The Dummy or the Thumb?

The dummy or the thumb, what should I be encouraging/discouraging more?

Eli goes to sleep without either needed but during his day sleeps he can often grizzle before his next feed. He will resettle himself & go back to sleep with his thumb or I can easily stick a dummy in him & he'll do the same.

nb.
I don't usually have the issue anymore of having to put the dummy back in so that's not a worry for me. Eli sleeps all night no probs.

my thoughts:
I would think dummy because you can get rid of that latter in life rather than thumbs! But I hate the look of dummy's (although they have been lifesavers for me in the early days). Both boys will only suck on the latex cheap dummy's, not the orthopeadic ones.

Would like to know what others have done & if there is a recommended option?

I love the dummy! I only give them to the girls in bed so its a sleep cue for them and I love that if they wake in the night (which isn't often) all I have to do is put the dummy back in and problem solved. We never get the girls outta bed at night.

My sister has huge problems at the moment getting her 7 year old to stop sucking her thumb. Shes started to get problems with her teeth and my sister is worried shes going to have to fork out for braces

I don't want the girls to have it for any longer than 2 years though so I'm a little scared for the day when I have to lose them but I'll worry about that later.

Also twinboys this could be helpful to you one of the ladies from the multiple birth club was telling me that dummys are fantatstic for prem babies because they help build strength in their back palate which helps them to suck and swallow. I was told that for prem twins dummys can really help oral development. Not sure how correct this is but its sounds possible

You're right, dummy's are great for prems to get the suck/swallow reflex going & was useful for the boys in NICU for breastfeeding.

At the begining we used it too often & had the whole fall out of the mouth & they wake & cry. But now we too only use it in bed & only if they grizzle before a feed is due so I think I've done well to get them out of the habit of them needing it to get to sleep.

I just wondered if I stick a dummy in & pull out his thumb is that good or bad - I too don't want Eli to have to have braces from it.

edited/added: Oh yes & we use them alot for outings, just to settle them in the car when we stop at lights...lol or when they're a bit ansy.

Jacob is yet to suck on his thumb - he sticks his fingers in his mouth due to teething but no real sucking so when he fusses he gets the dummy because he can't sooth himself back to sleep.

Edited by Twinboys2b

If he wants to suck his thumb, I'm not sure there's much you can do to stop him. My brother sucked his thumb till he was at least 12 (actually I wouldn't be surprised if he still does ) despite mums best efforts to stop him doing it. He only really stopped when he got old enough to think it wasn't a 'cool' thing to do.

I've been lucky, none of mine are big suckers, but they do all have comfort toys which are their sleep cues. Lil miss has found her thumb tho and does suck it when she's tired, altho when she's actually asleep she tends to sleep with it out of her mouth and her manky blanky comfort blanket over her face.

I hate dummies with a passion, we tried them in desperation with the gremlins and I spent more time putting them back in when they fell out than I did listening to them scream when they didn't have a dummy so I gave up. They were useful for settling them when they were in hospital in the first 10 weeks tho.

Note: there has been tests that say Dummys can help prevent cot death due to them constantly having them in their mouth and sucking.

My 2 year old has one and i was going to get rid of it now but have decided not to at the mo cause when I tried a week ago he decided to suck his fingers or thumbs and I would rather have a dummy any day - he doesn't have it outside of bed and most times when we go out i don't take it with us (only times when I think he will have a sleep do we take it) - you cant exactly leave the thumb at home.

Rhyley was a sucker from day one - even the midwife said - and my theory is

"You can take the dummy off them you can't take the thumb"

But then I don;t have issues with dummies and they have been a life saver most time.

We are all for the thumb here. So much easier to deal wit hin the no=ight with Aaln we were up so many times finding the stupid dummy Mikey has been more settled baby/kid becasuae he can self sooth. Emily is also a thumb girl.

Put it this way I was a thumb sucker all the way upto Primary school (yeah sad) because of being a thumb sucker I needed a lot of work done in my mouth, e.g. Braces.

I only use a dummy maybe not even once a day, its really just a last resort when she has been fed, changed and burped and wont go to sleep. It sometimes doesnt even work.

Once she starts getting teeth, dummys are gone and no sucking of fingers will be allowed lol.

Do what works best for you and your babies. I think of dummys as another tool just like a wrap or a teddy bear. We only use ours for bedtimes as not only do I not like the look of a child walking around with a dummy in their mouth all day, I think that constant use restricts their language development.
When it comes to the dummy or thumb debate my arguement has always been you can wean off a dummy but not a thumb. On the other hand (no pun intended) if they are determined to suck their thumb there is not a lot you can do about it, especially when they are sleeping.

what a gorgeous boy:)!

Oh I'm so in love!