🚼 >>> The Dummy/Pacifier <<< 🚼
When I had my first baby, I was warned by MANY mothers NOT to use a dummy. I had the impression that dummy’s were of the devil and I’d ruin my children’s teeth beyond repair if I so much as waved one at my baby’s face. 😱
Naturally, I did not use a dummy. Until 6 weeks in, my screaming, unhappy, overtired little baby girl caused me to cave. I bought a dummy and for the life of me could not get her to take it! It was my last resort to calm her and I felt so defeated that she wouldn’t even take the dummy. My breasts were her dummy and the small, snack feeding continued for months, during the day and throughout the night. 😓
My next two babies accepted a dummy, but only ever used it for the first 4months and for soothing to sleep. 🙌 As always, my philosophy is to ensure that my clients have all the information at their fingertips in order to make an educated decision that is right for their family. 💡So, here is a non-biased list of pros and cons for dummy use:
PROS:
• the American Academy of Pediatrics set up a research group to investigate the conclusions of all adequately designed studies and found the overall risk of cot death (SIDS) was halved by dummy use.
• When nothing else seems to be working, a dummy can be very effective at soothing your hysterical baby. Especially if you’re not breastfeeding or your nipples are sore.
• Using a dummy, initiates your baby’s sucking reflex. Sucking's power to calm babies is quite extraordinary: It lowers the heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels
• The comforting sucking motion can work as a pain reliever, which can be handy, when your baby is having their needles, teething or unwell.
• From 7months+ you can teach your baby to find and replace their dummy, reducing your need to assist them overnight.
CONS:
• Dummy use is linked to slightly higher rates of middle ear infections.
• Dummy use, especially beyond about 4-5 years of age, increases the chance of dental problems later in childhood – for example, the problem of a child’s teeth growing out of line.
• Babies can end up needing their dummies to get to sleep and fall back asleep
• If babies aren’t old enough to find their dummies and put them back in during the night, they’ll cry for help.
• It can be difficult to wean your toddler off of their dummy
My professional advice, if you decide the dummy is right for your family, is to use the dummy for the first 3-4months for sleep time and soothing only. Avoid letting your baby have it in their mouth all the time. By 3-4months of age start to wean off of it and focus on your many other settling techniques such as voice, shushing, stroking etc.💡
If your baby is older than 7months and you know deep down that most of their night wakes are related to needing a dummy to fall back asleep, get in contact with me and we’ll discuss how to teach your baby to find and replace their own dummy. 🥰
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