How do you use dummy?

[MBBN]

I know that title sounds stupid but.....how do you use/allow/let your baby have dummy?
I was adament i didn't want to allow DS to have one (he's 6 weeks) but everyone kept telling me i should think about it (he's a big sucker and is trying to find his thumb). So i got one and left it unopened in the pack on our bench for a week, then i opened and sterilised it....ready to go if I needed (still didn't want to use it).
We've now sucummed (sp?!) and given it to him and he adores it.
I don't want him to have it all the time because I really worry about missing all the cute little talking babble babbies do and today he cried everytime it fell out of his mouth.
At what times did you give baby the dummy and how did you use it?

[Boobycino]

I used it freely and easily till Jasper was 3 months old, as i believe bubbas dont really form habits before 3 months.

I was ademently against it also, but the alternative was let bubba use my nipples as a dummy - it was the better of two evils!

Now he's 8 months old he has a dummy as a last resort. Maybe twice a week when all else fails. He does love his dummy, he plays with it a lot though, pulls it in and out of his mouth. The only way to keep it in his mouth is if he's swaddled so he cant touch it!

The main reason i dont use a dummy more often is because of the babbling. jasper babbles particular pitch and even sounds to mean different things.

"ah bah bah bah bhah.. ah bah bah bah bah ... " means "mummy, i'm tired and going to start screaming soon"

If he had a dummy in his mouth he couldn't tell me these things :D

[BigRedV]

My DD loves her dummy but she only ever wants it for sleep so it hasn't been an issue for me

[sara86]

My 16month old DD has her dummy when she sleeps or if she is upset i will give it to her to comfort her.... although lately she has been walking around a bit with it cos she is teething (molars!) and likes to chew on it.... ohh drool soooo much drool!! LOL

[Mummy2R&K]

My 16month old DD has her dummy when she sleeps or if she is upset i will give it to her to comfort her.... although lately she has been walking around a bit with it cos she is teething (molars!) and likes to chew on it.... ohh drool soooo much drool!! LOL

Oh same here with DS, went through two brand new ones today!! But now that he is two I might have to be a mean mummy and go cold turkey :devil6:

[SalTheGal]

Glad you asked this q's as I have been fighting giving DS2 one- he is 2wks, my DS1 was a nightmare with the dummy- waking every sleep cycle (40mins) to get it put back in, so we weaned him at 6mnths...and because of this I was sooo reluctant to give DS2 one- however, I succumbed last night as he is soooo unsettled after his night time feeds. And he settled within seconds of having the dummy!

However, I have decided I will try to only give it to him at night time, and I am trying to take it out of his mouth before he is fully asleep so he isn't becoming dependent on it for falling asleep- just to soothe him....and I hope that I might be bale to take it off him in a few weeks time once he is throug this unsettled period. (I may very well be totally deluded bout this idea!!!)

[garfield13]

I used it from around 5-20 wks and only to stretch day sleeps a bit if needed. I never used it unless it related to day sleeps. There is a couple of kids in MG that it in all the time and still now one has it clipped to him 24/7 and another one who has it alot of the time, just while sitting there playing. This is something i wanted to avoid.

[JustUs3]

DD was about 2 months old when we gave in and gave her the dummy. She only ever has it for her sleeps so it never leaves the cot. I do keep one in the nappy bag just in case we're out and and she gets over tired or sooky but we rarely need it.

[macsmum]

My 1st born had a dummy, I think I gave it to him all the time for the 1st 3-4 months then once he got into a routine and I was better equiped to read his signs we started only giving it to him at sleep time and it stayed that way until he was 3.

My 2nd born refused a dummy, he only wanted his thumb ( I didnt want a thumb sucker) and no matter how hard I tried the thumb always worked its way to the mouth. He started sleeping thru the night at 12 weeks and to this day I put him down at 6.30 and dont hear from him until the next morning, as he can never loose his thumb.

Bub require alot more sucking when they are little and it comes down to sucking on you or a dummy, what ever you are happy with.

[LittleBug'sMum]

I also didn't want to give DS a dummy. I only use it when he is really grizzly and can't get to sleep on his own (and when we're out and he's grizzly). He always spits it out before he goes to sleep, and often now I can't even get it him to take it!
I think it really helps him to settle when he just can't go to sleep. He still hasn't found his thumb, but does alot of hand sucking now too!:D

[~Temet Nosce~]

Used it whenever dd wanted it up till about 12 months old, then it started being for sleep only. Now it doesn't leave the bed.
Her speech is perfect ;)

[Seacretsquirrel]

DD had it from about 4 weeks till 5 months, just before she started teething (we were on holidays at the snow when the teeth came through it was a rough night but being away meant I couldn't get a new dummy so we never looked back)

DS has had it from Day 3 and is just over 5 months now and only has it for sleep (an if he is really unsettled - which usually means he is tired) I am starting the weaning process like I did with DD reducing it to just sleep times and trying not to give it to sleep - letting him grizzle for 2 mins before giving it to him rather than just giving it to him to start so that he learns to settle without it - and it is working slowly.

[bada]

I tried to limit it to sleep time and grocery shopping time.

[MagicalLeopluradon]

I only use a dummy for settling e.g. when my son goes down for a sleep and he is grizzly he takes it but apart from that he doesnt want it.

[OneCheekyMonkey]

I use it for settling if I am out, or for sleep. He quickly falls asleep if I pop him in his cot with his dummy, without it he talks to himself for ages and keeps himself awake.

Luckily when it falls out of his mouth DS doesn't wake up :)

[mum2bubba]

I only use the dummy for Nathan if hes unsettled and can't get to sleep. I used it for Hayley all the time and I keep thinking she has a speech problem because of it but I don't know.

[sahm]

I use it in the evenings when he's unsettled and for sleep when we're out and he's in the pram or car seat, as he won't just fall asleep in them. Weird, I know, most babies prefer sleeping in those places.

He's resisting sleeping in his bed at the moment, and on the odd occasion, I've resorted to the dummy, but I figure I'm better off doing the hard yards teaching him to self-settle now, without it, rather than worrying about it later. He's only 8 weeks old, but whenever the dummy falls out, he wakes up. I don't want to fast forward six months and still be getting up to put the dummy back in!

[Mrs Potts]

DS and DD2 both had/have a dummy for sleep times. DD1 never wanted one. DD2 will occasionally use one if we're out and she starts getting tired, but these days she usually doesn't want it even then.

We got rid of DS's before he was 2. I hope to do the same with DD2.

I get concerned when I see children up to as old as 4 walking around in the middle of the day sucking on a dummy. I have never and will never allow my bubs to suck on a dummy while they are happily awake and playing.