dummy from 6 weeks,am i being selfish?

[muminwellies3]

Dd 2 is 6weeks old, she is a great bfeeder and really settled but she is a really frequent feeder. When I'm at home this is fine. The problem is that I'm beginning to feel as though I'm sinking into pnd (suffered from it with ds 1) I know that I can help my pnd if I start getting some exercise, this means either leaving her with dh or in the creche at the gym while I do zumba or go for a swim. I don't want her screaming for me the whole time, I would only be leaving her for an hour at most so she won't starve but I feel guilty about leaving her and thought maybe a dummy will help her to stay settled. If I carry on moping about as I am the pnd will just get worse. How have your babies coped with swapping between dummy and breast and/ or separation from you? Advice/ support needed please! Xx

My DS was breastfed and a very sucky baby. I didn't like dummies so he sucked my finger. Then I realised that with a dummy I didn't have to be glued to him all the time. He had a dummy till 5 months when he found his thumb. Breastfed with no problems.

She's 6 weeks, not 6. Totally fine to introduce a dummy, we got rid of ours very easily at 1 and it was only used occassionally. Sanity saver when we used it though!

A happy mum who feels in control and on top of things is pretty much always going to be best for baby. If that means a dummy for a couple of hours a couple of times a week, then go for it. And don't give yourself a hard time over it. Looking after your own mental health is not selfish.

Looking after your own mental health is not selfish.

Also be wary of 'intrusive thoughts' i.e. a fixated worry that sabotages efforts to get out and about and flames the anxiety/depression ... basically if you suspect your mind might be obsessing about how it would be selfish to do objectively 'normal' things take some time to talk it over with people and make sure these thoughts aren't sabotaging your health.

Thanks guys, squizita, you may be right, my anxiety over leaving dd is stopping me from doing things I really shouldn't feel guilty for wanting to do. I know dh is really worried about me, will speak to gp next week. I refuse to let pnd take over like it did last time!

My ds took a dummy from about 6 wks, I know what you mean I felt bad about it. But it worked wonders, it kept him happy and content through my dd's long bedtime routine. Otherwise he'd have been screaming the house down. It didn't affect his breastfeeding at all.

Best of luck xx