Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To go cold turkey with the dummy ?

14 replies

AnnieDelores · 15/10/2012 20:33

DS is 14 months and has a dummy for naps and bedtime. Trouble is.......it's causing his sensitive skin to flare up.......not all the time, but lots of the time, especially if he is teething. I know this because the red rash appears at the four corners of the outline of the dummy. I dont think its an allergy or his whole mouth would be affected...I think its where the dribble gathers even though I'm using a MAM Air dummy.

The other trouble is, he sleeps beautifully with it. If he wakes up, he crawls around the cot to find it, shoves it back in and he's back to sleep.

Is now the right time to go cold turkey? He is already addicted. Or should I wait until he is old enough to understand things like a dummy fairy?

I feel its the right thing to do, but don't know when or how.

OP posts:
KentuckyFriedChildren · 15/10/2012 20:55

Dd went cold turkey at 18m and was fine but each child is different. Why not try it and if it doesn't work in a couple days give it back. There's no point in stressing him if he's not ready. Dds dummy was replaced with a teddy and a wee blanket if that helps :)

Tnetennba · 15/10/2012 20:59

Cold turkey worked fine for mine at a similar age. I had crying the first night on and off then a bit of crying at bedtime the following night then nothing too much. It was much much easier than I thought it would be.

Whatevertheweather · 15/10/2012 21:03

We tried at 18 months with dd1 and she just wasn't ready. We tried again at 2 and 2.5. Finally at 3 she merrily handed a stash in to a bemused looking ticket man at Legoland in exchange for entrance and never looked for one again. Not much help to you now I know but just to say. If he's not ready now don't despair. He will do eventually. DD's was only for sleeping and she was only allowed it in cot/carseat so it didn't affect her in a negative way at all.

femmeparisienne · 15/10/2012 21:05

know how u feel pet. my ds was utterly obsessed with the dummy. went around sometimes with 2 in his mouth and 5 on standby. seriously. but one day when he was....2!!!!!!... i just dumped them all. when he woke up he was looking for it but not crying. hasnt cried for it a day since. 6 months later and hes totally grand although he will stuff all his fingers in his mouth at times. but it wasnt as difficult getting rid of it as i thought and i mean he was attached with superglue to that thing!
just go for it if u think its the right time. absolutely dont give in and if its a disaster after a few days just leave them with it for a while longer. as i said mine was 2. i tried loads of times before but always gave in because i couldnt bare the whinging/night crying for it/tesco runs with him roaring... lol.
good luck :)

Nuttyprofessor · 15/10/2012 21:09

I cured the sore mouth problem with Vaseline. If they are happy with the dummy I don't see any reason to upset them. Plenty of time to give it up.

Original poster
AnnieDelores · 15/10/2012 21:13

I tried vaseline and it seemed to make it worse oddly. Wish it did solve it.....but I knew I was putting off the inevitable........

OP posts:
ghoulelocks · 15/10/2012 21:48

I feel Envy to those who could cold turkey the dummy. My ds does NOT forget it. We've tried a few times. Days of sleep deprivation, screaming until he vomited over and over. Begging ceaselessly for it. Every waking moment focused on it. Seriously.

It lives in his cot now, which he accepts, but at 2.4 we have still never ever got him to sleep even once without it. Believe me too, I don't crack easily.

rogersmellyonthetelly · 15/10/2012 21:53

I did cold turkey at 23 months with ds. Thankfully he was old enough to understand the dummy fairy and happily wrapped them all up in wrapping paper with a bow for a new baby to have. He asked a couple of times, but was fine after a week or so. His younger sister on the other hand is a finger sucker and I'm still trying to get her to break the habit at age 6!

Mummiesarescary · 15/10/2012 22:04

I wish mine would have a dummy, he stopped at 7 months whaen he started teething. Unfortunately he uses a bottle instead and wakes up a lot.

If the rash is bad maybe try him without. If not I'd leave him. Ds1&2 both gave there's to the dummy fairy between the age if 2 &3

RandallPinkFloyd · 15/10/2012 22:12

Why on earth would anyone put a baby through Days of sleep deprivation, screaming until he vomited over and over. Begging ceaselessly for it. Every waking moment focused on it. That's just horrible, and I'm really not a judgey person.

OP, I would try it by all means, there's no harm in giving it a go, but if he gets upset give it back to him and see your GP about the rash. If it's saliva that's causing it then it'll happen when he's teething anyway regardless of the dummies.

Honestly he's a baby, if it gives him comfort don't take it away from him. 14 months is so small. DS is 14 months and has to have 2 to go to sleep. He holds one in each hand and has about three sucks then swaps to the other, then back again and repeat until sleeping Confused.

I understand having to do something about it as he gets older but I honestly haven't even considered taking them off him this young.

Kalisi · 15/10/2012 22:51

^second that.

Original poster
AnnieDelores · 16/10/2012 21:00

I've seen 3 GPs about the rash. First it was diagnosed as Impetigo. They got that wrong as swab came back negative. Then they prescribed thrush cream. That didn't work. Now they reckon its mild eczema with flare ups triggered by dummy. To be honest, I don't think they know! GPs are never that hot on skin issues.

All I do know is that the rash always recurs in the same places (around the outline of the dummy) and nowhere else on his body. It clears up with hydrocortisone prescribed by the GP, but I don't like applying it so often as its a steroid.

The problem here, is the fine balance between looking after the delicate skin on his darling little face, or the (hopefully) short term distress of not having the dummy.

I'm putting micropore tape around the plastic wings of the dummy for the next couple days to see if that helps. If not, I think I can try to remove it from nap times first, then night times later.......or would that be confusing?

OP posts:
MoonlightandWerewolves · 16/10/2012 21:09

Mine gets a similar rash on occasion and, like your DS only uses it for naps and nighttimes. I find smearing either Sudocreme or Elave (it's a moisturiser designed for eczema - link here ) on the soother, rather than directly on the skin helps too.

Haven't dared attempt any cold-turkey-ing yet though - small child here has the lungs and staying power of a herd of elephants!

justanuthermanicmumsday · 16/10/2012 21:14

be persistent with docs hopefully find out what it is.

Go complete cold turkey. if u remove it for naps remove at night too, otherwise it will give your child mixed messages and will undo all the hard work ur putting in to end her addiction.

I tried that when my daughter had turned 2. she had gone from letting go of her dummy when she was asleep to feeling around for her dummy if it ever fell out of her mouth. Came to a point she was disturbing my sleep constantly if it fell out her mouth.

So I burst a fuse I got her dummies and binned them I thought I'd deal with her crying. Thankfully she moaned at nap times for 2 days but never cried at night. She's fine without it now, never asks for it.

My sons temperament was worse. He cried for it up to a week I don't know how I coped with it, but its a distant memory now.

Good luck.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread