Dummies

Hi, Just interested in views on the use of Dummies. My 3 month old son uses one and until last week I would have said he was not reliant on one, but now find he needs it to go to sleep with. He does suck his fingers as well. I use it during the day when all else fails and I know he is not hungry or tired but am scared that as he gets older I may not be able to get rid of it!!! I was always one of those people who was never going to use one now I have spare dummies for the spare dummies in case we lose one or leave it somewhere. Any thoughts on this?

hi my name is nat and i have a 23 wk old daughter and she has a dummy she has had one since we got her home from hostpital i never planned to use one or anything it just happened she absoulutly loves it she wont go anywhere with out it i think dummies are a comfort thing and i dont think there is anything wrong with using them. i also thought the same how am i going to get rid of it when she gets older but i just think now i will deal with that when the time comes where as if a child sucks its thumb you cant throw the thumb away but where with a dummy u can thats the way i think of it anyway. anyway good luck

My Emily has never taken to a dummie and I was also one to frown upon the dummie, pre baby, but some babies would be real monsters without one, so now I say if it works do it.
My opinion on what you have said would be to wait until he is quite capable of getting his hands to his mouth- as in his brain knows where the hands are going and not straight past the target! And when putting him to bed put your finger in his mouth and then his hands will automatically take there place, again when his old enough.
Its just like your retraining him to use his hands instead of a dummie which will start falling out at 3am when you'd rather be sleeping!!
Maybe in the day give him toys to suck instead, again once his able to hold them, I found a wrist rattle (pin cushion as my mother called it) a good toy for her when she couldnt hold much for long.
Hope this helps
Karen

Hi,

I have always used dummies for the sleep association thing. As little babies (no2 still is), i use it a bit, just for the peace thing, when he's a bit unsettled.

My daughter is 2 and 2months and she still has a dummy. Something i am not proud of at all, but she never has it out of bed. In fact she asks for it when she wants to go to sleep.

My other little thing about dummies is cleanliness. I always have 2 on hand, and my sons are sterilized continually. I've heard of many babies getting thrush in their mouths from dummies.

Its your decision, do what suits you and your baby,
Tepe

Hi, like you i never intended on using a dummy. Infact i was adment i wouldn't have my child reliant on one. I soon realised that it was going to be easier to take away the dummy than to take away the thumb so i decided to go with the dummy. I figure that our children could be reliant on much worse things. I hope you found this reasuring that what you have chosen is the right thing for you.

There is nothing wrong with dummies in my opinion as long as they are the orthadontic type. This allows there teeth to grow correctly. My son started teething young and was very dependent apon the dummy during this time, my son is now 10 months old hase 7 teeth, almost 8, and very rarely wants his dummy.

However once they get a little older and start biting into the dummies, there is something to help and wein them off of it. I'm unsure if you can get them in NZ, but they have a cresent shape especially for teething, but still almost look like a dummy.

I was originally totally opposed to the dummy. But I found it to be a lifesaver at times. My daughter who is now 12 months old doesn't have a dummy any more. I planned to wean her off it at 12 months, but after her first few teeth came through around 9 months old she bit a whole in it. I got paranoid about germs and so I took it off her for good. We had a few unsettled days, but it is long forgotten now. I'm glad that I used one, but also glad that it is gone now. Don't get worried about what other people think, there are so many baby "taboos", you have to do what is right for you and your baby. Dummies don't cause any harm if used correctly and are kept clean and sterile.

Hi Deena,

My son Corey has had a dummy since he came home from hospital. He will only take it when he is tired/cranky or when he goes to bed.
Sometimes now at night he won't take it at all.

I think they are ok and they will grow out of them when they are ready.

Hi,
Like most of you, I to was opposed to the use of dummies. My two older children never had one, but number 3 couldn't live without one. ( neither could mum and dad). I have been told that it is better for their teeth to have a dummy rather than suck their thumbs or fingers. I am now finding that out. My 8 year old daughter, who sucked her thumb until she was about 3 years old, now has to wear a plate to straighten her teeth, as she has pushed her front teeth out of place by her thumb. There is even the possibility of braces later on. I know which she had a dummy when she was little!

I never intended on using a dummy, but two days after coming home from hospital we were ripping open one we had in Ella's drawer.
She now only has it to go to sleep and then it comes out once she is sound asleep.
I was always worried that she would want it for ages, but as my mother told me you either get rid of it when they are old enough to understand that you are throwing it away or let them tell you when they are ready (most kids seem to be happy to get rid of them between 18-22 mths).

Yes I was yet another anti-dummy person. But when I came home from hospital and my son was attached to my chaffed, bleeding nipples 24/7 his nanna took over and the dummy won. I am now greatful because he is 4 months old and still feeds every 2 to 3 hours, half the time it's just for comfort and I think if I didn't have the dummie he'd be on there 24/7 still! I think they're fine as long as you still listen to bub and don't keep shoving it in for your own convenience at every noise and to stave of their hunger. My son can already pull it out and put it back in himself so I just try to 'listen' to him and only give it to him when he really wants it. As for getting rid of them, can still remember the day my dad threw mine off a railway overpass and that was the end of that!

Hi Deena,

My son of 14mths has never used a dummy (or never really needed one). I was always against them, thats because i was afraid that he would be attached to it and not give it up when he was older. I really don't like very older children with dummies pinned to them.
I breastfeed Aiden until 11mths so i think that was his "sort of comfort". He now has decided to suck his thumb which is going to be harder to get rid of!!
Don't worry about him having a dummy, if there was anything wrong with them i'm sure they would'nt sell them in the shops.
Sel