Soother success stories: share your positive experiences and tips

[LibbyMumsnet]

We all know that parenting comes with its fair share of challenges and triumphs. Today, we’d love to hear your experiences with soothers – those small yet mighty comforters that can sometimes work wonders.

Whether it’s calming a fussy baby, helping with sleep, or providing comfort during teething, soothers have been a go-to for many parents. We’re keen to hear your positive stories and any tips you might have for using them.

• Post in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice

Here’s what MAM has to say:
“We’re MAM, and we love babies! We’re the world’s leading manufacturer of premium baby products because we believe they deserve only the best quality. That’s why we’ve been developing extra-safe baby products for over 45 years. For peace of mind and a happy baby, MAM is a business you can trust.”

Looking forward to hearing your stories and advice!

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ
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We kept soothers to bedtime and nap time unless DD was really upset so their use didn't impact on her speech development. She would only accept the old school cherry teats!

My success story was using one when they were tired, or ill, but not during the day, as it was not necessary. We had lots of spares, and when they were 3, they went in the bin. (their choice not ours)

Before having my DC's i felt I would not offer soothers/dummies - but after trying to soothe a crying baby who was not tired, hungry, ill or uncomfortable, my DSIL suggested - why don't you try one ? I did and it really helped settle - i did my research and because they have a jaw-friendly teat and are developed with medical experts- I bought the 0-2 months - it helped SOOO much I can't tell you - I was not as stressed, baby was more content, and I know things sometimes don't go as planned , but sometimes we have to change our expectations.

A soother really helped calm my DS2 who was an air gulper when crying - and got into a state of inconsolability and vomiting at a very young age - popping in a soother after feeding, winding really helped calm and make his day much happier and less stressful. We have 6 on the go and spares in the nursery.

I found the glow in the dark dummies to be helpful. Both DCs had them at night and if they woke up without their dummy it meant they could easily find them again themselves rather than crying out. I used to scatter 2 or 3 extras around their cot too in case one fell out the sides.

They are a must for an air plane journey for a baby/toddler who still uses one, both for calming and reducing ear pressure when using one.

Both my babies had soothers. Yes, not without problems but frankly wouldn't change anything. Both have nice straight teeth and we're excellent talkers. My daughter kept hers for a long time after stopping using it but just liked to know it was in its secret hiding place!

We were using MAM bottles for our son and stuck with the same brand for soothers so he wouldn't have to adapt to a different teat style (he had been born with a tongue tie, so he'd had enough trouble with feeding and keeping dummies in as it was).

We find the soothers especially useful when he's still craving the comfort of the bottle but doesn't actually want to feed anymore.

He uses soothers to self-soothe but fortunately isn't TOO dependent on them, and we'd like to try and keep that balance so we don't have trouble moving away from them when the time is right.

Sadly, they don't satisfy him enough when he's teething so he ends up chobbling on other things for that!

He does love taking them out in his sleep and hiding them, so glow in the dark versions are an absolute godsend, especially at 3AM.

Strongly recommend getting clips for them so they don't constantly fall on the floor when you're out and about.

My own twin sister died of SIDS so I wanted to do as much as possible to lower the risk to my own twins. One loved her dummy and the other sucked hers fingers. The dummy sucker has beautifully straight teeth, the finger sucker’s teeth are slightly forward but only because I can compare to her identical twin, so not really noticeable. Dd1’s teeth were totally misaligned and needed braces for 2 years. Dd1 never had a soother - refused it. When used appropriately (eg. Only for sleep or specific comfort after a fall and never when talking).

I found the dummy really helped my daughter when she was teething! It's a comfort thing.

We never gave DD1 a soother, we never felt the need to really. However when DD2 came along, she was much fussier and often wouldn’t settle at night. Giving her a soother just made our life that much easier whilst we were exhausted with a toddler and newborn. It helps her fall asleep at night and settles her in the daytime when nothing else works.

My son never took to a pacifier, and was terribly colicky, so all round loud first year for us, but as a consequence I believe he is not reliant on soothers and his teeth are fantastic.

I thought a dummy might be helpful. My mother was nearly having palpitations at the thought. The baby spat that dummy out the moment he realised there was nothing coming out of it. It was then that I remembered my Australian boss's references to "spitting the dummy". My mother was quietly triumphant and gave the baby a bottle.

Three of my children never needed one.

My 2nd child was hugely dependent on hers, which proved hard when trying to wean her off it.

In our house we call they dodi's anyone else ?
Anyway my tips are yes they really help sooth - suckling soothes, and when they are tired and ill, it was the only way I could get mine calm enough to sleep.
DS took to one really quickly, and we found that a velcrow stap helped us from loosing them - I see so many mums sucking a dodi clean if its dropped on the floor - please don't do this get a sterilised one.

Thanks to everyone who took part in this discussion!
The lucky winner for the prize draw is @ClementineSatsuma

Amazing! Thank you so much Mam and Mumsnet, you've made my week :D

I get a clean dummy and put it in cooled boiled water. While under water I give it a squeeze until it fills about halfway with water. Then I put in the freezer for about 1 hour or 7ntill frozen. This is great when your little ones are teething,

I think they're great my eldest had one, and it really helped get him settled at naptime or bedtime. We found he really liked the more cherry shaped ones. He was about 3.5 when we got rid of it and he only had it fir bedtime by then. It was close to Christmas so we wrapped them up fir father Christmas to give to all the new babies being born and he got a special thank you present back! I wish my youngest would have taken one but he fkat out refused and had to be breastfed to sleep and for naps.