October 2018 Birth Club


I'm a FTM and just seeking a bit of advice. I want to offer my baby a dummy for comfort/sleeping as I think its much cleaner than if they started sucking on a teddy or blanket. I work with children so know what damage to their mouths/speech dummies can do if they have it all the time. So i was just wondering has anyone else just used it for sleep time/comfort? And if so when did u introduce it and how? Tia xx

comments (18)

  • No advice but I’m a FTM and also work in a Nursery with babies. I’m going to give my LO a dummy and that’s even if he will take to it as I’ve been told some don’t like my OH and his brother didn’t.. I don’t see nothing wrong in giving them a dummy for comfort but to try and wean them off them (from nursery experience) way before they are 1 due to their teeth and speech etc. I’m sure you can give them a dummy straight from Birth xxx
  • Wouldnt have a clue how to introduce one sorry but I tried to give both of my last 2 a dummy in desperation at some point during a growth phase, teething phase or general wouldn't stop crying phase. Neither would entertain it for longer than a couple of sucks and promptly spat them out! Both found comfort in the boob instead!! However neither have thumb sucked or had a comfort blanket/teddy of any kind so if baby doesn't take to a dummy they might not end up attached to some manky teddy/blanket either!
  • Dummy’s can be given straight from birth. I was told to give DD2 one to help maintain her sucking reflex when she was nil by mouth. I lasted about 4 hours the first night home after a 5 night hospital stay with DD1 before giving her one, she just wanted to fall asleep on my boob otherwise and would cry when I took it out or tried to put her down. If I popped the dummy in as she fell asleep there was no problem. I used to make mine take it out to talk, I’d pretend I couldn’t understand. It quickly became the norm to leave a dummy in reach/sight but not in mouth unless it was nap time/comforter. Around the age of 18 mtgs/2years The tooth fairy took their dummies for new babies, but left a nice note and a ‘big girl,’ treat as a thank you. 2 nights of hell and we were done!
  • With my last i gave him a dummy at 6month only at night as he was bf and was waking every 2hours just to use me a comforter he wasnt drinking anything and eould just fall back alseep . Lack of sleep for was my breaking point . So in came the dummy it worked! I still couldnt sleep though flund myself waking to check on him lol
  • I'm a first time mum too and was planning to give my baby a dummy if it needed it however my midwife was very anti dummies so feel a little confused now..

    I remember my brother giving his child a dummy around 1/2 months as my neice wouldn't sleep and they were desperate. Needless to say, it worked. She felt comforted and my sis in law was able to get a little break during nap time. I think they stopped just a little after her first birthday x
  • I don't like to see dummies on older children and was really worried about baby being attached to one and having a nightmare weaning them off it. As it happens my dd never wanted one, she's not a thumb sucker or manky blanket type either haha. Although for her first birthday my friend bought her a really fluffy bear and when I went back to work a month later she attached herself to that but it didn't last long.
    All that being said I always kept dummies just in case and I will do for baby no 2 too. They say now they're good for help in preventing sids, something to do with the sucking motion. My friend had a really sicky colicky baby and a dummy helped him after a feed but she weaned him off at six months no problem. There was a group of four of us that met every week, one didn't have a dummy, one was weaned at six months, one before 1 st birthday and I believe the other still has one and they've just turned 2. So I would say do what you feel is right for you and baby but I think you have every chance of being able wean off young if that's what you want. Good luck xx
  • To be honest I never planned on using one with our 1st but he was colicky and so after 8 weeks of constant crying I was desperate lol. So we introduced one at 8 weeks, but he only ever had it if he was crying and at bed/nap times. We just gave it him and he took it quite happily (he was bottle fed so i don't know if that made a difference). We took it away just before he turned 1 as I felt we were all getting a bit too dependant on it, and he was due to start nursery, so we took it away for all times other than naps and bedtime. He's 2 now and still has it for naps and bedtime but he knows it's just for those times. He knows when he gets up in the morning that dummy gets put to bed and that it stays in his bedroom. If he picks it up during the day he's told to put it back to bed and (most of the time) will do so without argument. The only time he's allowed it outside of sleeping times is if he's really poorly (proper sickness bugs / infections etc, not when he just has the sniffles). I'm not sure when we'll stop it completely, probably when he is 3 and old enough to understand the concept of saying goodbye to dummy for good in return for getting a toy lol

    We use the mam ones as they are meant to be orthodontically approved. His speech development is slightly behind but i don't think that's down to the dummy as he's never been allowed to have it all day, every day, I think had just lazy 😂 and his teeth are perfect so it definitely hasn't affected that
  • I also work with children and with my daughter I wasn't planning on giving her a dummy but oh gave her one after she had her tongue tie cut.

    the Easter bunny took it this year (she turned 2 in january).
    I used to tell her that she couldn't play with it in or talk with it etc.

    she took to the Easter bunny taking it really well, only 2 bad nights to get to sleep.
  • I have just removed the dummy from my little boy at nearly 2 1/2. In the last six months he only had it for naps and bedtime and before that he was asking for it more and more so felt it was time to slowly get rid of it. We were lucky that he used to spit it out as he drifted off so never needed to keep replacing it in the night. As he got older we just nipped in and took it once he was asleep. It’s personal preference what your comfortable with but he did start sucking his thumb at a few months old and that stopped when we used the dummy more. I’m pleased we used something for comfort now that could be taken away.
  • I don’t think there’s any probs giving a dummy as long as it’s gone by the time they are 1. I tried and tried with my first and he never accepted it and he doesn’t thumb suck or have comforters or anything.

    Some of my patients at work have an anterior open bite now because of a dummy and it will affect how their permenant teeth come through too. A few of my friends who’s los are same age as my lb (2) still have dummies throughout the day playing and talk awfully so just bare that in mind