DS 5mths Waking during night for dummy any ideas for weaning off it?....................

[yummymummylu]

Hi
My DS is now 5mths old, and is a very content baby during the day. Have now sorted out a good routine with him that allows him to settle quickly for sleep and I am able to read he's cues.
BUT the problem is.......he can settle for a sleep without the dummy for a couple of hours but during the night he wakes about 1ish for the dummy and again at about 5 for me to put the dummy back in!
Have tried to ignore he's grumbles but he tends to get louder and louder causing DP to wake up and ask me to put dummy in!
It doesn't help that he still sleeps in our bedroom but at the mo he's has a cold so can understand the need for dummy BUT when he's over it I want an action plan to go forward with!!??
Sorry for the long rant but could anyone suggest some ideas on weaning the lickle monkey of the dummy?

Ta
Lu

[fizzbuzz]

What helped me was evicting dd, and then jettisoning the monitor. Very hard to hear unless they really make a racket. Dd now never wakes us up (or very rarely). She may well lose her dummy, but must just give up and go back to sleep.

It worked wonders for us.

[gingerninja]

Hopefully someone will come along with wise words. I tried to get DD (same age) off the dummy going cold turkey about 2 months ago. At the end of one week I caved in and gave it back to her as our nerves were in tatters.

I really want her to be one of those babies that gives it up by herself. I doubt I'll have such luck tho.

I'll be watching with interest.

[fizzbuzz]

Yes I have tried taking it away, and as simply too weedy to follow it through.

When dd is really tired and you shove dummy in, she sort of groans in ecstasy(sp?!) and eyes shut immediately, like a kneejerk reaction. Cannot bear to deprive her

[gingerninja]

fizz, mine does the same. Seems mean to take away such a comforter doesn't it. That said, it drives me up the friggin' wall having to get up to shove it in.

[yummymummylu]

Have tried puttin DS in own bedroom last week just before he got a cold, well and what a pavalar(sp!!) that was!!
Ended up spending half the night on the landing whilst I let him scream for a bit to settle himself back! Guess what! I gave in and DS came back into our room but into our bed as soon as I had in my arms he went to sleep!!
I have to decide to be strong and leave him to settle himself during the night but its much harder than during the day! lol
I really wish the dummy wasn't given to him, but am now having to deal with the consequences!!
I now understand that Im not alone, but at an ungodly hour in the morning, I feel like the dummy is the bain of my life!!!
Thanks for helping me, any more advice greatly recieved!!! lol

[fizzbuzz]

Yes I too felt the dummy was the bain of my life.

Someone on here had a suggestion, about tying it to the corner of a muslin, laying baby on top of muslin to sleep, and postioning it so dummy was in or very very near mouth. I think that is what she said. She reckoned it worked a treat.

[yummymummylu]

Thanks will try that!
At the mo the muslin is under he's chin to prop the dummy near he's mouth so that all he needs to do is turn slightly to get it, or so in theory!
Have decided that when he gets over the cold I will decrease the use of dummy during day time sleeps!!
oooh so trying to be brave and wean him off it!!! lol
Right gonna try the other trick 2mor night!!
Also just had a thought he's still swaddled at night that might not help as he cant get the dummy himself??!!
Are any of your LO still swaddled at 5mths+, I know that she who shouldnt be named says that by 5mths they should start going into sleeping bags!!? Might have to try that 1!!

[fizzbuzz]

I don't think they can get dummy themselves at 5 months.

Was still swaddling dd (now age 7 months)for some daytime naps. She was very tired and started to wave arms around, and of course knocked the damn thing out about a million times. Frequently found her waving it about. However she only behaves like this during day fortunately.
Anyway when I tried to swaddle last week she squealed and squealed in protest, so that was the end of that. Unswaddling may make dummy issue more difficult.

Not fully clear on that muslin business, if you search one of the million dummy threads on here you'll prob find it!

[dcb]

muslin didn't work for us i'm afraid - dd now 7 months - although did for another lo but i think she slept on her side so was easier to get at. i think 5 mths will be too young. in the end we went for cc - i.e. no sleep props at all and it has worked so far (10 days), after hard work for 3 nights with the occ waking just to keep us on our toes. i still use dummy during the day as it's the quickest way to get her to sleep and i don't need to keep getting up to replace it! didn't want to do cc but was at the end of my tether - in the end she wasn't even settling next to me in bed WITH a dummy

[BabyTed]

When my ds was 5 months we took his dummy away. He was totally devoted to it and couldn't sleep without it. We were happy for him to have it until he started to wake up during the night, crying until we put it back in. It got to the stage where I was getting up 5 or 6 times during the night. We prepared ourselves for the worst and decided on a day to take it away. When he got up in the morning we threw all his dummies away and just didn't offer him one. He did cry at night and it took much longer than usual the first night to get him to sleep but it wasn't as bad as we expected and after 3 or 4 days seemed to sleep much better. I think starting without it in the morning helped. It was a bit difficult but he really suprised us. We had tried it before at night and he just screamed until we gave in!!
He is a much more relaxed and laid back boy now too!!
Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

[redbeki]

mmm.dummies are a bit of a nightmare.you have two choices,persevere and get rid of the dummy now,easier option.coz when they're 3 its really hard to get them to give them up....or just keep getting up,and putting it back in his mouth.if you try 1st option,you may have a week of crying,then he'll forget about it as he's so young.prob best to get rid.they will drive you potty in the end.good luck

[MammyT]

Hi,
I hope you don't mind me joining in but this is the precise problem we're having with our 6 mth DD. She has chronic reflux and had a very difficult 4-5 months Now she's much better but nights are a nightmare with her waking up many times. The dummy is the quickest and fastest way to settle her. I'm afraid that if we take it away, she'll still wake but it'll be harder to settle her. She doesn't have it except for bed and the car. Has anyone taken it away without CC?
Thanks!

[cruisemum1]

I have the same prob with ds age 5 months but the dummy is me! He won't take a dummy -only the real thing is good enough for him....At least with a dummy anyone can pop it in and leave, when the dummy is your boob you have to stay until they nod off. would welcome advice from anyone in this situation!

[MammyT]

CruiseMum - it's so hard, isn't it? I wouldn't advocate swapping the breast for a dummy though as they're a killer to take away. Having said that, we couldn't have survived the first 4-5 months without one so I can't say too much.

Last night was the worst ever. I had one hour of interrupted sleep before 4am!!! She was waking up crying even when the dummy was in her mouth! I gave her Calpol in the end in case it was teething but still no sign of teeth. ANyhow it didn't make much difference.

Any words of wisdom for sorting DD out?

Thanks!
T

[cruisemum1]

mammy - my ds won't take a dummy anyway so that's not an option! He is a determined little bugger!

[Fleecy]

My dd is five months and we have got rid of her dummy over the last two weeks, doing what a friend did with her lo. When dd was tired I used to bounce her in her chair and give her the dummy to wind down. So I did the same but didn't give her the dummy unless she got really upset. And even then i took it out after 10secs or so. Over a few days she got used to winding down without the dummy, so then I put her in the cot when her eyes were really drooping and she was so tired by then she didn't care there was no dummy!

The next step was to start putting her down at the grizzly stage and letting her fuss in her cot until she fell asleep. If she started to cry properly, I'd go in and comfort her (still no dummy though!) but if not, would let her grizzle on and off for 5 mins before going in, stroking her, kissing her head and telling her it was okay. Then left for another 5 mins. I found it helped to turn her onto her side facing away from me if i had to go back in so I wasn't distracting her - then roll her back onto her back before leaving.

If she woke up half way through a nap, I would go straight in, roll her onto her side, stroke her hair, kiss her and tell her it was okay then leave for five mins. She would usually grizzle for a minute then drop off. After a few days she stopped waking up half way through naps so I started doing the same at night. She's slept through the last three nights now - she didn't usually do it before so i think it has really helped.

I guess I never realised that a small amount of grizzling is okay (1st time Mum!) - she would fuss in her bouncy chair or on my shoulder and that was fine but if she did it in her cot i would panic and go cuddle her. It really helped me to realise that a bit of fussing on her own was fine and there was a difference between that and a proper upset cry.

Sorry for the detailed post but hth! Think five months is good time to get rid of it - they're old enough to learn to get themselves back to sleep but young enough to break habits fairly quickly. Take it one step at a time - and best of luck!