Should I use a dummy?

Jo Tantum is the UK's No 1 baby sleep expert. Her best-selling book Baby Secrets is available at all good bookstores and also available through Amazon.

Should I use a dummy?

Jo Tantum says

For an unsettled or sucky baby, a dummy is a godsend although I do suggest you restrict its use as much as possible, so it doesn’t become a habit. The best times to use a dummy are in the early evenings when the baby is unsettled, to relieve a baby with wind and to help stretch out the night time feeds.

Try not to take a dummy out with you as it is tempting to use it more often than needed – although it does come in handy if your baby is screaming when you’re driving! Also don’t give a dummy to your baby to fall asleep because you will be creating a sleep prop. This means that every time your baby’s dummy falls out, it will wake up. Some Mums (and dads) have to get up several times every night to put in dummies that have fallen out. You have been warned!

Babies have a natural sucking reflex which starts to diminish after 15/16 weeks. If you get rid of a dummy altogether then you will find your baby won’t even miss it. But if you continue giving your baby a dummy after this, then you are creating a habit.