Using a dummy at night = world of pain later??

[NoSleepTillWeaning]

My 4mo DS's particular thing is to wake for a feed and then not go back to sleep for hours - can be 2 hours. Never really upset - just awake. Everyover time (naps, bed time) he goes to sleep on his own just fine.

I've been using a dummy to settle him when the boob doesn't and it's been fab - I can go back to sleep knowing he will drop off. He can suck his thumb, and does sometimes at nap time but can't seem to get it to work during the night. He also doesn't like swaddling.

Anyway, when discussing his generally crap nights with the HV she was very against using the dummy. Is it really that bad to get them off it later? I was kind of assuming that since I only use it for night feeds that when he eventually stops waking (ha ha ) we'll stop the dummy.

Anyone got any reassuring experiences? (no words of doom please).

Yes. We used one for DS for a while. It did really help him to get back to sleep. He tended to spit it out himself while asleep, and we also found that after only a few weeks he didn't seem to need it any more. This was also my sister's experience: all her DCs stopped using one of their own accord.

We had one HV be rather sniffy but our usual one was very relaxed about it. She pointed out that using a dummy really doesn't have to mean they'll turn into those kids marching around with it in when they're three, or something. It can just get you over a difficult period.

Best to restrict the dummy to nights as far as possible, though.

I was worried my DD (19 weeks) was getting dummy dependent and started removing it after she fell asleep so she wouldn't get too used to sleeping with it in her mouth. Now, she appears to be self-weaning - which is good in some ways (no more overnight replugging) and not so good in others (it's a very useful soother!!!)

Don't know why your HV was so against - dummies are thought to offer some protection against SIDS. Yes, weaning can be a bummer, but there are various ways of doing it. Replugging is the biggest drawback of dummies if you ask me, so if that's not a problem for you, I wouldn't worry about it and keep on using the dummy...

FWIW

Weird that your HV was so sniffy about it.

DS has had a dummy for nighttime and naps only since he was a baby. I was very anti-dummy before he was born but it seemed the only way to get him to sleep.

He's 2.7 now and overall, the dummy has been a positive thing. When only used at night, it's a clear signal that it's time for sleep. We have had to get up in the night to find it for him but to be honest, it's an easy win - he cries in the night, you go in, pop the dummy back in, he goes back to sleep. Job done. He knows that he doesn't have it during the day and usually hands it over, or puts it away himself when he wakes up.

We'll probably do the dummy fairy thing when he's a bit older but for now, I'm fine with him stil having it. He fell down the stairs and fractured his leg on Friday so it was really useful to be able to give him the dummy immediately afterwards and for him to have it at A&E as an additional source of comfort. He handed it back once the painkillers had kicked in!

I was anti-dummy until my daughter got to 12 weeks and I couldnt stand being used as a human dummy any longer, OK when you are at home but not so good when you are out and about!
I do restrict the use of the dummy to times when nothing else will calm her crying and she doesnt always need it to go to sleep at night. If she does use it to get to sleep then I make sure it gets removed when she is sleeping and dont let her lie sucking it all night.
As long as you arent shoving a dummy in your childs mouth at the first sign of any whimper, I dont see the problem.

thanks everyone for the reassurance.

Dummy is fine I think. Just keep it for sleep times only. And you can get a Sleepytot baby comforter later if replugging the dummy at night becomes a problem. Helps with weaning them off later as well.

HVs are so contradictory! My HV advised me to use a dummy!

Now that rabbit looks like a pretty good invention - wonder if they actually work.

Worked for us! Just reommended it in another thread actually. I could do with some commission! lol!

It worked brilliantly for us. Never had to do the thing where you keep replacing it, DD fell asleep with it but would often spit it out once she was asleep. She self-weaned at about 8 months, no problems whatsoever. If I have another, I will definitely do the same again if they seem to need it.

Turns out my question was irrelevant as he's now refusing the dummy . So back to taking 2 hours to go back to sleep, yawn.

FWIW - studies have shown that using a dummy with newborn babies can reduce the risk of SIDS.
We use them with our twins on and off throughout the day - it buys me a few extra minutes when they're both upset.
I do intend to restrict their use after 8 months when the risk of SIDS reduces significantly.

Heh, Sleepytot bunny was great for us, except that occasionally DD found she'd put the dummy in and end up with a bunny on her face, eyeballing her! She'd then scream desperately, or keep pulling the bunny away, so pulling the dummy out, then put it in again with the same problem!

We just use a dummy clip now.