Dummies?

Hi,

I'm new to bfing which is, on the whole, going well. DS was on CPAP for about 10 hours after his birth, but given expressed colostrum until i was able to bf him the next day. With my permission, he was also able to suck on a dummy during his time in NICU.

Since leaving hospital, bfing has been going reasonably well, albeit with the support and help from our Doula. I've never been one to think particularly highly of dummies, but then I don't have any experience with them, so I'm wondering what other's think of their use...

DS will happily suck on the dummy whilst he's waiting for the boob (which is only denied to him briefly whilst I run to the toilet or am driving in the car). We've also used it to settle him whilst he's having his nappy changed cause he gets quite distressed at that time.

DH has now taken to giving DS the dummy whenever he starts rooting for the boob. I don't like this, I want to feed him when he wants it. But sometimes it's hard to tell whether DS is actually hungry, or is just looking to suck on something. Last night, for example, he fed off both boobs over the space of an hour, and was still rooting for boob afterwards - he was quite happy with the dummy for half an hour, but had another substantial feed half an hour later, which makes me think he was legitimately hungry.

I really hate giving DS the dummy in place of the boob. I think DH likes it because it allows him to settle DS without handing him to me. I don't want to rely on the dummy. I'd prefer to use it to settle DS when I can't give him the boob immediately (like in the car, for example). What do other's think? And is it possible that DS does just want to suck on something without actually being hungry? Or should I take every sucking/rooting as a sign of hunger? How do I tell the difference?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

My DH is the opposite... everytime DD2 cries he is telling me that she wants booie milk. When some of the time she is just wanting to comfort suck. I'd prefer her to do this on the dummy than my boobs. LOL Obviously if she's hungry then I'll feed her.
So yes - some of the time it could be that you DS just wants to suck and may not be hungry... you'll learn to know when he is hungry or when he is just wanting to suck.

Hope this makes sense. Good luck babe. xxx

I use a dummy for my little miss and find that if she is hungry it wont settle her - she will just keep crying. Your right, sometimes she just wants to suck!

We used a dummy from day one and successfully BF for 11months. It didn't hinder DD at all - she wouldn't be pacified by it when she was hungry and used to spit it out in disgust!
xxx

Is my baby really hungry? This is part of the very steep learnign curve of parenting! The truth is that dummies are substitute breasts - there is certainly no harm in putting him to the breast whenever you think he's interested. Breastfeeding gives him nutrition, but also comfort and security. And frequent feeding is normal and good for supply when you're establishing things.
that said, many people use dummies without issue, so it's really just a matter of figuring out what works best for you two.

At a week i think he is hungry.. your milk is in now filling his belly more and that needs to be refilled. Its really important at this stage to feed first then dummy. as its about getting the supply and demand thing happening. its a good thing to have a baby that wants to suck.
im not fussed about dummies i have a thumb sucker and a dummy sucker..
usually babies will drop off more weight when dummies are used because they are having their feeds delayed.. so be wary of over use, but it still can be used when needed.

I'm thinking of using a dummy this time. With my son, I just let him suck whenever he wanted it. But now that I will be having him (hes 2 today! :) ) and a newborn on my own (long story :( ) I don't think I'll have the time to let her use me as a dummy.. lol .. But your son is just a weeks old, so i second what Oorki Galoorki said. My son used me as a dummy upwards of 12 months lol .. Also I've heard dummies can reduce the chance of SIDS .. I might look into that though, or if anyone has research on it?

We use a dummy now, but didn't use one at all for the first 4 weeks. I really wanted breastfeeding to work, and had heard that dummies weren't recommended (when BFing). BUT then my little one had colic and a few different people said try the dummy so we did. She is not interested in the dummy before a feed or if she is hungry, but it helps after her feed when the sucking motion helps get her gas out, but she doesn't want extra milk (if she kept sucking on the boob). I don't know if this would be any different if we had introduced the dummy earlier.

When I got handed a gooey and squirming baby 2.5 years ago, she turned out to be the kind of baby that could suck a tennis ball through a garden hose, to borrow a crude analogy. Within her first 12 hours she'd literally sucked a chunk off one of my nipples - a bit went black and fell off. Eww.

Didn't take long to work out that she'd suck on ANYTHING, boobie or not. So we got her a dummy on the way home from the hospital before she sucked the life out of the fingers we were giving her as nipple substitutes, which believe me is an interesting exercise while driving when you're in the front seat and the sucking monster is in the back seat.

There was never any confusion between boobies and dummies. Hungry? Get that dummy away from me and give me BOOBIES, woman! :D

So glad I found this!

I am going through the problem where I want to give my DD a Dummy or else she is sucking the life out of my nipples - I may be missing a chunk soon! But she won't have a bar of it....before OR after a feed to just settle her.

She gags and carries on like a pork chop spitting it out in absolute disgust!

My DS had a dummy from early on....and I BF him for 15.5 months. He certainly knew the difference between a dummy and a boobie....the only problem is the fact that he will be 3 in October and he STILL has it! It's the ultimate comfort now when it comes to sleep.

For us it has worked both ways, if they were hungry the dummy wasn't good enough and got spat, if they wanted comfort not feeding the boob would be screamed at.

You'll eventually work out what he wants more, a balance worked for us, dummy is used for self settling only at sleep time and during sickness/teething etc.

I only offered the dummy because DD wanted to suck on her hand, and had already given herself blisters on both wrists in utero. She would literally spit the bb out when done and go rooting around for her little fist.

I wouldn't offer the dummy if you think he needs to feed. It's best for your supply that he is feeding as frequently as he wants to at this stage, the car notwithstanding. Go with your instincts. Give DH something like bath time duties if he wants to be more hands on. And there is plenty he can do to help while you're feeding - I needed a constant supply of drinks and a really good nappy-changer on hand. Atm, unless he starts lactating, he's not going to be the number one settler. ;) Which, trust me, he'll appreciate soon enough! The other thing DH can do is wear Archie in a sling when you're out and about.

Get DH to be in charge of sterilising and finding the dummies if he likes using them. ;)