Dummy debate

LittleTinker

scuzzi wrote: »

My midwife said yesterday if I was intending to breastfeed they didn't recommend dummies because it encourages a different sucking technique.

Sorry......but that is the biggest load of tripe I have ever heard. :rotfl:

LittleTinker

McKneff wrote: »

I agree wholeheartely with this. Older children walking around with their dummies stuck in their mouths is ridiculous.

I also think they are filthy and riddled with germs.

I gag when i see a parent pick a dummy up that a child has dropped, suck it themselves and then stick it in the childs mouth.
The transfer of germs is horrendous. YAK

Not really.

The germs that will be present will do no harm to the child at all.....in fact the opposite is more likely to be true.

Children subjected to germs from a small age are less likely to be ill, suffer from hayfever, allergies or asthma and are generally stronger in their immune systems.

These chidren who you think are suffering horrendously with germs will fair better than the overly clean ones when it comes to picking up bugs etc.

Generally that is the case.........the children of today are far too clean.

Neeny82

LittleTinker wrote: »

Sorry......but that is the biggest load of tripe I have ever heard. :rotfl:

It does say this is my NHS Pregnancy book too though about not giving a dummy until breastfeeding is fully established - usually about 6 weeks. I dunno yet as I've not experienced it but it's hard to know what is correct with all the conflicting information around.

clairec79

What midwives tend to say with the dummies is not to use a dummy if you want to breastfeed before the baby has worked out HOW to breastfeed, as they are a different sucking action. Once you have cracked the breastfeeding many babies will happily combine the two but it can undermine the breastfeeding in the first few days

LittleTinker

My first sucked her thumb as a baby and still does now as an adult!!

I did not want other children to such their thumbs and have masses amounts of dentistry, so they all had a dummy, which I could then throw away when they were just 2.

LittleTinker

clairec79 wrote: »

What midwives tend to say with the dummies is not to use a dummy if you want to breastfeed before the baby has worked out HOW to breastfeed, as they are a different sucking action. Once you have cracked the breastfeeding many babies will happily combine the two but it can undermine the breastfeeding in the first few days

Sometimes I seriously do wonder about health professionals........and that they can actually cause more harm than good with all the conflicting and crazy advice they give out.

They tend to cause confusion in new Mums and conflicting theories with Mums who have done things tried and tested.

Every time someone in the NHS gives you any advise, you have to ask why it is like it is.........and most of the time its geared up to protect themselves from backlashes.

ie. Tell new Mums not to combine dummys with breastfeeding. One Mum has threatened legal action as her baby wont breastfeed but will suck her dummy after being told by the midwife it was ok.

Im not saying its as cut and dried as this.......but it does happen and it is annoying.

Being a new Mum should be the most natural thing in the world and new Mums should rely on their own instincts as much as possible, no matter what anyone else says.

If you feel it is right to sleep baby on its tummy, then you should do.....same as what to feed it and when. etc

New Mums shouldnt feel confused and as though they are doing wrong.....and none of them ought to be made to feel that way by any NHS worker.

minimoneysaver

My daughter was born by c-section and screamed for the first two hours! I gave her a dummy and I've not looked back.... sometimes I wish I had one. It's magic! My daughter and I have had a horrible few years, which has mean unintended house moves etc (long story), but her dummy has always been there. My friends little girl had her dummy taken away at 2 years on the health visitors say so. Her daughter then turned to thumb sucking and is now nearly six and had top palate problems from pulling forward while she sucks her thumb. My daughter just saw the same dentist and he said her teeth are perfect. I'm happy, she's happy and our dentist is happy. My daughter now only has it at night to go to sleep. She isn't hurting anyone with it and it usually falls out as soon as she is asleep, so although she has just turned five, i'm letting her keep it for a little while longer.

mummyemmy

Hate dummies!! Didn't use one with my first daughter or my second. Did have one in the cupboard when they were born....just in case, but so glad we didn't use it.

Can't bear to see them in babies or toddlers mouths. Some parents shove a dummy in their childs mouth as soon as they make the slightest sound, when all they may need is a cuddle, food or entertaining.

One of my friends asked if I'd "managed to get my baby onto a dummy yet"!! It was like I needed to get her on one!! When I said I had no intention of using one she looked in shock!

Yes, my baby sucks her thumb, but that doesn't worry me in the slightest....my husband always sucked his thumb but he has the straightest teeth going and a thumb is natural a great big plastic dummy isn't!

OrkneyStar

LittleTinker wrote: »

Sorry......but that is the biggest load of tripe I have ever heard. :rotfl:

It is apparently the same with combined feeding, as it is a different suck for a bottle teat and a dummy than a nipple (breast nipple I mean). That is why some companies make bottles supposed to be more like breast (eg Tommee Tippee 'Closer to Nature'). My son took a bottle for one late night feed (daddy's turn- with expressed milk) when he was teeny weeny but after a few weeks he much preferred the breast and was reluctant to sook from a bottle.
As others have said though this is in the early days of establishing feeding, I think it is ok after a wee while.

tiamai_d

SugarSpun wrote: »

Apparently if you use one it means you never actually have to comfort your child yourself, you can just plug in the dummy and get back to neglecting your baby in peace.

We mummies who give our children dummies don't have to worry about checking the crying baby to see if it's hungry/wet/tired/sitting on something uncomfortable/frightened/wants a cuddle/has dropped whatever it was playing with/turned around and can't see you any more and thinks you're gone for ever/frustrated/bored/wants something that's just out of reach/all the other things I could totally have time to type if only my baby had one of those sorts of magical dummies and not just the regular one from the chemist.

Gosh darn it! I just bought the mam ones! If I had known about those ones everything would have been soooo much easier!

Neeny82 wrote: »

It does say this is my NHS Pregnancy book too though about not giving a dummy until breastfeeding is fully established - usually about 6 weeks. I dunno yet as I've not experienced it but it's hard to know what is correct with all the conflicting information around.

It's a different suck technique, but, if you had a baby like mine, who was making the correct motions with her tounge but not actually closing her mouth to form the suction (to keep the boob in their mouth), they are useful.

However, it's not as different as they make out it to be.

Pretty much everything that your books say should be taken with a pinch of salt, you won't get a baby who has read those books.