.

I think one reason my DS has been sleeping through is that he has been sleeping in his cot in his own room since age 6 months. Also I never co-slept in the same bed as I couldn't sleep with him right next to me. I slept on the floor next to his bed for the first few months so again he is not used to having my boobs right next door !

Have you tried offering him water rather than the boob when he wakes at night ? I have heard this can be a solution too. He may soon get the idea that water is too boring to wake up for.

I think you are right. Older babies and toddlers who have never had dummies early on, will usually reject it.

Good luck !

BonyM · 06/03/2006 21:47

Dd1 had a dummy and I breastfed her until she was 9mths.

DD2 has a dummy, she is almost 1yr and I am still breastfeeding.

Have had no problems at all with breastfeeding and dummies can be a god-send!

Bubblesmum · 06/03/2006 21:48

I don't co-sleep all night but once he wakes, I bring him into the bed for a feed and then when I wake up/he's finished (whichever happens first) I put him back in his cot. Some nights if he's very unsettled he stays in the bed. I'm not very consistent in that regard -depends on how knackered I am that night.. but in the last week I'm determined to stay awake and put him back in cot asap. Will try the water... I know it will be thrown back at me.. do you think there's any point in trying a bottle (he drinks from a cup by day.. but would a bottle w/ teat be more acceptable than a cup ... or it is anything but boob he will reject do ya think ?)

BonyM · 06/03/2006 21:50

Oh - have to say as well that it's my belief that newborns certainly do comfort suck. Sucking is instinctive behaviour for a baby - babies can be seen sucking their thumbs while still in the womb.

koolkat · 06/03/2006 22:10

Bubbles - I am not an expert on this, but I think try whatever he has water out of during the day. If it's a sippy cup then try that first.

Once in a blue moon my DS does wake up and unless he is sick, DH or I give him water out of his day time sippy. If he has fever or a cold, etc, I will always offer the breast as obvioulsy bm is better for his recovery than water.

Totally agree with the consistency thing. I know it's difficult for both of you, but he may need to be put into a pattern that he can not always have the boob at night and sleep in you bed. It is like cc, very hard to do at first, but with some babies it can really be successful.

As I say, I am not an expert. Why don't you start your own thread on this, as I am sure quite a few bf mothers of toddlers will have a similar problem and may be able to give you really good advice ?

Best of luck !

lilstarry1 · 07/03/2006 11:37

My DD (5 weeks) DEFINITELY sucks for comfort, I read an article recently that argued many babies do this as the sucking reflex produces endorphins which help make babies feel calmer... I find my LO needs a dummy when her wind is bad, it distracts and helps the situation endlessly, so far I've had no problems BF her! All this from a woman completely anti-dummys... I now realise it's all about the individual baby.. I wouldn't worry too much!

Flamesparrow · 07/03/2006 11:50

DS is only 10 days old, but is already wanting to comfort suck - it is the only thing that seems to help soothe him when he has wind, and at the moment is sucking one of our thumbs when he needs to (he kept trying to use a nipple, but was then gulping even more, getting worse wind, and then bobbing off screaming again!).

I am reluctant to go down the dummy route this early, but more because I don't really want him to have one, than messing up latching. I recall reading with DD that it is a myth that one will confuse the other - something to do with them just learning two skills rather than one, and that this is the age when they are most receptive to learning new things, so they shouldn't have a problem as they aren't doing it for milk. Dunno if it is true, or some random ramblings in an article .

DD had a dummy from about 6 weeks and it had no effect on her feeding, saying that though, she'd been on a bottle with ebm every now and then from about 4 weeks, and that didn't effect her latch either.

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