With my first baby I did not want to have Corey reliant on a dummy. Every thing I read said they where no good, they would mess up his teeth and cause a lisp. And I didn't want to go through the struggle of weening him off it as he got older. I had one for him and tried him with it for a week but as I was breastfeeding I felt he didn't need it and when he didn't take to it straight away I stopped trying!
But with Logan I am much more relaxed and I'm not trying to be the world's best mom, just a good mom! If it gives him joy and makes my life easier I say go for it ! I tried alot longer and he wasn't to impressed with it at first. But since I gave up breastfeeding its has become our lifeline! He used to use me to sooth himself to sleep once he finished feeding and when we moved onto bottles he needed to dummy to help him relax and get to sleep as he has a strong need to suck!
I would rather use a dummy than have logan become a thumb sucker! Dummies are shaped to sit in a child's mouth the same way it's mothers nipples would when feeding. Thumbs are not pliable or the right shape and can have a negative impact on babies jaw development. It is also easier to ween a child off a dummy as you can take it away where a thumb is alway there.
Sucking on a soother can train a child's oral motor function which will aid with learning to speak. My Corey never had a dummy and he has a very prominent lisp and my nieces and nephew had dummies and they are lisp free.
Not all babies have a strong suck reflex so they may not need a dummy where other babies so and as long as it's not used as a plug when the child doesn't really need it and only as a soother to fall asleep then I see no harm in using a dummy. But it's a personal choice for every parent!
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