Dummy, pacifier, binky, bobo,dum dum, button, plug! Whatever you decide to call this little device you give to your baby to help soothe them, is it good for your baby, do they really need it, why do they need it and will it become a problem?

It’s easy in the early days of parenthood to start to feel a bit like a prisoner in your own home. The baby seems to always be either sleeping or feeding, you’ve not managed to have a shower for days and you’re surviving on

Let’s stop blaming parents who choose to use ‘controlled crying’, and start educating on the truth about controlled crying. As a new parent, one of the biggest challenges you are likely to face is sleep.

It’s a cry heard in houses across the world: “Why won’t my baby sleep?” Well, one big factor is your baby’s sleep environment, especially once your baby moves beyond the newborn stage of being able to sleep anywhere.

Let’s face it, learning how to settle your baby is one of the most important skills as a new parent. I am quite happy that babies are not born with an innate ability to do it.

Parenting truth. . . I’m a so-called baby whisperer and even I find having a newborn hard. Who’d have thought I’d have another baby at the age of 42, so many years after having my last baby?

Almost all babies posset (some more than others) during the early months. Posseting is the regurgitation of small quantities of undigested milk following each feed.