Is 6 days old too soon for dummy?

[SpottedTiger]

DD was born 6 days ago at 37+4, she struggled with feeding the first 2 days, but persevered with additional syringed top ups of expressed milk and and she is EBF and feeding well now. However since my milk came in on Weds she has had terrible trapped wind between feeds. Midwife yesterday said that we are already trying ever trick in the book and couldn't add any advice to what we are doing. The only suggestion we haven't tried yet is a dummy as we were told in hospital to leave it a few weeks to establish breast feeding first. So a) is a dummy likely to help? and b) is it likely to set our feeding back if we do try one?

Thanks

I can’t imagine a dummy would help (it could even lead to more wind if she is swallowing while sucking). It’s impossible to say what effect it would have on latch, but I’d be surprised if she could even take one that little. They are quite hard to hold in the mouth. My only one who would take a dummy didn’t until about 8 weeks. My ebf one had no interest at all and spit it out. I would just persevere personally, winding regularly and lots of time lying against your chest upright.

My DS2 was a very sucky baby and had a dummy from very early on (I can't remember exactly when, sorry). It helped settle him and didn't interfere with breastfeeding. I can't tell you the answer to a) though.

My ds4 was in ICU for two weeks after birth and i was advised to give him a dummy, he couldn't breath and drink at the same time so had to be fed through a tube but also managed bf a couple of days later and was topped up through the nose.
He also had really bad wind and acid reflux (with a load of other issues)
He took to the dummy fine and it soothed him through the night, it didn't stop him from latching or cause any problems.

I ment to say he was 2 days old when we were advised to give him dummy

Have you tried infacol? Also taking baby off the breast to burp helps a lot. Things like cycling legs after a feed also helps.

The thing is when babies are this tiny their digestive system isn’t mature, so lots and lots of babies get windy, look like they’re in pain etc when they’re just getting used to the feeling of their tummies working. I found that by 6 weeks dd had mostly got over it.

Thanks for the replies, last night wasn't as bad as the one before so hopefully it is just her little stomach getting used to the milk. It's just horrible seeing her in pain.

Also midwife says we have tried almost everything:

Colic drops
Winding
Massage
Leg exercises
Keeping upright
Lying on her tummy on our chests

Only thing we've not tried yet is skin to skin as would then have to wake her again to get her dressed and put her back to bed which seems to defeat the point a bit.

How are her nappies? Seedy mustard type poos now? No rashes at all? If nappies are fine I would think this is something you have to ride out unfortunately.

I found a warm bath with dd on my chest worked miracles! And relaxing for me too. Hope it eases up soon for you both.

There are mini dummies and both mine had then from a couple of days old and gave them up with no issues at 2 yrs old (Santa took then for babies). And also had them nap time only when older than a year.

Definitely worth a try.

Coleif? It's for lactose intolerance. She might not be able to process lactose very well yet. Can be a game changer if that's the cause!!!

A dummy is recommended for SIDS so give one a go.
My ds was born at 35 weeks and I took one in my hospital bag!
MAM 0-2 size.

My DD had a dummy from about a week old - she was breastfed until 15 months.

Some babies need to suck a lot. Definitely worth a try I think. Someone told me recently that nipple confusion theories are not very well founded.

My 5 month old has had one since she was a week old and she's EBF. As king as you make sure you're not giving it to her when she needs a feed then you should be fine. They are sometimes just really hard when they're that tiny!

Totally agree about nipple confusion - the bottle refuser babies I know didn’t have a bottle till the recommended 6 weeks. Dd had expressed milk from 2/3 days old and was fine with a bottle and we’re still bf now at 2.4.

Thanks everyone, yes poo is mustard coloured and seedy, lots of wet and dirty nappies, poo tending to come out at high speed and with lots of wind. Little tummy goes hard when she's in pain and she rocks herself forward and backwards franticly in my arms crying, seems to come in waves. No pattern that we can identify some feeds are worse than others. Thankfully DH and my DM are taking turns so that I can sleep between feeds, so managing OK, just hard to see her in pain.

You've probably tried it, but the 'tiger in the tree' hold helps with trapped wind. Did for my DD and DS. Once their gut/digestive system matures they won't struggle as much to get their wind up too. Breaks your heart seeing them in pain, but being close to you will comfort her.

If she's BF have you kept an eye on what you're eating and how she is after certain foods? Is she particularly bad after you've eaten something in particular?

Like other PP have mentioned, lactose and cows milk can cause a lot of problems for babies even via your milk. All the stuff that gives you wind can have the same effect on baby through your milk. So perhaps monitor it.

My baby is 4 weeks old. I'm EBF and he has silent reflux, I introduced a dummy when he was 10 days old as he was in so much pain and was wanting my nipple to soothe him! He still has his dummy and it hasn't caused any nipple confusion. So in my experience a dummy has been a godsend for both of us! I hope it works out for you.