Dummies yay or nay - pros and cons

[Lanzy]

Dummies yay or nay?

My little one is nearly a month old, we haven’t used dummy until last night at 4am when she wouldn’t settle even after feed, change, rocking. We have avoided but just thinking what are the pros and cons of them? And do you just use when needed? The one thing I worried is she is often sick when on back at times and with dummy in would be worried it would be choking hazzard

Had seen some find it difficult to get their little ones off💜🥰

Pros
they helpnmany babies sleep and soothe them
they avoid thumb sucking developing

cons
you have to be a grown up and take the dummy away during non sleep times from about 6 months and before they are about 18 months old completely.
all three of mine had them, we took them away with no issues, none suck their thumbs, teeth and speech great

No, I would never use them. They mask breastfeeding cues for a start and they’re not good for their oral development.

It’s basically a “shut me up so mummy doesn’t have to comfort me” device.

No.

Would defo use again if I had another one. Took my daughters away at 2.5 but was quite strict about her only having at night from around 2. Never had any problems her teeth and speech are perfect. My son wouldn't take one and I was devastated. He screamed all the time instead 🙈

Lol all three of mine were ebf and also had dummies 😂

really helped with the reflux that one of them had too.

you will basically get those who found them useful saying yes and those who didn’t want to saying no

They reduce the risk of SIDS according to the lullaby trust. My DD is 14 months and has one just for sleeping. She was in NICU where they were recommended. It's your baby, it's your choice.

I personally never used a dummy with either of my 2. They are 5 years apart and both breastfed. I admit that at times I seemed to be feeding them all day and that I always had to feed them to sleep (unless they were in the pram or the car) too. My sisters kids are 2 years apart and she's never used a dummy either though.

My mum advised me against dummies saying that she'd never used them with us and she thought theyd interfere with language development, so I just went along with her advice. My MIL thought I was mad for NOT using a dummy though.

I just couldn't be bothered with the faff of getting rid of them at the end.

If you can carry on without them, I'd recommend doing that.

What a simply vile thing to say.

Mine had a dummy from day one. It was given to him by nurses in the NICU to help soothe while I was unable to be there. Or in your opinion, couldn't be bothered to comfort him.

I used a dummy with my first because he wouldn't sleep without one. Didn't use one for my second because she slept fine and was never bothered. Honestly neither option was a big deal in any way. Both children breastfed just fine. Neither child sucked their thumb or had bad teeth or speech problems. I took the dummy away from my son at around 18 months and he got over it the next day. I honestly wouldn't over think it. It's one of those things some people feel strongly about but in reality I don't think it makes any long term difference so just do whatever makes your life easier and then whenever it feels right to do something different, do that instead.

Absolute rubbish. My DC all had dummies longer than they should’ve (from birth and way beyond nursery) - all had straight teeth, all academic high flyers and articulate chatty children. I breast fed and co-slept when they were tiny. They loved the dummies and were comforted by them - as well as us!

The only down side is the judgey pretentious snobs who make dumb sweeping generalisations about them.

Before I had kids I thought no way as had grown up being told they were 'common' (I know!)

Afterwards I breastfed (one combined one exclusively) but used dummies a little bit early on when I saw the comfort they fit from sucking a pinkie and that was less restrictive and more hygienic! For some reason both my DC gave up after a few months of their own accord. Whatever works for you. Ignore any judgements about such minutiae of parenting. So long as a baby is fed, cared for and loved then whatever works for you is best.

What an ignorant thing to say. I would go into why but actually you can’t argue with stupid.

@ClubhouseGift you’r wrong.

@Lanzy they can reduce SIDS and help babies with reflux as the saliva production helps reduce acid.
they save your boobs if you have a baby that wants to latch all day but not necessarily feed

cons:
hard to wean off if it’s the ultimate comfort
can impact speech and teeth if child has it all day.
Avoid the cherry ones and get an orthodontic one like the tommy tippee ones to help reduce those chances.
most of us that used dummies tend to keep them for sleep time or if really upset.

at Christmas i told my son that Santa took the dummy away. By day 2 he was fine!

Used them with both mine. Friends of mine who didn't use them ended up with thumb suckers, at least you can take the dummy away!

@ClubhouseGift You’re right - we should all stop in the car on the motorway or when walking our babies in the pram to a destination to constantly lift them out and cuddle them. Babies cry - when you physically can’t offer comfort, a dummy is a great soothing method.

And what about when they’re crying inconsolably despite being comforted in our arms? What a silly response.

Babies have a natural sucking reflex to calm them, OP. When my baby was 7 weeks old I made the decision to offer a dummy. Breastfeeding was well established and up until then, I had been the dummy and my mental health was on the floor; I even ended up on medication.

Pros:

• Baby can be soothed quickly
• It massively helps to develop their pincer grip and finger dexterity - my baby had an excellent pincer grip at 4 months, which is 4 months ahead of when it’s supposed to develop
• You only have to offer it for nap times or sleeping at night if you prefer - dummies don’t have to be a constant plug!
• Stops thumb sucking which is what really causes dental issues, and thumb sucking can continue much much later into life (even adulthood)
• Can be a very quick settling method once baby is a bit older and wakes at night

Cons:

• It’s quite a while until your baby can put their own dummy in at night, so you’ll have to pop it back in for them
• You’ll have to get rid of it at some point - either with lots of crying and a few bad nights (when younger) or wait until they understand the concept of a dummy fairy (toddler)

Hope that helps.

My SIL was very vocal about not giving her kids dummies..... unfortunately her 14 DD still sucks her thumb to sleep.....

You sound lovely

Our daughter has one still (17 months). We've only ever used it for naps and bedtimes, and on occasions in the car. Works brilliantly as a sleep cue, she can self settle really well with it. No issues with teeth or speech - she already says over 100 words and is really chatty. We are planning to continue using it for sleep until she's old enough to understand the concept of giving it up. Its actually in her mouth for very little time overnight - she puts it in to settle, then it falls out once she's asleep, and she replaces it a few times during the night as needed.

Cons - it's a pain when they can't put it back in themselves and they are in their own room but this doesn't last long. Think she was able to do that from around 7 months. Also that we will have to get rid of it at some point and the uncertainty of how that will go.

Personally, it's worked well for us and meant she learned to self settle and sleep through far earlier than a lot of other babies I know.

Never used them as I didn’t want them to be dependent on a dummy. However all my dgc are allowed them, not my place to be critical

Definitely no

I sucked my thumb. Never caused any issues

Pro - reduce SIDS risk and are a nice easy way to settle your baby especially when they just want comfort and not really a feed. Never had a problem with them causing issues with my dc teeth and don’t know anyone else who has had problems with this in real life!

Con - when they’re still young and wake up in the night and can’t put it back in they’ll start crying and it’s a bloody nightmare having to get up and put it back in every hour or so all night!
This is only a problem before they can put it back themselves and it’s good when they’re a bit older to help them stay in bed at night.

another con is unless you wait until they’re old enough to understand about the dummy fairy it’s a bloody nightmare to get rid of them and you will have a couple of upset nights when they have to go cold turkey!

@ClubhouseGift It’s basically a “shut me up so mummy doesn’t have to comfort me” device.

Genuinely, why be a dick in a perfectly civil discussion?

Pros- help babies self settle and self sooth.
From mine learned to put it back in their mouth at about 6 months it helped sleep massively.
It was also a great sleep aid for naps to help them wind down for a pram nap or something.
Stops thumb sucking.

Cons-
You have to remove them at some point.
Can damage teeth and stunt language if it’s in their mouth all day but thumb sucking is worse for this so on balance it’s not really a con for a dummy.

Mine had dummy’s for sleep and I’ve nothing bad to say about them.
It was not a ‘shut up anything’, it didn’t have any negative effect on breastfeeding and if anything meant DD could easily take a bottle whenever needed.

Forgot to add, dummies literally reduce the SIDS risk.
No idea why people gloss over that when being so against them!

So sucking a thumb is fine but a dummy is “absolutely no”.
Logic.