Author Topic: Early dummy use and latch on confusion  (Read 1209 times)

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Offline Pimento

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Early dummy use and latch on confusion
« on: August 02, 2007, 12:13:00 pm »
I'm breastfeeding my 8 day old ds and it's going well so far.  I have also started using a dummy with him from day four as suggested by Tracy in paving the way to getting him to sleep independently which has also worked really well.  However yesterday a friend told me that she had read it's best not to use a dummy until they're four weeks old as it can cause problems with them latching on.

I was wondering if anyone else had heard this or have any experience of this problem?

My ds is latching on fine but not quite as well as he was initially and often takes several attempts now before he's on right - I'm wondering if this is co-incidence or could be because of the use of the dummy?

Any views/help very gratefully received.

Thanks,
Kelly

Offline Erin (redstarfalling)

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Re: Early dummy use and latch on confusion
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2007, 12:42:22 pm »
You'll hear different recommendations from different sources.  Most breastfeeding sources (like LLL, and a lot of LC's) will recommend waiting anywhere from 4-6 weeks before introducing a bottle or a paci to avoid "nipple confusion".  However, it really depends on the baby - some have absolutely no trouble with all of them no matter WHAT age they're started.  What seems to make the most sense to me is to wait until the latch is firmly established first (no soreness whatsoever, good weight gain, enough wet and dirty diapers) before starting either.

That said, if you're noticing changes in the latch, then your lo is one of the babies who has a harder time switching. :(  To help, you can make sure to use a paci that looks as much like your nipple as possible (I personally liked the Avent ones). Also, when latching your baby to nurse, be diligent - as soon as the latch changes or shifts, you'll have to break it off and re-latch. If you leave it be, your baby will learn to have the poor latch.  The last thing you could try is remove the paci altogether and try again in a week or so - should remove the latch problem completely after a few days.  The down side of this is that your lo may never take it again, and you may have a rough few weeks having to use other soothing methods. It's really your choice what you think might work best for you, though!

Hope that answers your questions!
 :)
Erin
Mother to Megan and Samantha


Offline Pimento

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Re: Early dummy use and latch on confusion
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2007, 15:19:24 pm »
Thanks ever so much for your reply - all makes sense to me.  I'm trying to be really disciplined when the latch isn't right - I didn't do this with my DD as I didn't know any better and thought if she was feeding then it was fine but ended up in a lot of pain as a result!  I'll keep both going for another day or two and see how things are as the dummy is making getting my lo into a pattern and getting off to sleep so much easier and whilst I certainly don't want to jeopardise successful breastfeeding, I'm also loathe to let the dummy go just yet either.

Thanks again.

Kelly