Dummy or no Dummy?

[cobysmummy]

i was just interested in if your bub has a dummy and why you made that decision? if they have a dummy... at what age do you plan to wean them off??

Coby never had a dummy (although sometimes i do wish i gave him one!) just because i thought they were ugly and people have problems getting rid of them..

Coby sucks his thumb and ppl always comment on that.. that you cant get rid of a thumb... but i think that if i gave him a dummy and when it came time to wean he would find his thumb if he wanted something to suck on anyway..

Cobys Poppy made bets with a lady whose 4 year old still has a dummy that his grandson would never have a dummy!!

[melfunction]

I never wanted ds to have a dummy and thankfully he didn't either.

I was scared off them as my friends little girl had one until just recently (she's 3 and a half). When I say she had one, I mean she had one in her mouth all the time and her front teeth are pushed out, she had at least 2 in each hand and use to rub her nose with them, so now she has a mark on her nose.

This is probably an extreme case, but it was enough for me not to want ds to have one.

[Trix]

My cousins daughter was the same - she's 4 and they've only just begun to be successful in getting her dummIES off her. She'd have one in her mouth, and at least one in each hand at ALL times!!!

Having said that, that is the only case I know of like this and I intend on seeing if my baby would like to have a dummy when she's born. Although she will only get ONE at a time!!!

[poshBecks]

Hi,

I gave ds a dummy coz I couldn't handle him sucking on my boobs all the time when all he wanted was to suck for comfort.

He ended up refusing it when he was about 9 months old. I only ever gave it to him when it was sleep time & he worked out that dummy meant bed time & from then on he didn't want it anymore!! :p SCORE!! I didn't have to go through the whole weaning thing.
My MIL told me she cut the tip off the dummy when it was time to give up the dummy for DH. He was sad at first but soon got over it!!

Whatever works I say!!!

[Goddess_Mamma]

My son (currently 11 weeks) first had a dummy when he was.... maybe it was around 5 weeks old? I resisted the dummy fiercely as my mother and partner offered it as a solution to Isaiahs constant comfort sucking (I was expressing 150ml 1/2 hr after feeding so no low supply). I was taught at uni that dummies, like bottles, create nipple confusion, and as I desperately wanted to continue breastfeeding (though I disliked it) I refused to give him the bloody thing.

After another series of unfortunate turns for myself I gave him the dummy, and he settled down. It was blissful for us both! It didnt affect his feeding as he had it down pat by this stage. Now he basically has his dummy to settle himself down to sleep and will often refuse it in favour for his hands :D

When I gave him his dummy I never considered that later he might not want to give it up. But based upon his current love for his hands and talking Im hoping it wont be a problem.

[HoopDeeDoo]

My son has a dummy but only likes it now when he is tired and about to go to bed, although he has started throwing it at me if i'm trying to put him down and he doesn't wan to :rolleyes: I started giving it to him because he was sucking his thumb and I though it would be easier in the long run to remove the dummy rather than the thumb. He also get eczema so wherever he drools goes red and rashy. I had to search for the right one though, he will only take the Maam ones (they look like butterflies)
Never had a problem with nipple confusion, he liked to comfort suck and i wasn't willing to let he suck on my finger or worse my nipple for long periods of time :) I'm not sure when I'll take it from him I'd say 2yrs max?

[Terrible2+1cutie]

Both my kids never had dummy and Thank goodness never wanted one either even when i tried lol. I always found dummy's to make a kid ugly. I am not totally against them i just hate people who put dummy's in the kids mouth 24 hours a day, i think dummy's should just be used for sleep times but this is just my opinion. My kids both suck there thumbs and fists now so i don't know what is worse at least a dummy you can cut up into little pieces when you want to get rid of it lol.

Catherine

[MrsMiggins]

I swore blind I would never give my baby a dummy, theorising that up until about 6 months of age, if a baby is crying, they are crying for a reason & you would simply need to remedy that problem to stop the crying..... ho! ho! ho! Sounds so naiive now!!

Second night out of the hospital, my daughter was happily sucking away on her dummy! Turns out I had given birth to a "comfort sucker". Yes, she is happy to suck her hands, but often seems to forget they are there. A dummy is the only thing that works.

I was a bit worried about having to wean her off it later on down the track, but it is not always a problem - many kids give them up on their own. If not, then I fully plan on using the "Leaving-it-out-for-Santa" ploy!

I honestly don't think a dummy hurts them. I figure it would be more damaging for them to want comfort & not be able to have it.

[MariaO]

Hi,

I had an open mind on whether or not to use a dummy (or soother as we used to call them when I was little) for my little baba. For the first month or so we used to walk the floor for hours to get her to sleep, or I used to breastfeed her to sleep. One day I gave her the soother when she was in her pram and she fell asleep straight away.

[madvoice]

I tried a dummy with Raleigh when she was a newborn but she'd have none of it. She still doesn't have a dummy. I have no opinion on them either way.

[Peaceangels]

We ARE a dummy household, but dummies are strictly for bed time only (they both leave their dummy in bed when they wake up).
In the beginning I started using them because they were both comfort suckers and it seemed to pacify them (some babies have a teddy or a blankey), but as they got older (around 6months) they were used just for sleep time.
I do however carry some around in my handbag just for emergencies, but have rarely used them.
They will both by weaned off by the time they are 3 years old, so we are already preparing DS1 by telling him that Santa will be taking his dummy at Christmas as a little baby needs it and he is quite happy with that (for now at least :rolleyes:)
I always say to any mother "whatever works for you"!!

[PiparMaru]

Hi,

Both of my babies have dummies ... I had bought dummies before my son was born but didn't think I would use it until about 2 or 3 months, but at the hospital he just wouldn't stop crying and was always attached to me, so the midwife suggested a dummy and it worked so I went with it.

He is now 2.5 years old, carries at least 2 with him everywhere, his teeth are fine, his nose is fine, he talks quite well with it although we are trying to train him to at least take it out before he talks.

I don't see the point in trying to get it off him at the moment because I have a 1 year old daughter with one. So if I take his, he will take hers. She doesn't use hers as much though, but I do find they are good for sleeping or settling, if they hurt themselves or just when they have finished their bottles, they can keep sucking (well the big one doesn't)

Each to their own, I even had a friend of mine who is a kindy teacher say that she wasn't going to give her daughters a dummy because it would give them wind / colic ... which isn't true either.

Good luck with your desicion ... take it from your baby though, see what they need ... some will take it some won't.

Tanya

[Rell]

My DD was given her first dummy when she was 2 weeks old because all she wanted to do was suck all the time. She used her dummy to sleep with only until she was 2 1/2 years old and then with a bit of bribary gave it up.
We tried to give DS a dummy when he was 1 week old but he wouldn't have a bar or it, He had to have an operation at 3 weeks old and so was on a drip and not feeding for over 24 hours, the only thing he could have to suck was a dummy. As a result he is now 12mths and loves his dummy to sleep with.

[ChristineM]

dear Helen,
I have 4 children, the first and third did not have dummies because they did not need them, the 2nd and 4th did have dummies because they did need them. I would prefer not to use dummies because you have to go through taking them off them. With my 4th bub (Emma 8mths), she wanted to suck all the time from the moment she was born, I held off giving her a dummy for the first couple of days but found that I was breast feeding and letting her comfort suck from me as well, it was way too exhausting. Emma still has her dummy now but we have only ever used it for sleep. Now when we go to get her out of her cot after a sleep she throws it down before we pick her up, this way there is no toddler running around with a dummy in it's mouth, a look that I too dislike.
As for when to take it off her, that is an individual thing and you will know when it's time. The main thing is that YOU have to be ready to take it off your bub because you have to be strong, only for a couple of days though than it's all forgotten about.. Good luck ;)

[m-k-mum]

With Kylah she sucked her thumb and i copped a fair bit of critisism but i dont really care kylah slept sooooooooo well when she started sucking her thumb there was no need to get up constantly to keep putting a dummy in her mouth as she could sooth herself.
With marcus he needed a dummy at first but hes now leaning towards sucking his thumb to and i dont have a problem with that at all.
I think what ever works for u!!!!!!

[quaver]

I did not really want to give my DS a dummy. I was worried about having to keep popping the dummy back in and how i would get him off it. It was about the 2nd day home when i gave in. He was not sleeping as he just wanted to suck all the time on me. Ouch! Pulling my hair out at 1am i gave in. I gave him the dummy and he slept 4 hours straight. i have not regretted it since!

I was a dummy sucker snd I asked my Dad how they got rid of it. He said he had a very adult serious conversation with me when i was 2 and a half on our back steps. He said the dummy was yukky and only for babies. Was i a big girl? He then made it into a game where we threw all my dummies into the bin. He said i did not even want it after that. Fingers cross this may work one day with my son!!!:D

[zanesmummy]

go thje dummy, it has been a life saver for me......if they suck their thumb ( i did) u have to ween them off that just as the same as a dummy. You can trhow a dummy out not a thumb

[forbetoel]

Some babies really benifit from having a dummy. Some bubs have a very strong sucking reflex and the dummy can be an absolute lifesaver for mummy.