babies and dummies...?

[joko]

Hi

my sisters baba is 1 month old - is this too young for a dummy?

she is reluctant to start on a dummy, as she thinks its just one more thing to wean her off later on, but i can't help thinking that compared to the comfort it will bring and years of crying it will help prevent etc that the dummy will out weigh the potential trouble of weaning her off a dummy.

i know some people are against them, because some babies get too attached.

any thoughts?

[redcrx]

its a personal choice really.

I had always said that my son would never have a dummy. he was a week old when i gace him one as some babies get great comfort from a dummy and it settled him immediately.

Id rather wean him off of something i can remove (like a dummy) than stop him sucking his thumb.

He now only has a dummy at nap time and as soon as he wakes he gives it back to me.

Mind you, if he'd sucked his thumb i wouldnt have had to keep going into him at night when he woke crying and couldnt find his dummy lol

[nicksmum]

Both of my sons had dummies when they were babies,my eldest son decided he didn't want his one day and never used it again but the youngest was a bit more reluctant so we buried it in the garden and I secrectly planted a flower on top of it and told him the dummy was feeding the flower,and he actually fell for it!
As Joko says,it is a personal choice but I would recommend it.

[nicksmum]

Sorry I meant redcrx!

[redcrx]

s'ok nicksmum, i dont mind being confused with joko.

[meltoadhall]

mine never had one, I did try but i think because they were all breastfed they werent intersted, spat them out and wouldnt have one.
there doesnt need to be years of crying and cuddles give just as much comfort

[scoobysoo]

I agree with redcrx - rather a dummy than a thumb!

[redcrx]

cuddles 24/7 just isnt possible sometimes mel. Just because a parent chooses to give a dummy does not mean the parent isnt giving enough cuddles, im sure youll agree.

[winny]

My mums theory was you can throw a dummy and not a thumb. Both mine had them as I felt if they needed comfort and got it from a dummy who was I to deny it. Redcrx is right 24\7 cuddles are impossible especially when number 2 comes along. I decided to worry bout getting it off them later and live for the moment.
Personal choice though some kids are just as attatched to a discusting old rag that you have to smuggle off them to wash. What ever gives them comfort. Either way you have to get rid of it some time. Remember however everything in moderation.

[Mammar]

Winny knows about disgusting (you have to excuse her spelling - she gets excited) old rags because her sister had a cot duvet that she couldn't live without. She used to rub the "silky" washing instructions tag on it and so it gained the name of Silky. In her defence, I must say she only used it at bedtime. She took a bit of it with her when she went away to college. We haven't been able to wash it since then as it is literally crumbling away. It currently resides up in the loft and has been renamed "the living thing" as we are sure it harbours primeval life.
Sorry to digress a bit. In short , I'm the mother who advocates disposable dummies and sensible use of them - worked for my four.

[AniseedTwist]

Is your sister breastfeeding? I didn't want to use a dummy with our rather noisy baby when she was very young as it can interfere with establishing breastfeeding. Instead I had a lot of sleepless nights where I was up feeding.

But once she was a few months old (when nipple confusion is supposed to be a bit less of a problem) we tried a dummy and it worked well for maybe a month or so until she found her fingers, and we haven't looked back since! She's always got them with her and they are an instant comfort when she's upset.

It's definitely a matter of personal choice, and all babies are different in their preferences. I think you've got to go with whatever works and makes baby (and mum) happy.

[bigbird26]

Both of my boys had dummies. Little one still does just at night. The older one just decided one day, that he didn't need it anymore, hope little one is that easy!!

At the end of the day it's personal choice, but if it comforts baby and makes your life a little easier, then go for it!!

XXxxXX

[rocky999]

You will never see a 12 year old with a dummy........lol

If it help, let them have one.

My daughter had a dummy and then found her thumb............and she still sucks that if she is tired or stressed and she is 23 !!!!

[mycats]

I hate dummies with a passion, as far as I've seen with other peoples kids they dont stop crying, they just give them something else to cry about when they want it.
My son never had one, they just dont need them

[Aunty Lou]

Hi
I am a trained nanny and worked with many families in my time who I advocated the use of no dummies ! I was so against dummies UNTIL! I had my son.
He had one from about a week old,He only has it for bed he never has it out in public and he only ever asks for it at bedtime .I believe if the poor little darling needs some comfort then why not have something that he can have that you can take away,Some people believe its okay to give dummies all the time? I believe that comfort can be given during the day by mummies etc and then at bedtime thats when the dummy comes in and at the end of the day its the parents choice we are only there to give advice!
Good luck and You know what is right for your family and ignore anyone who critisises your choices!!!Its not them that gets up at 2 am!!! Plus dummies will not make your thumbs a funny shape or sore from comfort sucking!

[Pippa68]

I don't know if there is a connection, but my children wouldn't take the dummy (even though I wanted them to use one!) and they were all breastfed...

[Parsley Dump]

I was dead against a dummy, but felt guilty so offered one to my son when he was about 2 weeks old. It didn't seem to make any difference to him so I took it off him. He didn't suck his thumb too much either, but "Tedbear" must always be with him when he goes to bed, he is coming upto 4 now and will still wake up if he loses "Tedbear" in the night. I did breastfeed him but don't know whether this made any difference

[ck1]

My daughter had a dummy until she was about 9 months, we took it away one night while she was asleep and she never bothered with it again, never sucked her thumb either but loves stroking the labels on her toys. My son wouldn't entertain a dummy at all and also doesn't suck his thumb. I assume like every other aspect of children they are all different and you'll have to do what you think is right for yours. As long as they're not walking around the shops when they're 4/5 with a dummy in their mouth which I think is really wrong!

[Le Chat]

I have 2 boys. The first was breastfed and loved his dummy and slept really well. The second, bottle fed, would not take to a dummy and doesn't sleep well.
I do hate seeing kids of 4/5 yrs walking round with a dummy....they look dosy. My second hate is a 5 yr old with a dummy, holding a bottle of milk and accompanied by candles of snot coming down from their nostrils! You see them in Liverpool city centre quite often.

[dancecaller]

If your sister is against dummies there is no reason for you to say she ought to use them, any more than for her to criticise you for using them.
Babies find their own comfort rituals.

[Bohne]

I originally was against a dummy, but my husband had to go away for work , when my little pumpkin was two weeks old, and trying to comfort a baby that was screaming his head off, while trying to prepare a bottle made me give in a week later.
I try to give it to him as little as possible, he's seven months now, and goes whole days without it.