Is Two Weeks Too Early To Use A Pacifier?

[garro]

I have been sort of against the use of dummies/pacifiers but the reality of having a baby who is having great difficulty sleeping is changing my mind.

Is 2 weeks old too young to give a dummy? My wife is breast feeding so does this make a difference?

I looked on the internet and they seem to recommend waiting for one month but I am interested in what you guys think.

[samran]

I can't remember when we started, but it was fairly early on, and she is/was being breat fed. Our little one basically has now started rejecting the dummy at 15 months. Maybe there are safety reasons for not starting till one month, but I can't be sure.

For us, the whole dummy thing is over blown. If it comforts little one, the so be it. It won't make them any more/less likely to be a axe murderer/nurse/brain surgeon. They'll let their preferences be know. Some babies, equally, just don't take to them.

[Shola]

I was adament that I wasn't gonna use a dummy...................... and then the crying!! I bought my bab a dummy when she was about 3 weeks old and initially she totally rejected it, I had to sort of warm her up to it and it's really made a difference, she doesn't always want it but when she starts to cry/whinge becuase she's tired the dummy really soothes her, she'll start sucking and it calms her enough to get her to sleep, I was breasfeeding also when I introduced it, there wasn't a problem.

[JimmyTheMook]

At that young age there are specially designed pacifiers where the nipple piece is more flat shaped to comfort to the babies mouth as the old style round variety is said to damage the gums.

Hope you can find that if you're in Thailand, if not be careful and do some internet research on the topic.

[PeaceBlondie]

It sounds awfully early to me. We always treated Mama's nipples as a natural pacifier. But then, the babies slept with us. This being a whole new milenium and continent, I have no idea what the latest style is.

[bina]

we now use from day one as health pract. people here recommend for use against SID- saying that the sucking motions keep breathing regular, especially among small weight and immature (preemie) babies ; the pacifiers are sized for baby's age and physical state (preemie, etc); of course, israel is always a bit behind america with a half year or so time lag in latest baby fads, so u could just go with what your own preferred culture recommends.

by age three, most kids here are finished with them as pacifiers are seen as sleep and calming down helpers, not all day mouth toys...

keep them clean (boiled) and keep several on hand; one gets lost, u dont have to run all over the world looking for that exact model that worked...

bina and anon

israel

[leisurely]

Our youngest had one from age 7 days. It was known as the off button for obvious reasons. I would suggest that (if yours gets as attached as ours did) you start talking about them going to the fairy babies/santa's elf's/whoever you fancy about a month before they go. She was fine about it initially but a couple of hours after they had all been removed from the house she was picking up all sorts to put into her mouth. Son't give in to the childs tears and demands for them to be returned. There is nothing worse IMHO than seeing a 5 year old with a dummy in gob.

Good luck

[Pink Mist]

NO it aint, if it makes the child happy the so be it

[Mossfinn]

Hi Garro,

Our Boy is 10 weeks and we haven't used one yet.

We did get some ready the other week when the Wife had to go into Hospital and I had them as an emergency, but I am now a little unsure why everybody is talking about using them and we haven't even started.

Are we doing something wrong?

Is there a particular reason why the crying hasn't become difficult to manage?

It is my first, so a little apprehensive on everything at the moment.

Moss

[polecat]

We started using one last week (baby was 3 weeks old) and it has been quite good. Baby doesn't want it all the time, but when he gets very stressed and can't calm down, it seems to help. The sucking is a great comfort to him.

Oh, and PeaceBlondie, Mama's nipples must have been made out of strong stuff!

[PeaceBlondie]

I lived for weeks at a time in Mayan villages where all babies were breastfed. Crying babies were unheard of. There were no pacifiers/dummies. No proper diapers, either, but happy babies.

[leisurely]

This is one of those subjects where everyone has a different opinion. The way it was explained to me by the paediatrician we used was 'you can throw away the dummies but you can't cut a child's thumb off" meaning that it was better in his opinion to have a lump of rubber than a lump of body in your gob. I agreed with him, except during the night when the rubber had disapperead and we had to spend 5 minutes finding it!

[spot]

Our baby is just 7 days old, and he seems to cry a lot, especially at night. It's now 5am and he's been crying since midnight. I've tried everything, walking, gentle rocking etc-the only thing that seems to calm him down is him sucking on my upturned little finger. We spoke to the doctor earlier today about this and he's stressed the point that using any kind of soother (dummy) will interfere with breastfeeding. My wife agrees with the doctor....

The doctor doesn't have to sit with my son crying himself into a frenzy though.

I would like to use a soother just for the times when he's unconsolable with any other method.

It's a tough one.

[PeaceBlondie]

Most of our children slept in the same bed as my wife and I when they were infants. If they cried in the night, it was usually for a reason (infants don't think much; they are either happy, asleep, wet, dirty, or hungry). So, after checking the diaper, the wife would give the kid a breast, and soon the baby would be asleep. Some kids cry more than others.

[Boo]

my son didn't want a dummy but due to a pending long haul flight I introduced it & forced him to get used to it. it ended up being a lifesaver for the flights & he still only uses it when he is tired & grizzly but I do restrict how often he can have it as I don't want to create too much dependance on it. so far so good.