Dummy for newborn?

[Nat888]

Baby is 2 weeks old - gaining weight and passed birth weight. He was a small baby at 5lb 11oz.
He gets quite grizzly and wakes every hour even after a full feed. He's quite difficult to re settle but his dad gave him a dummy which seems to comfort him. Is it a bit early? I'm worried because he is small He may start not feeding as well?

If I were you at 2 weeks id be feeding rather than giving a dummy, especially with such a small baby and especially especially if you wish to breastfeed long term. They're programmed to suck lots to boost your supply - if they're sucking something else then your body doesn't get the message that it needs to make more milk.

Agree with above and also when you say he’s difficult to settle is he with you? Tiny babies need to be with you, not alone in a crib etc, so I would try holding him/sling etc to settle him to sleep before a dummy.

Are you breastfeeding? If so definitely don’t give a dummy, they can make you miss feeding cues and if he’s already small you want to be feeding a lot. Is he waking when put down? Lots of babies will sleep much better on a person than alone in a cot, they need to be close a person to feed safe, it’s not just about how full they are

We introduced a dummy at a few days old and have never had any issues with feeding/weight gain - he always made it clear if he was hungry by spitting dummy out when it wouldn't settle him! But we bottle fed so if you're breastfeeding I wouldn't override above advice.

Sorey should have said I'm not breast feeding due to health reasons and medication I have to take. He falls asleep on me and I put him in his crib but he wakes hourly unsettled and doesn't seem to want more milk, need changing or a cuddle. Really difficult to know why he's so unsettled

Sorry to tell you, this is because he's a baby. They're biologically programmed to wake that frequently so they don't stop breathing or get eaten by a panther. Google the 4th trimester too, at this age they still think they're a part of you and they tend to HATE the cot.

I introduced a dummy straight away after birth (2 weeks old tomorrow) as he was a c section baby and took the advice from my 1st baby to help with the reflux and mucus.

He isn't a massive fan and mostly spits it out and I 100% know when he's hungry!
He is bottle fed as well.

@fabicelolly what do you mean when you say tiny babies shouldn’t be alone in a crib?

Mine was born 6lbs3 and dropped to 5 something and I never heard of read this anywhere. We did actually co sleep so we could all get some rest but I’m curious.

Ds2 had a dummy from about 1week old. He was fully breastfed until 16months old. He liked to suck constantly. He spit it out when he was hungry, but I also just keep a feeding routine and an eye on his weight gain.
We ditched the dummy at 10months old before he could talk or had teeth.
If it works, it works. However be brave ditching the dummy at an early age before it becomes a problem.

I think Fab is talking about the 4th trimester - babies this age generally hate to be put down and left alone because they still think they're part of mum and want to be touching her at all times.

This is all very well, but small babies aren't supposed to co-sleep so please don't make OP feel she has to hold him all the time.

@Nat888 I've been in a similar situation. I didn't give the dummy because I was BF and worried about supply/ nipple confusion. I gave in at about 5 weeks and then of course she wouldn't take it! If I were FF I'd definitely give it. Tbh, I think I might next time even if I BF again. (I met my midwife socially with her tiny baby when DD was about 5 months and she told me she'd given him a dummy from the start!) You need sleep, and if giving baby a dummy helps a bit with that, go for it. Having a dummy is even slightly protective against SIDS, so that's another plus.

You can always keep an eye on his milk intake and if you think he's not getting enough then stop with the dummy, as you say you're worried about growth.

Thanks so much for this. That's exactly the issue - I've been told numerous times to not co sleep with him. The alternative is to what literally hold him 24 hours a day. He does seem to spit it out after q few minutes but it does seem to help settle him down in his crib. I keep a log of his feeds and he seems to still wake well for them.

Thanks for commenting- you have made me feel a lot better

If a baby is hungry a dummy won’t placate for more than a few minutes and besides if you’re bottle feeding you’ll know exactly how much he’s taking and when so it’s not something to worry about. Babies that age are often funny about being put down and it’s very normal but if the dummy helps even a little bit then I wouldn’t hesitate to use one- sucking can be very comforting and there some studies that show it might reduce the sids risk too. No brainer IMO.

@Nat888 I'm glad it was helpful. It is particularly difficult with a small baby that you can't co-sleep with. (There were times when I would have happily punched anyone who said anything about co-sleeping!) It's often presented as a magical solution and I felt like it was this perfect option that I just couldn't do.

Obviously things may be different for you, but I will say that DD is now (at 18 months) a very good sleeper, and has been pretty good since four or five months. (We did do some sleep training at about 9 months, though that was more to get her going to sleep in her cot than to stop her waking in the night). We've never had a sleep regression either. I do wonder whether because she had to go in her Moses basket early on that did help her in the long run to sleep better.

My ds born at 33 weeks was given a dummy in the nicu to encourage his suck so I can’t see how giving a dummy would make feeding worse.

One of my grandchildren was born 31+6, he was in NICU and given a dummy. His mum expressed to feed him and after discharge he was breast fed for about a year.

Thank you all so much for your comments. Health visitor came today and he's now 6lb 3oz so super happy with his weight gain! She said to me there is nothing wrong with a dummy and his weight gain and feeding both seem well so if he wants it, give it to him. She said it may even help his suck ( as you mentioned Hm2020) Appreciate all your comments and experiences - they make me feel like a better parent