Introducing dummy to 1 month-old breastfed baby - how and which one?

[LeeMiller]

My DS is 1 month old and ebf. He was a big, overdue baby and has had a good attachment from the start and is gaining lots of weight. Breastfeeding has been mostly straightforward, just a few issues with fast letdown. He feeds for short times very frequently (20+ feeds a day) and sometimes is clearly comfort sucking rather than hungry, falling asleep after less than 2 minutes.

The lactation consultant suggested offering a dummy when I'm confident he's not really hungry might encourage him to sleep for longer between feeds at other times. She thinks breastfeeding is well established now so it's not risky to introduce a dummy.

Which shape, material or brand would you recommend - are nipple shaped ones best for bf babies? Orthodontic ones? And any tips for introducing a dummy? Do we try when he's sleepy/ awake/ content/searching?

A dummy definitely helped me to bf for longer (although only managed 6 weeks!). I think I would have stopped after a week if it wasn’t for the dummy. We used the clear avent ones. Just stroked DDs cheek and tapped the dummy to encourage sucking. These also have a little hook bit on them, so can attach them to things later on when you are trying to encourage baby to put it back in itself.

Good luck!

Re. brands, try Nuk - it's what we were given from NICU. We gently rubbed it on DC's lips until they opened for it, then we held it in place whilst they took hold of it in their mouth.

Good luck - it was a lifesaver for us!

*good attachment should be good latch

We use MAM ones as they're orthodontic. Though I think a lot of other brands are too!

Dummy was a lifesaver for us, we used it for the same reason you're going to. DS was comfort sucking but he would then be sick because he was taking too much milk from it. A dummy stopped this and he just fed when hungry!

MAM do a 0-2 size. Brilliant!

Thank you, I'll have a look at the ones suggested. I've heard Mam are good. Is there any advtage to latex over silicone (or vice versa?)

It is reassuring to hear that dummies were successful for you all and prolonged rather than interfered with bf. I love feeding him but sometimes it would be nice to have a slightly longer sleep!

I started with MAM but dd didn't like the flat shape.she prefers the cherry shape so we now use tommee tippee

We used the Avent ones, they do orthodontic ones too. We used it for the same reason, DD was definitely comfort sucking. She took to it with no issues and hasn't affected feeding.

Ahhh the good ol’ loyal dummy, how much I owe thee. Regarding brand I think every child I know has a different preference. We also use the clear avent ones, I think they’re slightly smaller which DC seems to prefer (she has a little mouth tbf). Buy a few & test them out! Good luck! Your nipples will thank you.

Thanks all for your advice! Sounds like some trial and error might be involved to find one DS likes but I would probably have given up after the first attempt so good to know it's worth sticking with it! Will head to the shops today and pick up a couple of different types.