How soon did you give a dummy?

[Twinkletwinklelil]

Can we give a dummy from birth?
I want to combi feed but don’t want to be the babies dummy like I was with my last!

I did from day 3 and BF was fine. He only had it for night time and naps and I just took it away when he was two. Tried with the next one and she wasn’t interested- sucked her thumb instead and that was much harder to stop.

Never. Don't make a Rod for your own back.

Never. There’s no need to create bad habits

At 2 weeks, EBF fine.

I had a dummy as a baby, no issues. My sister they had all the scaremongering about affect on speech and teeth. She sucked her thumb and was still sucking it at 12. Needed extensive dental and jaw work to correct the damage. Children number 3 and 4 given dummy no problem. Only one that ever needed braces and all sorts doing was the one that didn't have a dummy.

Why would anyone deliberately start this bad habit? Dummies are revolting things.

DS was about two weeks old. A friend's son had one from birth and had no problem combi feeding.

Ignore all the posters saying don't use one that's not what you asked and the comments are unnecessary.

I waited 6 weeks to avoid nipple confusion. We took it away with no issues at around 9 months.

OP asked when we gave dummies. I (like other posters) was simply being honest and answered as never. Apologies if that somehow offends you.

Dental issues aside they’re just not necessary, no idea why you’d want to needlessly start a habit that is often difficult and upsetting for DC to break.

Early on. My sister died of SIDs and there’s evidence that dummy use reduces the risk. With my twins being premature they were already at an increased risk.

dd1 - refused dummy but had very wonky l teeth and a misaligned jaw. Orthodontist sorted and at 16 they’re now perfect.

dd2 - had a dummy for 6 months but moved to fingers (hard habit to break and at 13 they occasionally slip into her mouth). Teeth marginally stick out but only noticeable when compared to her identical twin.

dd3 - loved her dummy and used it for sleep and comfort when ill or injured until just after she was 2. Teeth are perfectly straight.

All dc were breast fed but twins were mix fed from birth. Never got confused.

They reduce the risk of babies dying but sure. Weird thing to be against imo.

She asked how soon people gave a dummy not for pros and cons and for posters to come and say they didn't it's a disgusting habit, unnecessary and a rod for her own back.

If you didn't use one that's good for you but why come on a thread asking when you introduced a dummy and make unkind comments.

Many children give up the dummy with no fuss and as a PP said some suck their thumb instead which can't be taken away or like my friend some children are given them in the NICU and it's not so much a choice but a necessity.

It just seems so unnecessary to come on and make comments that were not asked for.

From about 2 weeks old. Didn’t affect BF. We had a rule that dummies are only for when you’re sitting or lying still - as soon as the kids were crawling or walking it came out. Which meant by 18 months it was nap and bedtime only as they were always on the move! Dummy fairy at 2.5 and both have excellent clear speech and no teeth issues.

I wasn’t a fan pre kids but both of my children were very ‘sucky’ and as someone who sucked her thumb into her teens I wanted to avoid them being tempted into thumb sucking.

My DD had one from pretty much day one, she was FF

She’s 15 now and has it just for bedtime, she also has teeth growing out of her ears 🙄

She gave it up at 1 no problems and has perfectly straight teeth without braces

Day 5 with first. All good. No problems.

Waited 2 weeks with second and it was too late. She refused and became a thumb sucker. Really regret waiting.

you can get rid of a dummy but not a thumb. Age 12 and she still sucks her thumb .

With dd, she got it about 2-3 weeks. She was whingy and wouldn’t settle so we tried a dummy and she took to it like duck to water.

With ds we tried from birth but he wouldn’t take it. He ended up sucking on a blanket. Wish he had taken a dummy

How about you tell that to the nurses and doctors in NICU? Silly comment.

My DS had a dummy from 2/3 days old but for different reasons. Inside of an incubator and wasn’t allowed be held (wasn’t premature but due to his issues he couldn’t be touched) and a dummy was the only comfort he could have. In fact, all of the babies had a dummy for various different reasons.

Got rid of the dummy very easily when he was 1.5 years old. One day I just stopped giving it and it was fine!

I didn't. They're awful things.

From birth! But I FF and also having an older thumb sucker I was eager to discourage that. Dummies are amazing. They’re great for soothing, they help with sleep, can ease reflux symptoms, reduce the risk of sids and unlike a thumb can be kept only for sleep then easily be taken away by age 3 so there shouldn’t be any lasting impact from its use.

From birth :) only given for bedtime/naps. Really helped soothe during teething too

Never gave a dummy. DC were thumb suckers (as I was myself). Much prefer thumb sucking as children can self-soothe at night and they never get lost. My dentist assured me that thumb sucking does not damage teeth and my DC have great teeth and never needed braces (nor have I). DC decided to stop sucking their thumbs at about 10 or 11 (although they had stopped doing it in public some time before that from choice). My newest GC is a thumb sucker and I am delighted.

Six weeks and never took it off her, she grew out of it at four.
I sucked my thumb far longer.

I didn't, they cause dental problems and it's yet another thing to keep clean. Never heard of health benefits in a term baby (in nicu it's different)

DD1 didn't take to one. DD2 I gave at around six weeks as I got a breast abscess and couldn't have her comfort suckling as it was painful. She's 2 now and has it overnight but another few months and the dummy fairy will visit. Teeth are fine, would much rather a dummy than a thumb sucker personally. A couple of DD1's peers still suck their thumbs sometimes at 5 and you can't control timing and access to thumbs!

I was sceptical but now I am very glad we introduced one as DD2 has been an absolute breeze at night from the day she learned to put her dummy back in! Can count on one hand the number of times she's woken me in night since then.

Dummies reduce the risk of SIDS so can be very helpful, I think they can be used from birth.

My two never took to them though, spat them out whenever we tried.

Breastfeeding also prevents sids. Sorry about your sister x