All of my children have had a dummy from 1 week old and all were breastfed without any problems, my eldest was 5 weeks early and given a doll size dummy in Special Care by the nurses. I used the orthodontic dummies as all my babies have wanted to suck when not feeding and I didn't want them becoming reliant on their fingers or thumbs as this can cause more orthodontic problems as a dummy can be taken away but their fingers will always be within sucking distance as a child. My middle daughter gave it up at 1yr old, my eldest was just over 18mths and my 2 yr old is currently getting used to life without it. For teething babies it was my lifeline, especially once they were weaned and couldn't be settled with a breastfeed. None of my children have been allowed to wander around with their dummy all day, its there at bedtimes, when they are ill or teething and no other times. I personally don't see what the problem with dummies is, no one ever mentions babies sucking their fingers or thumbs is wrong.
