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It is not until you have a baby that you realise there are many things that you hadn’t thought much about before baby! One oddball is the dummy. We all know what a dummy or pacifier is, some people even have nicknames for them. I’ve heard of them being called binky, maggie or dum dum to name a few. In the world of baby the simple dummy can seem a little bit complicated once the baby arrives…

Dummies come in many shapes and sizes. There are different brands, teat shapes, materials and sizes depending on how old your baby is. Some are even approved by dentists! Many Mums consider the brand of bottle they may use when planning which dummies to buy. For example if you use ‘Closer to Nature’ products you may prefer the same brand of dummy as they mimic the teat. Same goes for ‘Avent’ etc. However this is not necessarily straight forward as you can’t predict what type of bottle your baby will prefer.

When I had my first baby I went crazy buying dummies I thought would match my child’s outfit. You can buy pretty blue ones and cute matching dummy chains as well as character dummies. One thing I didn’t know at the time is you just don’t know what kind of dummy your baby is going to prefer! It turned out he was premature and didn’t take to any of the ten brands I had bought, prefering a traditional cherry style dummy you pick up in the supermarket!

Then, because every baby is different, they may not even necessarily like a dummy. I persisted with my second baby and he eventually took to a dummy. He ended up liking a brand that my first didn’t (luckily it was the one with the cute matching accessories that I had loads of!).

At the end of the day it’s all trial and error. Every baby is different, as is every Mum. In hindsight, I would recommend buying a small packet of a few and trying a couple of different teat styles before you stock up! If you are lucky like me you will have friends you can swap with!

Who knew dummies could end up being a stylish accessory?

My new baby is pictured here with a gorgeous dummy holder handmade by Creations by WV (find them on Facebook or Instagram @creationsbywv). These are functional, washable when they get grubby and feature a handy holder for teethers or the dummy cap you would have lost! I can’t get by without a dummy holder, especially now. Having two kids, I just don’t have time to constantly look for dummies or lids and I like to keep them out of reach from my two year old so they stay sterile. These ones are so trendy I can clip them onto my own clothes!

So that is my two cents worth on dummies. They aren’t for everyone! Not all babies like them, not all Mum’s like them – and some babies like them too much, eventually having to give them away to the dummy fairy!

At the end of the day my dummy would be lost without its dummy chain!

Z.