Feeding

[Mamaemm]

Im a 1st time mum. I have a 5 wk old baby girl. I used a dummy for the 1st time last night. I express and use formula as struggle to pump enough and bf didnt work for us despite lots of support. Anyway, since gaving dummy baby is not feeding as much, still adequate i think, about 4oz every 4_5 hrs. She even went 6+ last night which terrified me when we woke up! I want to ask if anyone has found dummies to suppress hunger. Also safer sleeping guidelines say give dummy for every sleep but sometimes she asleep straight after bottle and settled so seems a shame to give. She also has refused to take. Any advice welcome. X

Congrats on your first. Also, ha ha- hard work isn't it.

Getting a dummy off DD1 was a little hard work, so we didn't give one to DD2. On the whole I think that's easier option, but it really depends on the child- if they fussed without one, I wouldn't hesitate. Didn't notice an effect on appetite.

A number of people I know have gone most of the night without feeding from a few weeks. I hate the buggers :-) DD2 woke up several times a night until over 1.

Fretting about every little thing is normal- you chill out with time.

I wouldn't have thought using a dummy to supress hunger would work for very long. A hungry baby is plain old hungry! A baby who wants to suck for comfort would probably be better pacified by a dummy.

I think what I'm saying is don't worry, I don't think a dummy distracts a hungry baby, or at least not for very long! None of my babies would take a dummy (I wished they would at the time) and started sleeping for longer stretches from about 6 weeks onwards. Ask your health visitor for some qualified advice?