Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Dummies for baby - yay or nay?

38 replies

Didsomeonesaybunny · 25/08/2018 22:13

A few of my friends have suggested I invest in a few dummies as they are a great comfort to a baby, I don’t like idea of a dummy, but also don’t want to encourage thumb sucking by not giving the baby a dummy. I’m probably being an over-zealous overthinking mum-to-be but I just wondered what the general concensus is? Thanks

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

NapQueen · 25/08/2018 22:14

Just get one just incase. They are effective in SIDS prevention if nothing else. But generally the baby decides if they want a dummy or not.

SpottingTheZebras · 25/08/2018 22:15

I’d wait to see when the baby arrives. Premature and refluxy babies in particular really benefit from them, but many other babies find great comfort from there whereas others aren’t bothered. Have an open mind and see what works for both of you.

excitedbutconfused · 25/08/2018 22:17

Not having a dummy isn't going to encourage thumb sucking. I didn't buy any as I didn't want to go down that route BUT after a few days it was clear it was either my boob 24/7 or a dummy - so we went with it. I know others who are completely anti - but each to their own. Its what ever works for you that matters

YouBoggleMyMind · 25/08/2018 22:19

We had given our DS a dummy for comfort but he was extremely poorly in hospital when he was 3 weeks old and we were asked if we'd give him one to promote suckling and swallowing as he didn't bottle feed for weeks. I also have friends who found it a god send when they didn't want their baby just suckling on their nipple for comfort and not for food. As a PP said, it also has SIDS benefits too. My DS is 8 months and has a dummy for nap/bed but he only keeps it in a short while and sleeps happily without it and if he doesn't have it for whatever reason, he'll still settle himself.

optimusprimesmother · 25/08/2018 22:20

NAY!!! It’s so hard to take it off them when they are older! Dd3 is 20 months and I’m STILL crawling about the floor at 4am with my phone light trying to find it 😭😭

Don’t do it

Flipflop789 · 25/08/2018 22:21

Hated the idea myself... but a couple of days of being used as a dummy constantly with breastfeeding i gave in. Worked well for us, only had one while sleeping, not all day long, gave it up easy enough before turning 2. 2nd baby wouldnt entertain one at all and made it a bit harder to settle unless being fed but was fine. Maybe have one in just in case, no harm if its never needed! X

BlueBug45 · 25/08/2018 22:23

Some babies take to dummies, while others don't. By one pack and see if your baby likes them.

Oh and thumb, or in one of my nephews' cases finger sucking, wasn't linked to not having a dummy. He had one and just preferred his fingers to it.

FrozenMargarita17 · 25/08/2018 22:23

Glow in the dark dummies are the one OP 👍🏻

Original poster

Didsomeonesaybunny · 25/08/2018 22:24

Thank you for the insights - many of my friends said they w/o a dummy their babies would have been attached to their boobs 24/7 so I can most certainly see the benefit. I didn’t know about the SIDS benefit so that alone would probably sway me.

I like the idea of maybe just giving it to the baby when he/she sleeps. I’ll purchase some and I’ll see how it goes.

OP posts:

Original poster

Didsomeonesaybunny · 25/08/2018 22:25

@frozen - now they sound cool. My little raver baby haha!

OP posts:

MrsPandaBear · 25/08/2018 22:28

DS got one at about 6 weeks when I got breastfeeding thrush and couldn't cope with attached beyond the minimum. It was great at helping him to nap. I was always strict at only giving it for sleep, and when it stopped working to get him back to sleep in the middle of night at about 9 months we weaned him off it and onto a comforter instead.

Dd was awful, I couldn't put her down. I desperately tried a dummy repeatedly but she spat them out every time.

If I had another I'd like to think I'd try and cope without but reality is that if you have a velcro baby and a dummy works it is such a relief....

LusaCole · 25/08/2018 22:28

In my experience most babies do suck either a dummy or their thumb.

DC1 had one until he was 16 months. It was a godsend for getting him to sleep in the early days, and then he gave it up on his own without any input from us and never sucked his thumb.

DC1 refused a dummy but became a thumb sucker instead. Finally got her to stop when she was 10 years old!

DC3 was addicted to his dummies until he was 3 and we had a visit from the dummy fairy. It wasn't as difficult as I'd expected.

Maryann1975 · 25/08/2018 22:29

I work in childcare and have found a lot of babies who have dummies are easier to settle and get to sleep than those who don’t. (I’m still trying to establish if this is due to having the dummy or because those that don’t have a dummy are used to being breastfed to sleep and are missing that).

My own dc didn’t have them but one wasn’t very sucky, one I breastfed a lot (but he wouldn’t take a dummy) and one was a thumb sucker.

I’ve not had a problem getting children to give up their dummies, although I know that even once the children don’t have them with me during the day, they still have them a lot during the weekends/evenings at home, but this is up to the parents. I prefer them not to have them all the time as they do hinder speech development which is why I work hard to get the child to give them up during the day and only have them at nap or quiet times. It works quite well I’ve found.

Sandstormbrewing · 25/08/2018 22:30

My baby hated a dummy, (or a bottle for matter) and so was attached to my boob 24/7. I'd have loved for him to have taken a dummy, though they can be a pain to remove when they are older.

bambootwentytwo · 25/08/2018 22:30

Hated the idea of them for my first but she was really refluxy and it was the only way to settle her.
Have to say there were lots of benefits-when she got to a fe me months old I could ‘control’ naps much more easily. She rarely had it at non sleeping times unless she was upset and I couldn’t easily comfort her-e.g when I was driving or something.

My second could have probably managed without but he had one occasionally for sleeping or comfort.

Both gave them up easily-dd at 2 and ds at 18 months.

Ploppymoodypants · 25/08/2018 22:31

Ah but research the dummy advice around SIDS. Dummies do NOT reduce the risk of SIDS.
However research has shown an increase in SiDS in babies who usually had a dummy, but on the devastating occasion of the SiD they didn’t have their dummy.
So if you do use a dummy, you need to use it all the time for every nap, not just nighttime, and trust that all people caring for your baby will as well. Or otherwise that increases the risk of SIDS.
It is thought that the sucking motion helps them regulate their breathing and thus without the dummy they can struggle.
Obviously it’s theory based on common factors in babies who have sadly died of SIDS.
So a dummy alone won’t reduce the risk, just that if you use one, doing so for every nap does. This was advice given to me by the Lullaby Trust.
For me it was one for thing to have to worry about packing, cleaning, sterilising etc. So I never offered it.

Sandstormbrewing · 25/08/2018 22:31

DS doesn't suck his thumb though.

Starlighter · 25/08/2018 22:32

Depends on the baby. My first wasn’t fussed and they all went in the bin after a few months, but my second really needed one and refused to settle without one. The dummy fairy took them when he was 2. No problems at all.

lifechangesforever · 25/08/2018 22:33

As a first time mother of a 5 week old - GET THE DUMMIES.

DD is good with hers, she only takes it when she really wants it but we'd be lost without them. So soothing, especially when she had colic.

I've never been of the opinion to avoid dummies though

BigBlueBubble · 25/08/2018 22:33

My baby has never had a dummy. I EBF and didn’t want to cause nipple confusion or early weaning. Plus the dentist frightened me by saying he treats loads of kids with misaligned teeth and mouth deformities caused by constantly sucking a dummy. And I’ve heard about how dummy use dełays speech too. It’s never been a problem - baby usually feeds to sleep anyway.

SpottingTheZebras · 25/08/2018 22:34

From the Lullaby Trust regarding dummy use and SIDS - www.lullabytrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/fact-sheet-dummies-2016.pdf

RoboJesus · 25/08/2018 22:37

Mine had one for medical reasons for a few months but didn't really like it and often refused it. If they didn't need it they would have been happy without.

Original poster

Didsomeonesaybunny · 25/08/2018 22:39

I think the overwhelming consensus is to get some and see what the baby wants. I’m going to try and BF so would rather a dummy being a sleeping aid than my boob which will likely be sore.

@ploppy thanks for your post I didn’t know that, I’m going to read up on it now as that’s really interesting.

Sorry if this is a ridiculous question but how do I effectively sterilise a dummy, using a steriliser machine type thing? Is it the same contraption I’d use if I were sterilising bottles?

OP posts:

Original poster

Didsomeonesaybunny · 25/08/2018 22:41

Thanks @spotting I’ll take a read of this now

OP posts:

lifechangesforever · 25/08/2018 22:42

I bottle feed so they just go in the steriliser with the bottles, however, it tells you on the back of most dummy packets about how to sterilise in boiling water if you don't have a machine.

Flip

1 2