Been used as dummy

[Amdmam15]

Hello

I have a 6 month old son who was once great at sleeping through the night but now he is using me as a dummy and won't sleep in his cot for very long. As anyone got any advice? Thanks in advance

[CobsAhoy]

Hi,

My DD went through a phase of using me as a dummy through the night, it was exhausting but it didn't last. We bed share which I think made it easier, I spent a couple of nights just sticking a dummy in her mouth everytime she she tried to latch on.

Hope yours grows out of it soon, it's pretty frustrating!

[GrassW1dow]

sleep training....I swore I'd never do it and then got desperate when DS was 8 months. It only took about 3 or 4 nights and the effect was miraculous!

[Amdmam15]

Can I ask what sleep training is please? We tried bed sharing but unfortunately it was so exhausting. I love the cuddles but don't want him to rely on me :s

[GrassW1dow]

Another term for controlled crying. Essentially, you rule out hunger/wet nappy/pain etc and let them cry it out with no (or minimal - like a hand on their tummy) intervention. You can generally tell when they're just shouting as opposed to crying out of need for something. You listen out for the silences between the 'cries'....they will gradually get longer. And you sort of know that it's just shouting and eventually they settle. It's not for everyone though. As in, some parents can't bear to do this. And you'll get lots of people saying it's cruel. But equally loads of parents who, like me, swear by it (and professionals too). It typically takes just a few nights before baby sleeps through. The idea is that you're teaching them to self-settle.

[Zaurak]

It didn't work for us... There were no gaps between cries, no settling and no eventual falling asleep. He screamed relentlessly from 7pm to 5am then was up for the day.

I'd try and get a dummy in him, or let him feed for a while then cover the boob and cuddle him, so he's getting comfort but not boob.

Good luck. Hope it works better for you than us!