What is your opinion on dummies?

[sharond101]

OH thinks we should get some in for the baby coming. I think they are a last resort and don't want baby to be dependant on them. What is the consensus?

When i was pregnant with my first i was adamant i'd not let him have a dummy.... Shortly after he was born, we used a dummy!! It was a mixture of relief and a nuisance, it was good at times to settle him but as it kept falling out of his mouth we were up and down like blue arsed flies cnstantly returning the dummy to his mouth! We'd hear that clang of it hitting the floor and we both looked at each other with dread lol.

We got rid of it fairly easy, one christmas when we thought he was old enough to be without one, we explained to him that if he put his dummy on the christmas tree santa would take it to another little boy or girl who needed it, because he was big enough now to not have one and santa would leave presents under the tree for him. Worked a treat.

DD and DS both suck their thumbs and have been told off by the dentist as their teeth are starting to protrude. Getting then to stop is a nightmare which has yet proved unsuccessful even though they know they shouldn't.
So I have bought dummies for DC3 in preparation to prevent thumb sucking!

My 5yo still takes her Teddy to bed with her every night. Won't sleep without him. Has had him as long as she can remember

I wouldn't DREAM of making her ditch him

IMO an older child having a dummy for bed time is no different. It's a comfort/security object. Familiarity etc

Lifesavers! Work well when used with cynicism and awareness. Have a calm Buddha like baby who used them to calm down/ sleep only. Would glom on and when done, would spit the dummy out at me! I guess it's the whole overuse/abuse...pay the price later principle. Used carefully they calm babies and soothe toddlers. And don't damage teeth.
I was so against the idea of dummy (NHS speak brainwashing) and bought 2 for the hospital just to stop mum from nagging....and it was the best advice ever, worked like a charm!
Good luck with your baby! .

FWIW I always said that my child wouldn't have a dummy

DS had one at about 6 months - only for naps and sleeping but it helped him settle.

It went when he was about 2.5 years.

we had a hammock, so they never lost their dummys. i can see that would have been a pain. by the time they were transferred into cots they could have a crawl around and find one.

Mine used to have them scattered across the cot in order to maximise the chances of finding one in the middle of the night (not that I'm lazy or anything...)

Glow in the dark ones were handy too

I hate these comments that they are used to 'shut a child up'. Only insofar as cuddles/ bf/ rocking are also used to shut a child up, aka giving a child comfort.

OP, there is no right or wrong answer to this one. I have one birth child who was never interested in having a dummy (was only interested in being soothed by bf - own set of problems) and an adopted child who came to us a dummy addict and is steadfastly refusing to give them up (another set of problems). Personally, I would have one or two on standby. In these early hours of the night, when you would hack off three of your own fingers if it would get your baby back to sleep, you may be very glad you did

With DS 1, he was taken to the Special Care Unit for a couple days straight after birth, I didn't see him for 2 days. I hadn't planned on using a dummy with him but the nurses there gave him a bottle teet to suck on like a dummy and as I couldn't be there to comfort him I sent out for proper dummies, he had them up until he was around 3, we tried to take it away before that but it just didn't work and then one day he just decided he didn't want them anymore. I am now pregnant with DC2, again I hope not to use them but I will have them on hand just in case.
I think it is entirely up to you, like everything else there are advantages and disadvantages but you just do what you think is best at that time.

A lifesaver.

But then DS was a very sucky baby. I was adamant he wouldn't have one. 4am on his first night at home, he got one. And was quiet. Then slept. I was a convert!

Took it away at 15 months (from about 10 he only had it for naps) with no problem. Never asked for it or stole another child's, totally uninterested in them.

Meant to say, we only had one as it was in a box of free things we were given. No harm in having one at home just in case.

Never used them with ds, was hard at first as I would constantly have to settle him but so worth it. Im going to do the same this time round aswell :) but its a personal choice.

In my experience, most people who don't like dummies either haven't had kids yet, or had them a long long time ago.

Most people who actually have babies bloody love 'em!

Out of my 4, Ds1 had one and gave it up on his own accord at 11 months, Ds2 had one briefly but ditched it before 3 months, DTS would never take one - not for want of me trying - and DTD loves hers at 7 months.

I think they're great, esp for twins or big families when you can't always be there to comfort them, however much you want to be.

In your position I'd get one to have at home, and see how it goes x

brilliant products.

I hated them pre-DS, and swore he'd never have one. Ha ha ha... DH still mocks me for this!

We tried several brands before DS agreed to use the MAM ones, and he used them from about 8-10 weeks until 2 weeks ago (so 2.4 years). Only used them for sleep after the first few months, but they were an absolute godsend, and we will be trying them again for DC2 when she's old enough!

So maybe don't get them to start with, but once you are ready to rip your own ears off with exhaustion, it is worth trying one. and if that doesn't work, try a different brand. do this until you have exhausted all brands available :o

my friend could only get her DD to take one by putting a dot of infacol on it first, but she swore by them too in the early months!

Pros of Dummies;
They do help to soothe if baby will take one.

They can be helpful as a comforter when someone else is looking after the baby.

Can be useful for a quick comforter when you can't do much else, in the car or in DC's school play for example.

My DC have all made a really cute 'mmmm' noise when the are tired and settle down with a dummy for a cuddle.

Cons of Dummies;
They are easily over used.

They are a pain if DC has a blocked nose, and can cause a slobber rash when teething.

Annoying if lost at night, I dread the clatter of a dummy falling through the cot bars.

Can be a problem to quit, although DD had one unsettled night then wasn't bothered, and DS1 decided for himself he didn't need his anymore.

You will get some people calling it a dodie.

Some people think you are mad not to use them others get sniffy if you do use them.

As someone who thumbsucked until 19 and pregnant with DC1 I would rather have had a dummy as a baby.

I think their a god send..they settled DS1 one amazingly, it calmed him down when he was upset, I took him off it 1 month before his 2nd birthday, went tee total and he's never asked for it or wanted it . Was brilliant to get him off them, I'm certainly stocking up for DS2 :)

DS didn't have one...but DD has one now at the age of 2 for naps, bedtimes and times of whinginess/illness. We encourage her to take it out if she is awake and happy. DC3 due any day so I am in no rush to get rid of DDs dummy for now...in the grand scheme of life it doesn't matter if she still has a dummy at 2 and it doesn't bother me what others think!

I have no intention of giving baby a dummy. But I'm a completely naive first time mum who hasn't even got the baby out of her womb yet, so who knows? I might end up posting on a similar thread next year with an answer more like those above.

From stuff I've read on breastfeeding it's best to hold off giving dummies until breastfeeding is established so that you don't miss opportunities to feed little and often while you are building up your supply. Apparently providing a dummy might mean you miss early feeding cues and comfort sucking on the breast can help up your milk supply.

So I think we'd hold off using them in the early days even if we later decide that it's the best way for our particular baby to settle.

I'm sold. At 9 weeks pregnant. Count me in.

I only had the vaguest idea that people thought dummies were 'bad', and even less idea what they were essentially for. Until last night, when I realised 3-wk old DS had gotten used to sucking around the clock due to his 10-day growth spurt the week before, and that his total inability to sleep was not in fact due to hunger but down to habit. And that I was perilously close to losing my mind and destroying my nipples. Bang in went the MAM dummy that came with the starter pack box, and instant sleep. Bloody lifesaver, I swear.

My niece is now 15 and had a dummy when she was younger and im sure it effected her speech slightly ie shape of the palate. I will give my baby a dummy but has to an orthodontic one only (im sure the ones nowadays are designed well?)

As the mother of a thumb sucker (DC3), DC4 is definitely having a dummy.

DC1 had a dummy, gone by 18 months old.
DC2 just didnt need one
DC3 Needed one but I refused to give in as I was so smug about DC2 , found his thumb and still sucks it 2.2 years later

This time I WILL NOT be smug. If DC4 needs one-DC4 will have one.

Hate them. The sight of them makes me cringe. I am apparently a lone voice, though.....

If my three ever needed settling, I breastfed them briefly, and that seemed to do the trick. DD1 sucked her fingers until she was about 18mo, then that fizzled out.

DS has recently ditched his (he's 4.4).
I was very anti-dummy when pregnant but got one free in some Bounty pack or something. Anyway, when he was 4 weeks old, at 2am, after hours of feeding/rocking/patting/feeding/rocking/patting, we despaired, used the dummy and DS slept.

He only ever had it for sleep, even as a tiny baby. We did have some nights when he'd lose it and cry out but you go in, replace dummy and he'd go back to sleep. It was really useful as a sleep cue when he was a baby. He knew once he got his dummy, it was time for sleep. And he napped until he was about 3, which I think is partly due to the dummy.

He went to the dentist recently, and the dentist said that the dummy had done no harm to his teeth so far but may do if he continued to use it. So, the dummy fairy came, took the dummy, left some new books and DS was absolutely fine. He asked for it once the following night and I said we didn't have it anymore and he was fine with that.

I'd do exactly the same again for any future children, no regrets at all!

On the other hand, my teeth are totally fucked from 11 years of thumb sucking...wish I'd had a dummy.