Relief for the sleep deprived!

We decided while I was pregnant, that we would try not to give our baby a dummy because of all the literature I had been given from my midwife about it interfering with breastfeeding.

After three or four sleepless (and I mean sleepless!) nights we were desperate. We had been given two Avent soothers free with our kit of steriliser, breast pump etc. My partner convinced me to give it a go - I was cynical however. If the baby couldn't sleep for longer than ten minutes at a time, what was a dummy going to do? It wasn't magic was it?

Oh what a naive fool I was! With dummy inserted Mia promptly fell into a more peaceful slumber that lasted at least a couple of hours, and Avent soothers had won our hearts!

In any case, Mia refused to take any other brand of dummy whatsoever, or teat for that matter.

I promptly set out to buy more, we now have a veritable range of colours for our little one. (it is recommended to change soothers after three months, always check teat for damage before giving to baby, especially when teeth appear). I prefer the freeflow ones pictured above, because they are in pleasant colours, with a translucent outer part, which means the babies face isn't as obstructed from view.

These soothers are made from silicone, with six holes in the outer section. This is designed for your baby's comfort. In my experience they certainly seem comfortable for Mia.

Another useful bonus for us was that sucking on the dummy so much, seemed to strengthen Mia's mouth and jaw, making her able to feed better and for longer.

There is new advice from the FSID that giving your baby a dummy, even for naps, can reduce the risk of cot death. However it is still not recommended to give a breast fed baby a dummy until one month old to ensure breastfeeding is well established. This was never a problem for us personally, with Mia being happy to switch between breast, bottle and dummy without fussiness.

They vary in price between retailers but are around £3.50-£4.00 for a pack of two with a nice range of colours available. They are widely available from Toysrus, Mothercare, Boots, Superdrug and some supermarkets.

Asda have a good range and have been running an offer for several months - 2 packs for £5 which I have taken advantage of - it's a great bargain.

I would highly recommend this product. It's a veritable must have for parents of a new baby!

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