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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Is 2.5 weeks too early for a dummy?

21 replies

dinny · 25/09/2004 17:19

DS is a very sucky baby and latched on most of the day. I don't want to risk cocking up breastfeeding in any way, so would it be foolish to see if he takes a dummy at this stage? It's just tht he can't fall asleep unless he has nipple in his mouth and I have a 2.5 year old to chase after. Or should I just ride it out and try to get him into more of a routine at about 6 weeks? Don't know what I should do - have been told dummies interfere with bf and milk supply. HELP!

OP posts:

Socci · 25/09/2004 17:31

Message withdrawn

Hayls · 25/09/2004 17:50

My dd is now 8 months and still breast fed. She did the same as your ds when she was small and I tried a dummy but she wasn't keen. She did take it in the end though and slept much better and it didn't affect bf in any way. I just made sure I only gave it to her when she was going to sleep so she wouldn't be too dependent on it and even now if she finds one during the day she plays with it and doesn't consider sucking it! If it helps you go for it, IMO

lydialemon · 25/09/2004 23:45

I gave DD a dummy at 2 days old, because she was sucking so much I was in constant pain. MW didn't approve (and said it would stop the milk etc) but without a break I would not have been able to carry on. Anyway, DD is now nearly 11 mths and still exclusively BFed so it didn't interfere that much! I only gave it to her if she had fed and was still wanting to comfort suck btw.

SamN · 26/09/2004 00:54

If he's latched on most of the time it would seem to me that he's not actually feeding for all of that time - so why not try the dummy when you think he's had enough milk and he's just comfort sucking? I introduced one to my ds2 at around 3 weeks for a similar reason. He did take a while to get used to it but it's very useful for calming him down now.

Ghosty · 26/09/2004 09:35

DD was about 3 weeks I think ... a sucky baby like yours and I wasn't prepared to be a human dummy.
I only gave it to her after a feed ... still let her feed on demand ... and never used it in the early days to tide her over between feeds ... only to help her sleep.
She is now nearly 8 months and still breastfed ... it had absolutely NO effect on my milk supply!

SofiaAmes · 26/09/2004 20:33

Both of mine had dummies from day one. They were both exclusively bf until 6 months and had no problems with bfing. I gave them the dummy "on demand" and they gave it up voluntarily at 3 mo. (ds) and 8 mo. (dd).

Toots · 19/10/2004 09:59

Don't think dummy is getting in way of bf-ing, but just reviving this thread to ask for reassurance about dummies in terms of whether they might increase/decrease night waking in little tinies. Any good bad experiences? Should I be trying to snatch it out before she falls asleep- If I want to sleep? hope not, would feel evil!

aloha · 19/10/2004 10:15

It's a myth that dummies interfere with breastfeeding. It arose because there is a statistical correlation between less breastfeeding and dummy use, BUT, that's mainly because they 'type' of person who typically uses a dummy is more likely to be the type of person who doesn't breastfeed, not because the dummy causes a problem. And before you all leap on me, I am both a breastfeeder and dummy user, it's just a general statement drawn from research, not a criticism!! Some babies are just much suckier than others and for those of us with sucky babies who would otherwise be latched on all day, a dummy is a wonderful thing indeed.

aloha · 19/10/2004 10:16

Some people say yes, but my ds was just a rotten sleeper who was quite capable of waking up every 20 minutes with the dummy still in his mouth.

monkeygirl · 19/10/2004 10:34

Although ds (4 months) can fall asleep in his buggy/car without a dummy, he uses it for some daytime naps and last thing at night. I can put him in his cot with a dummy, sing a couple of songs and then leave him to go to sleep. Yes it can be annoying if he does wake up and you have to play hunt the dummy but more and more now, if he does wake up in the night, he can settle himself back to sleep without it. Now I usually have to replace it once or twice a night between 7:30pm-ish and 8am-ish but once in he pretty much goes straight to sleep and yesterday he went 8pm - 6:15am without 'asking' for it.

tiktok · 19/10/2004 10:50

aloha, I agree with you....but common sense indicates that dummy use is probably best kept to after bf is well-established, and the baby is thriving. I have certainly seen cases where the use of the dummy is interfering with getting bf to this stage, not because of the 'suck confusion' but because the mum uses the dummy to calm the baby when the baby would benefit from more time effectively feeding at the breast.

Original poster

dinny · 19/10/2004 22:14

DS won't accept a dummy. I'd really like him to (he won't go to sleep except with boob in mouth) - and it would be handy to stop him hollering in car. Any brand recommendations ?(ps. bf well-established).

OP posts:

Levanna · 26/10/2004 22:58

Hi dinny, I don't know if this is still an active topic? I think I used Avent with DD1, a really simple, small, flattish dummy teat. She had a dummy from about 2.5 weeks (for better or worse! i.e. I'm not sure if it bore any relation to the problems we later encountered.) DD2 is 8 weeks tomorrow and I offered her a dummy last night (breastfeeding has settled at last!). Not exactly a success in that I happened to be topless at the time, so she put her tongue between her lips, firmly in the way of the dummy I was offering, pushed it away with her hand, looked longingly at my nipples in turn, rooted, then giggled at me and fell asleep.......so, at least we both went to bed smmiling!

Original poster

dinny · 31/10/2004 10:42

Thanks, Levanna. Found one in Mothercare he will occasionally take. Is kind of weird shape - smaller than the others I tried. He is not mad on it though - will persevere!

OP posts:

mylilsweetie · 10/12/2004 23:22

hi there i also give my 7 month old a dummy however fot the last week or so the dummy keeps falling out in the night and then............cries HOW DO I GET HER TO KEEP THE DUMMY IN HER MOUTH!!!

heavenlyghost · 11/12/2004 00:01

Mylilsweetie ... hi ...
You could do one of two things ... either ... get rid of the dummy and do some CC for a few nights ...
OR you could do what I did, and ride it for a bit longer until your baby can find the dummy herself at night.
Until DD was 9 and a bit months I got up once or twice (sometimes 3 times) a night to plug the dummy back in. I just couldn't face getting rid of it. Now, at 10 months DD goes to bed with 3 dummies - one in her mouth and one in each hand. She goes to sleep swapping them around ... very sweet. Then when I go to bed I make sure that all three are near her head and if she wakes in the night she just puts her hand up, finds one and pops it in. I never ever thought we would get to this stage but we did ....
Good luck ...

jambot · 14/12/2004 13:48

Try this idea from the authors of a great South African book called Babysense.
Attach the dummy to a short length of ribbon and fix this to the upper half of their night attire. When the dummy comes out, take the baby's hand and guide it down the length of ribbon to the dummy, then guide her hand to her mouth. Do this a few times until she makes the association. They don't say what age this works from but seems a good idea. Make sure the ribbon is not to long as this could prove a safety risk

noddyholder · 14/12/2004 13:49

its never too early!!!!!!!!!

aloha · 14/12/2004 13:51

I used a dummy clip at that age - it worked.

gothicsanta · 14/12/2004 13:54

dinny - dd had a dummy at 3 weeks (on advice of HV)but prefered it to breast and lost weight so we gave up but if you just used at night I can't see it causing too much of a problem

dancer77 · 14/12/2004 14:07

lydialemon I was the same as you gave ds dummie day we got out of hospital simplt because he was sucking on me for the last 48hrs almost constantly and because I was very unwell myself I needed a break. He's nearly a year now and only really has it to go to sleep. If he's kept occupied he doesn't care about it.

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