Early when I was in the ‘newborn haze’ I posted on Facebook “to dummy or not to dummy?”, to get advice from friends about whether I should give my baby one. The response was mixed. I decided to give him one. Would I give him a dummy again? Yes. My daughter didn’t have one (which is why I went searching for opinion), but the dummy was the only thing that gave me a break from breastfeeding my very thirsty son and allowing my body the time it needed to produce more milk. It was a lifesaver in the car and he was a great sleeper with our strict rule that dummy was only for sleep time, so in the cot and in the car etc. It was like magic – produce the dummy and off to sleep he would go. However, I there surely isn’t a ‘one fix’ plan/approach to children, it definitely wasn’t something my daughter would have needed or benefited from.
A couple of years later and I have decided it is time for my little boy to say good-bye to the dummy. I would have gotten rid of it earlier, he is 3 soon, but I wanted to be totally available for whatever sleepless nights (I might have!) or time he might need with me in order to feel secure. And so, over the Christmas break seems like a good time as the distraction and chaos of the festive season, and out of the normal home routine, might mean he will be tired and find it easier to go off to sleep without his dummy.
