will giving a dummy make bfeeding harder

[kbaby]

Im breastfeeding my 3 week old DD which is going well. But she is a very sucky baby who doesnt settle well. She sucks her hands/fingers but gets frustrated as they fall out. I dont think the sucking is caused by hunger as she does it not long after a feed or when tired. If I give her a dummy will it confuse her with breast feeding. I asked my MW who was dead against it and said it causes nipple confusion and she wouldnt feed very well as the sucking action is different.
Also if I do give the dummy, the sign that shes hungry is that she tries rooting and cries. If she has a dummy in her mouth would I be able to tell that she was hungry.

Really feel for you with this prob as both my children have been the same. DS was a big baby and very sucky - I would have been feeding constantly if I'd popped the breast out every time he cried. Now have 6 week old DD who was much smaller at birth but still quite sucky. My MW with DS was actually the one who suggested a dummy as I was against it myself, which goes to show how different MWs come out with totally different views.
I really don't think a dummy confuses with BF. You have to help your baby take the dummy at first by sort of holding it in position once it's in their mouth, while they get used to it. If all baby wants is to suck then the dummy will soothe them, but if they are genuinely hungry, believe me, you'll know! They'll spit it out, or refuse to take it in the first place, and continue rooting around for the breast.
I always thought dummies looked horrible before I had a baby and was worried when DS took to his so much that I'd never get him off it. But we just removed it while sleep training at 6 months and although he was a bit upset for a couple of days, he never wanted it after that. The way I see it is, what's the point walking round for hours on end with your finger in baby's mouth just to avoid a dummy, when you could all have some peace and quiet (and both hands free) with a dummy for a few weeks/months.
One last thing as that using a dummy also helps stretch out time between feeds so that baby takes a good feed at each session, rather than just snacking each time they want a comfort suck. This is particularly helpful when trying to get a good feed in last thing at night.

Dummies work a treat, and they (babies)are not stupid as no milk comes out of it! They suggest leaving introducing a bottle till a few weeks later if you want to that is. But dummies do not confuse your baby, just help you get some time to yourself.

ds had a dummy at 5 weeks after he was feeding every 2 hours for all that time, and the 1st time I gave him one he slept solidly for 5 hours!! Breast fed till 4 months, he was very hungry so had to go on to formula.

Dd had dummy at 2 weeks I think and breast fed very well till 9 months.

did either of you find that you were having to get up at night to keep putting the dummy back in

kbaby: you don't have to leave the dummy in. What we do is get ds2 nice and sleepy by sucking on the dummy then remove it just as his eyes start to droop so he's aware it's going. To start with their eyes will snap back open and will start rooting around for the dummy again, but just keep rinsing/repeating until they're relaxed enough to go to sleep on their own. Some soporific white noise in the background helps too. That way they're not associating the dummy for sleep and won't look for it when they wake. Takes rather a lot of patience though

I used a dummy with my dd as she wanted to suck in between feeds, but would vomit if I fed her with less than a 3hr interval so I used a dummy, which I was dead against...
She breastfed beautifully up til 15 mths! She never had the dummy to get her to sleep though and gave it up happily at around 5 mths when she found her thumb!