Am I being unreasonable to take the dummy off my 6 month old?

[Jemsta88]

Just looking for some other experiences on this one. My little girl didn't have a dummy for the first month of her life. I then relented at 4 weeks as she was sucking after breast feeding without taking any milk. For the last few months she has only had her dummy when she is going to sleep - naps or at night.

She has slept through from (7.30-7.30) from being about 8 weeks old and about two weeks ago I stopped giving her the dummy at night time as she didn't need it and would suck her thumb as an alternative. This has caused no issue to her sleep.

My issue is around her daytime naps. She has always slept for an hour around 9am and for 1h30mins at around 3.30pm. Without her dummy to give her the message that its time to sleep its taking a while for her to settle. The morning sleep is ok as she is so used to it but the afternoons are really a problem.

She is getting v little sleep in the afternoon and then falling asleep on me just before her bath.

All the advice seems to be that once you take the dummy away it should be permanent but I can't help feeling a little bit bad! If I gave her the dummy for her daytime naps I'm confident that she would go straight down and sleep for longer, although maybe persevering with make the difference a couple of weeks down the line??

Any experiences or advice would be much appreciated. I've got such a lush little girl and I just don't want to upset her unneccessarily!

Thanks! (Oh and sorry if I've posted wrong - its my first time!).

As a neither pro or anti dummy person (my dc had one up to about 10m, my other two didn't) if she settles with a dummy then what harm is being done? If it comforts and soothes her then keep with it. It's when they start waking looking for the dummy then it's time to withdraw them imo.

On another note, if she's sleeping still fine at night, then don't rock the boat, but I found when they were older that if I let them sleep past 4 o'clock there was no way they were tired at 7pm.

Enjoy your lush little girl.

I would just give it to her.

My friend's DC's had dummy's until they were 4 years old. No harm done at all.

i would give it to her.

i took my dd off the dummy at 7 months, as she wouldn't settle without a dummy but kept spitting it out every 5 minutes....hence no sleep.

i did the pick up put down method to settle her though the dummy redrawal

I'd give it back too and I have, sleep is vital for both of you and if she's only having her dummy for that purpose you've already jumped the hardest hurdle of removing them which is getting it off them when they're awake.

My dcs are 2 and just turned 4 and they keep dummys in there pillowcases, neither can settle without and I'd rather a dummy than a thumb. No one except me and dp know about the dummys as its strictly in bed only!

thanks so much everyone! sometimes you just need the reassurance!
I've given her it back for her morning nap and she's sleeping peacefully. Thanks again x

I think my dd was nearly 3 when we gave up the dummy; she only had it for naps and bedtime, anyway, and when we made a big deal about her being a big girl/dummies are for babies, she has never missed it! The dummy is better than the thumb...my DS didn't have a dummy, sucked his fingers instead, and he's still doing it at 5 yrs old!

Good luck!

Sleep far more important than the very small harm that a dummy might do. My son has a dummy for naps and sleeptime. Out of all my friends I am the one that has never had any sleep issues and my DS still naps for 2 hours in the afternoon at 21 months. I love it and he is a very happy, bright and alert bambino because he gets the sleep he needs. Better than a thumb!

I'd give it back to her - she's still tiny!

6 mo is tiny. Dd only started having one at around that age, if not older, and only for naps. At 13 mo old she still has it for most naps, but not at other times.

Why do you want to stop?

Sleep for both of you is far more important than using a dummy. Take each stage at a time and, if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it!

I'd give it back. She's only little.

My two never would take to a dummy - although one is a ferocious thumb-sucker which is more difficult to curb!