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Zebra7 
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Joined: 27 November 2007
Location: Wellington
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 Topic: The Curse of the Comfort Sucker
Posted: 06 October 2008 at 9:55am |
Hi Everyone,
Just wondering if anyone has any advice on this issue ...
I think that Amy has turned into a real comfort sucker, and by that I mean that she's not happy unless she's on the boob, regardless of whether she's hungry or not. Which makes me feel like she's miserable most of the time! It also makes it very difficult because as soon as she hears my voice or sees my face she'll start up ... let alone when i'm actually holding her. She also thinks she's going to get fed as soon as she wakes up, even if she's only been asleep for 10 minutes!
Is this normal/common? I'm worried that because I was so concerned about how much she was feeding that i've put her on the boob too much and now she wants it all the time 
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MrsMojo
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Location: Wellington
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 10:04am |
She's so young I wouldn't worry too much about bad habits yet but I would kick the comfort sucking. I had a comfort sucker too and in the end I couldn't even do basic things like grocery shopping, making dinner, having a shower etc as my baby would scream if she wasn’t on the breast. I quickly learnt how to get her latched on in my sleep just so I could get some.
Does Amy have trouble with wind/colic? I'm pretty sure that's why Michaela was a comfort sucker so you could try using gripe water, infacol or colic powder to help with the wind and see if that helps with the sucking.
If you don’t want to be a slave to the comfort sucker all you need to do is identify when she’s just sucking instead of feeding and take her off the breast. I did this with my wee girl and she soon figured out that she was only allowed on when she was feeding so she would feed as much as she could, throw up and then feed some more at which stage I had to limit her time on the breast.
If you are happy to continue letting her suck for comfort then go for it otherwise you might want to look into other forms of comforters like a good swaddle, kangaroo cuddles (with a sling or front pack so that you're hands free) or a pacifier.
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aussiegirl
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Location: Waikato
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 11:02am |
Hi there, It was about Amy's age when my Plunket nurse encouraged me to stop doing this as Hayley was feeding/sucking on top of having wind and it would just prolong the whole process. We started using Weleda colic powder, feeding every 3 hours, putting her to bed awake after 1 hour (was hard to start with as she would scream for what seemed like ages). we also used a dummy and a front pack during this time, and wrapped her for sleeptime.
Good luck, hope Amy settles for you soon! 
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Daizy
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 11:27am |
I had one of thise. Keira used to sit and suck for up to 5 hours Looking back I have not idea how I coped (I dont think I did). She did this for months untill we started her on solids, Had tried the dummy so many times and she would not take it. We all think she had undiaginosed reflux because if she wasnt sucking she was screaming. And because she was sucking so much my milk supply did have a chance to build up and she was then also very hungry.
I would try stop as soon as you can and dont let her fall asleep on the boob. Leaving them to settle them selves may be really hard at first but you will so pleased you did it. I would try swaddling and the other things suggested, its probably easier to change routines before she gets to old.
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Kelpa
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 12:07pm |
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I have just come back from Mothercraft as that was Brennan ...he was diagnosed with everything under the sun but turned out he was just plain hungry and because he was not satisfied he was unsettled and screaming and all that..once he got top ups he has been a totally different baby and put on 300 grams while there in 4 days.
Sounds like she is using you as a dummy.....
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 12:15pm |
 Kelpa wrote:
Sounds like she is using you as a dummy..... |
My mum said to me (when Michaela was doing the same thing) "if you let her treat you like a dummy what does that make you?"
Mum's can be mean
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Bizzy
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:20pm |
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it may not be comfort sucking, you dont say how long she has been doing it for... but it could be a growth spurt. or wind too - if a baby has wind they will think they need to be fed again and again and again....
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Andie
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:47pm |
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Hmmmm, I had a comfort-sucker. She was born sucking her own hand!! My girl fed for up to 5-hour stretches at a time as a newborn, and it drove me loopy! A pacifier worked nicely for her (though she only used it in bed) and she sucked her own fingers incessantly, which we didn't worry about as it soothed her. She'd even been sucking her own fingers all during her scan, so I figured it'd be one tough habit to try and break so why fight it? I guess I'm saying - don't be afraid of trying a pacifier... they are quite handy for some kids, and just because you use one, doesn't mean you're stuck with it. Ella ditched hers around 4 months. The fingers though, well, yet to stop that one!
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Andie
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:56pm |
Andie wrote:
...don't be afraid of trying a pacifier... they are quite handy for some kids, and just because you use one, doesn't mean you're stuck with it. Ella ditched hers around 4 months. The fingers though, well, yet to stop that one! |
I agree, Michaela ditched hers at 10mo and it was a cinch. She's never been a thumb or finger sucker which I'm really happy about but she likes clinging to ears (preferably mine or DHs) which I hate.
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Zebra7
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:27pm |
Thanks for all the advice ladies. It's great to hear i'm not the only one!
Have tried to be much more regimental with Amy today and so far so good. I think she is using me as a dummy and although it sounds mean she's going to have to learn to use her feeding windows for feeding 
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catisla
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:50pm |
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i read this topic this morning and thought "that sounds exactly like Catriona!"
She is almost impossible to settle in her own bed and would cry until she got on the breast when she would suck for about 30 seconds and then fall asleep. Only once she was in a deep sleep could we then put her to bed.
After reading this I actually tried the dummy we got with the Avent steriliser and it has worked! She got herself off to sleep sucking on the dummy (she started crying just now and i went to check on her and put the dummy back in her mouth as she had spat it out and she is now asleep again).
I was originally against using dummies but i am so reformed now! I just hope this lasts.
so thanks for bringing up this topic Zebra and i would certainly give the dummy a try if you need to
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:59pm |
Zebra it's not mean at all. She's new at this too and sometimes babies need to be taught about feeding/suckling and what's acceptable.
Remember happy mummy = happy baby.
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The Curse of the Comfort Sucker
Mum to Hayley 
