I'm starting to think i need to use a dummy sometimes to stop my baby using me as a dummy for comfort rather than when she is actually hungry. Any experience of this?

Dont do it!! Lol

No seriously id say up too 6 months is fine but wean them off because otherwise they will end up like my son, who thinks he should have his dummy with him 24/7

Ahhhhhhhh!! lol

Nope. Personally I feel there is a purpose to "comfort" sucking. It can actually be a suck to increase supply an you stop it and you end up with not enough milk for baby (vicious circle) also I have no issue with him using me as comfort, Im his mum, its my JOB.

Yup. He uses it mainly for when he's colicky in the evenings and we're massaging him. He used to want to use my breasts for a comfort suck when I had thrush so I couldn't let him because my nipples were already in bits.

At the moment he doesn't want it for sleeping time, hopefully we'll be able to lose them once the colic passes, he has too cute a face to be hiding out behind a dummy!

I was careful to see that it wasn't affecting his weight gain though. He's gaining 8oz a week so it's not an issue.

I'm with anothersquish on this one. You often hear people saying stuff like "He's just using you as a dummy" or "he's just comfort sucking", which are not particularly helpful comments. "Comfort sucking" is nipple stimulation and can help to build supply. I was a bit concerned to start with that my LO was doing this and felt maybe I should somehow discourage it - but then a lactation consultant asked me "Does it bother you to just let him suck when he feels like it?" And, honestly, it doesn't. OK so it means that I don't have a lot of time to spend doing other things - but this stage is not going to last forever, and if my baby gets comfort from the breast and it helps me to maintain a good supply, and I don't feel it's taking too much of a toll on me, then why not?

So I think that's the key question really - does it bother you to let your LO do this? Is it taking an emotional or physical toll on you that you think overrides the potential benefit?

Having said all that, I have offered my LO a dummy on 3 occasions now, when he is upset and really just seems to want to suck hard on something! He has taken it readily, sucked hard for a couple of minutes, then spat it out, but was much calmer afterwards! I will always offer him the breast first, though - but sometimes it seems he wants to suck but doesn't want any more milk!

I gave my LO a dummy at about 2 weeks out of pure desperation - I had very cracked and painful nipples and the beginnings of a very painful thrush infection in my milk ducts. I felt really guilty at first but it was a total lifesaver, I don't think I'd get by without it. It hasn't seemed to affect Sebastian's appetite and defintely satisifes his need to suck in between feeds. I understand the arguments against dummies but balanced against the benefits in terms of giving me relief from the almost constant sucking, I still feel it was the right decision.

I tried to give my LO one but she wouldn't take it. I knew she was sucking for comfort as my boobs would be full of milk and should would just do these little shallow sucks and no swallowing. I don't think it was helping my supply any as she still does this quite often and I'm pretty sure my supply is still low/borderline. I think it would help your supply if they continue to suck after they've drained the boob.

i've just started giving my lo a dummy a week ago when he turned six weeks . I did this as he was constantly feedin for comfort amd wouldn't let me sleep at night . He doesn't use it all the time only when he's a bit upset or when he's hungry amd i can't feed him straigt away . It works a charm amd stops him getting too upset . X

Olivia doesn't have a dummy. I'm with squish and belle. I don't hate dummys, but a 3 week old baby needs you for comfort...she is very new to the world and feels safest at your breast. xx

Theakston does it on and off, he goes through phases, but generally I agree that it's to get supply up. We tried a dummy, he wouldn't take it, just laughed and spat it out.