Ditching the dummy

[digitalpaintartist]

Hi all,

Advice needed please! DS is going to turn 2 at the end of this month and is still using a dummy. DH & I have been restricting the use to nap and night time only but DH is keen to ditch it altogether. We have a new baby due in early Sept and DH wants DS off his dummy before baby arrives. I think that DS is still young and should be able to use it as a comfort for sleeping, at least.

Any thoughts? Also, for anyone telling me to ditch completely, advice on the best ways would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[RandomMess]

Is DH ready to do all the getting to sleep and night wakings for DS if that is the result of ditching it?

[Missgraeme]

Yeah tell him u agree to ditch the dummy if he does the night visits to his room!!

[thenewaveragebear1983]

My ds ditched his dummy at 2.5. It sounds unlikely, but our strategy was just to let them get so old and ratty that he didn't want it. Clear the house of dummies, we went and bought a new pack and told him they were the last ones. He gnawed them to death and then there were no more. He was a bit older than your dc, and I know our strategy wouldn't work for everyone, but my ds is not an easy going sort of child. We expected tantrums and horrors, but I think it was more us than him.
Will you give your new baby one? We were adamant not to give our next baby one, and haven't, but he now sucks his thumb and a ropey old corner of an old blanket....!

[LittleBee23]

We got lucky with dd1 as the first night i gave her a duvet (she was a month off her second bday) I couldn't find a dummy and she just went to sleep without it and never asked for it again.
I've a feeling it's going to be a harder battle with dd2 as she's 18 months and still has her bottle as well as dummy 🙈

[NeedACleverNN]

I wouldn't take it away before the baby comes

Your ds is about to have a lot of change and the dummy is his big comfort thing.

You take that and you will be dealing with a lot of anxiety

[LittleBee23]

He may give it up voluntarily when he sees the baby has one?
My dd decided she didn't want to wear nappies anymore when her sister was 3 weeks old. Had not counted on toilet training with a newborn 😩

[Ellieboolou27]

Agree with need keep the comfort of the dummy as a new baby will certainly shake things up. My older dd reverted back to a baby for a few months once my second came along (still bloody doing it 10 months on), 2 is still very young and if it's only at nap /bedtime I'd stick with it. Tell dh to suck it up

[Normandy144]

In all I honesty I wouldn't try to take it away before baby. Too much of an adjustment. Keep it strictly naps and bedtime only. I got rid of my DDs about a month after her 3rd birthday. We had tried before with disasterous results. What worked was a dentist trip and he suggested the dummy fairy to her. She was right on board. We spent 3-4 nights working up to it, getting her to pick a toy she'd like the dummy fairy to bring. Picked a Friday night so we had the weekend ahead of us in case it was a bumpy ride. We also changed her bed from cot into toddler bed the same night and she was distracted by that. She asked for it a couple of times during that week immediately after but bought the explanation that they were gone now. 3 months on, she's never mentioned them - not even when really tired or if she falls over and hurts herself etc.

[Loucuth]

We are in a similar situation but my eldest is a little older (so probably has a bit more understanding) we done the fairy trick and it worked wonders... My DS collected all his dummies and we wrote a letter to the fairies telling them that DS is a big boy now and doesn't need his dummies and to give them to the babies. The next day the fairies left a little pile of presents and a thank you note! The first night was the worst and DS took a long time to go to sleep, he cried a lot but did not really mention the dummy. He woke up for his dummy (he only ever had them at bedtime) and said he wanted them back off the babies! Ha. But was won over with the promise of presents in the morning. We just really bigged him up for being a big boy. Our baby is due next month and I fully expect him to sneak a go of the baby's dummy when my backs turned!

A great tip I seen after we took the dummies away is to snip a little bit of the teet off every night in the hope that they will reject the dummy themselves as they are not the same. Wish I'd tried this tbh.