A dummy is the answer.. or so I thought.

I thought all babies LOVED dummies! I know some people are against giving their child a dummy, but I'm all for it if it helps settle a baby. So before Maya was born I went and bought some dummies and decided that I would try other settling techniques first, but the minute none of my settling strategies worked I would offer the dummy and it would be my instant saviour. So the first time I was struggling to calm Maya I offered her the dummy and what happened.. she screamed even more! That's not what's supposed to happen! So I thought that if I offered her a dummy when she's calm and happy then she'd learn to use a dummy. What happened? She did accept the dummy, sat there with it sitting in her mouth (not sucking on it) and then after a minute or so she pushed it back out with her tongue. So I shoved it back in and she did the same thing.. again and again.. until she ended up in tears. I guess I'd hate someone shoving something into my mouth over and over again too. I've tried a few times to offer her a dummy and bought different types of dummies to see if she prefers a different shape.. all with the same outcome. So I guess I won't have the problem of having to take a dummy off her later down the track and her teeth won't be affected. But it means I have to keep coming up with new settling techniques!