What a Difference a Dummy Makes

When our son was born, I was one of those first time mothers who swore she would never give her baby a dummy (i.e. pacifier).

I don't really know why I was so against it. Maybe I naively thought my baby would love just cuddling with me that he'd be so content that he'd never need one. Or maybe it was because I'd seen family friends struggling to de-wean their toddlers off their dummies that I decided I didn't want to have to have that bother later on (it did not look like fun).  Or maybe it had to do with the fact that I had read and been told that I shouldn't give my baby a dummy before they were 6 weeks old as it could interfere with their nursing (other's told me I should use it straight away).

So, you might be surprised when you look at this picture:

Yep, that is right, that is a dummy in my son's mouth. And no, he's not six weeks old, he's only four weeks old.

What changed my mind? Well it was a combination of things:

• A total of 3 hours sleep on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
• An exhausting first time back at church (read about it here).
• John only napping for 2 hours after we got home from church (after being awake all morning and not feeding well).
• And then a marathon 4 hour feeding session once he woke up from that nap, where he just would not settle or go back to sleep. If I took him off the breast he just cried and cried and cried.

Basically I had come to the end of my rope. John had obviously had enough food, he just wanted to suck for comfort and I was too tired and exhausted to keep nursing him. Plus with his thrush I was in throbbing pain after feeding for so long.

My husband had been telling me probably for 2 weeks to give him the dummy (pacifier) but I was too scared to in case it interfered with nursing him. I think probably the nurses visit on the Friday had given me the confidence to know that he was feeding fine, and putting on enough weight, that the benefits of having a settled baby and a rest from nursing started to outweigh my fears.

The results have been almost instantaneous. He has been a different baby since Sunday night. He only needed the dummy for a few minutes before he fell asleep, and I've hardly had to use it since. And now, when he is awake he is more happy, content, and way more settled - and he doesn't even really use the dummy much at all (I'm still conscious of not overusing it). He's still feeding like crazy, so I know nothing bad is going on there. He's so happy now it's like we have a different baby.

It may not be the dummy, it may just be co-incidence. But coincidence or not, I am converted. The last few days have been absolutely bliss. I've been able to rest more, and have had more energy to play with him and pay attention to his cues and needs. I'm loving it....let's hope it lasts!!!

Oh and a big thank you to Grandma Keaton who had sent us the pacifiers in the first place so when I was ready to use them they were on hand. 

Oh, and maybe next time I won't wait so long to follow my husband's advice (however this cannot be guaranteed).