When did you/planning on weaning off a dummy?

[Billygoats]

Just that really, dd is 6 months and when she wakes in the night cannot self settle without it. So some nights it is constant dummy finding and replacing. She only takes it when napping or during the night.

I am seriously considering going cold turkey. She has a blanket she uses as a comforter too so hoping she will learn to rely more on this. Any experiences?

[beccajoh]

Following as I have a five month old dummy addict too.

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Seriously at that age, and it being sleeps only, id leave itwhere it is. If she needs it for comfort then just go with it.

Ny dd is 2 1/2 and still has hers for naps and sleeps only. It stays in her bed. She can have it for bed as long as she needs it. Her teeth and speech are impiccable so it is of no detriment to her.

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Oh and when she was little id have about six or seven in the cot so she was able ti find one when she woke in the night. She had glow in the dark ones si they were easier to spot.

[rachyconks]

We went through this and came out the other side (still with dummy intact!). Tried weaning DD off it but she wasn't having any of it. Around 7/8 months she began being able to put it in herself/keeping it in.

There's a teddy you can get which you attach the dummies to and it helps them Sleepytot. They are supposed to be really good but haven't tried them myself.

[Fairylea]

Ds is 2 and still has his for naps and bedtime. I have an older dd aged 11 and I got her to give hers up at about 3/4 by writing a note to the "dummy fairy" who came and took hers from the doorstep overnight to give to babies who needed it...blah blah. Planning to do similar with ds. I don't think it's worth stressing about it before they are able to talk about it properly if they are very attached to it and only use it for bedtimes..why give yourself a hard time over it? It won't inhibit speech or teeth development if you limit it just to naps.

[Billygoats]

I'm not stressing about the teeth or speech just yet. It's the 50 times a night replacing it that is exhausting.

[Billygoats]

I may look into the sleepytot idea. Thanks.

[Lozzapops]

Mine is 8 months old and has her dummy for sleep times only. She was having it during the day for comfort as she was a very criey baby, but I stopped that cold turkey at about 4.5 months when she started to get a little more content, as I didn't want to have a battle on my hands further down the line. So glad we stopped awake-time dummy use. As for sleep-time use, it's not causing too much bother at the moment, as once she is asleep, she usually sleeps through, or maybe wakes for dummy once in the night on an odd occasion. Think we'll probably try and be rid by about age 2. If we had an absolute dummy fiend on our hands, and she was waking constantly for it, I might be tempted to get rid earlier! It's more the thought if getting her to sleep in the first place that worries me - she just won't drop off without it (unless in car or pushchair).

[BackforGood]

When they were 2.
At the stage you are at, it did help having a few scattered round the cot and they had a better chance of finding one when they needed one.
That said I'd have a think about what is waking her that often (even allowing for 50 being an exaggeration ) - is she cold / hot / hungry ?

[KatyN]

My chap still has it at 2.5. Just for sleeping and bedtime calming down. I don't think he has one at nursery though where he goes 1 day a week.

I am in no hurry to get rid. It is the easiest way for him to calm down when his emotions run high.

K

[HeyMicky]

DD had it for night time and naps only. When she went to nursery at 12 months she dropped it for naps (naughty mummy didn't send it). We moved house at 18 months so I left it at night time till then, to help with the transition.

Then one day we rounded them up and she put them in the bin. No dummy fairy or toy swap, as she wouldn't have made the connection, but she understood that things in the bin were all gone. A night or two of mild grizzles when settling then that was it.

She does have a comforter though as well so not all comfort objects went

[Billygoats]

Yes 50 might be a slight exaggeration

But it's enough to ruin a nights sleep. She's a very light sleeper so I'm guessing she notices her dummy is missing.

[MozzchopsThirty]

Please don't remove yet.
There is research that shows its protective against SIDS if given and not removed before 12 months.

I woukd wait until 18m - 2years then you can send it to the dummy fairies and buy a nice gift

[MrsLoada]

Just after ds 2 birthday he went to bed without it didn't ask for it , that was it we just got rid, he only had them for sleeping . Dd on the other hand ( pfb) was a thumb sucker didn't give this up till 11 and did it when ever her hand wasn't busy, so story time at school. We tried everything to stop her but in the end it was going to secondary school she was worried about getting picked on and stopped. But even now she's 13 sometimes when we check on her on a night the thumb is in.

[neversleepagain]

I weaned off the dummy at 18 weeks for DTD1 and 22 weeks for DTD2. I wasn't brave enough to do both at once!

[trilbydoll]

DD is 13mo and still a nightmare at bedtime, really fights sleep. Once she is a bit more accepting about sleep I will tackle the dummy!

[VisualiseAHorse]

We made our. Own version of a sleeptot teddy at around 6 months, using a rabbit toy.

Genius idea, worked really well for us. LB is now two and just has dummy for sleep, car journeys, buggy and sling.

[sewingandcakes]

Ds3 was 2 yesterday and we're starting to tell him about the dummy fairy in preparation for him getting rid of his dummies next week. We'll collect them all up and he'll wake up to a letter and book in the morning (that's the plan anyway)!

[Metalhead]

DD gave hers to the dummy fairy shortly before her 3rd birthday. She'd only ever had it for naps and at bedtime. She went through a phase of losing it at night and then waking and crying for it when she was too little to find it herself, but it passed within a few months.

I was really worried it would affect her sleep, but actually it was absolutely fine in the end! She kept asking for it for a few days at bedtime but that was it.

[APotNoodleandaTommy]

I went cold turkey with my son at 5.5 months. Only had a couple of screamy days about 2-3 days in, but he's been absolutely fine ever since (7m now) - sleeping better, and we noticed that his vocalisation improved almost instantly! Consonant sounds etc. he always has some kind of comforter to hand tho and in his cot eg bunny toy, knotted muslin or blanket
We wanted to remove it before he became more consciously dependent on it
But every child is different
I'm really glad that we removed when we did.

[TheStorySoFar]

I had Sleepytot too; except my DD hated her dummies attached to anything, so even a ribbon style thing was a problem. It did work in that if she really had use it she would. She's just turned 2, and now understands very well that dummies are for the cot/carseat only. So hopefully when she's 3 we'll get rid. Oh-and she has 5 or 6 in her cot every night inc a few glow in the dark jobbies!

[SJBean]

2yrs 10months with dd1. Dd2 is 20mths and still has hers. Dummies are the best thing ever! They calm little ones down and are fantastic sleep aids. I've never come across a dummy user who is a bad sleeper. If I were you I wouldn't even be thinking about taking it away. Embrace it and plan to remove it later when your little one can be reasoned with. Dd1 saw a toy she wanted in a comic. I told her it cost 7 dummies. She thought about it for a week then decided she wanted to buy it. We went into the shop she handed over the dummies as 'payment' and took the toy home. Never looked back. A lot less painless than I was expecting but it was because she was at the right age to do it

[Writerwannabe83]

DS weaned himself off at it at 12 weeks.
We try and give it him when he's upset or sleepy but he's just not interested anymore.

His vocal sounds have come on in leaps and bounds now he's not plugged up with a dummy and he smiles a lot more too - probably because he can

[Treesandbees]

My DS is 11mo and has a dummy for sleep only. At 6mo he was a dummy fiend but had bad reflux so I figured it helped. I was forever getting up in the night to replace it until I got him a Sleepytot bunny which I know another poster has suggested. I couldn't recommend it more!! Get one and see if it helps. I'm going to continue using it for sleep only and then review when he's a bit older, maybe when we can do the dummy fairy trick. At the moment he's going through so many development milestones I don't want to upset his sleep anymore than necessary!

[fledermaus]

If you go cold turkey now it will be forgotten in 3 days.