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Original poster

Wean 6m off dummy

24 replies

88Pandora88 · 01/06/2020 05:27

So my 6 month old has just gone into own room with big sister.
She's had a dummy since first 8 weeks.
The last 2 nights, she's been waking loads wanting her dummy back in.
I've tried giving it her during the day to learn to put back in, but she just chews the handle or sides of it.
My other daughter didn't have a dummy so didn't have this issue, but tonight dd2 has had me up pretty much hourly to put dummy back in, I don't want to leave her whinging too long cos then it wakes dd1 up.

Moving her back in our room isn't a great option as it's ridiculously hot in our room, where as the girls have the back bedroom which is so much cooler.

Please any tips for either weaning her off the dummy, or getting her to actually put it back in herself.

Thank you

OP posts:
fuuuuuuck · 01/06/2020 05:59

I can't imagine a 6 month old being able to put the dummy back in I'm afraid!
Sorry, I'd just go cold turkey x

TinySleepThief · 01/06/2020 06:04

I would move her back in with you and get a fan to keep the room cooler. She's simply too little to have the dexterity involved in putting her dummy back in independently.

soundsystem · 01/06/2020 06:48

Agree with others, I think at 6 months she'd be a way of putting it back herself (sorry!).

I'd just go cold turkey. We did it with my son at 7 months. It was one night of lots of tight cuddles and rocking and then he was fine.

Good luck!

MrsLully · 01/06/2020 06:54

Just take it away. Start practicing with naps, give lots of cuddles and reassurance and she'll forget about in no time.
It took a couple of days when my DD was 11 weeks old or so. I replaced her sleep association with the dummy with myself, and then the cuddles with some shushing and patting in the cot. Best thing we ever did for her sleep: she started going 12 hours at night and has done so ever since. No crying alone involved.

Hibbetyhob · 01/06/2020 07:16

We went cold turkey with my ds at 7 months as it was affecting his sleep and it was pretty easy - just a night or so and then he completely adapted. We gave him a special cuddly as a replacement and it still goes to bed with him every night now he’s 6!

We also had none of the struggles trying to wean him off a dummy when he was older so we were very glad we did it when we did.

myself2020 · 01/06/2020 07:46

Now is a great time to get rid - once she actually can put it in herself its going to be a LOT harder. Get rid now

Rosebel · 01/06/2020 08:21

Could you move her back in your room and go cold turkey? It seems unfair to go cold turkey and upset your other daughter's sleep. At this age she'll forget about it after a night or two, then you can move her back.

Bearlyawake · 01/06/2020 08:40

We went cold turkey at 10 months and I wish we'd done it sooner. A couple of rubbish nights and then he started sleeping much better.

Suetty · 01/06/2020 08:45

I initially read that as 6 y.o., not 6 m.o.

At 6 months a dummy is nothing to worry about.

Wait til 2 and introduce the dummy fairy with a nice big kid present. That worked for both of mine. That said I have a friend who has a five year old who still sleeps with one at night and will not give it up, promises of dummy fairy or any other bribery!

curtainsforme · 01/06/2020 08:53

At 6 months a dummy is nothing to worry about.

Did you read the OP?

It is something to worry about becaee everyone is getting woken up because they baby is crying for the dummy to be out back in. That's why OP made the post Confused

Iggi999 · 01/06/2020 08:57

I think moving to sleep away from you and not being allowed to have a dummy anymore are two big things and I wouldn't do them both at once. She will probably start sucking her thumb instead and good luck weaning her off that. I remember surrounding mine with dummies so he could grab one close to him but that would not have been at 6 months I don't think.

Twiglet2353 · 01/06/2020 09:22

Placemarking as in same boat with my six month old! He's just gone into his own room and taken the sleepyhead away so not sure whether to wait a while to get rid of dummy so as not to overwhelm him, but he is waking up every hour for it to be put back in

PowerslidePanda · 01/06/2020 09:51

We weaned DD1 off at 7 months for the same reason but we did give her a couple of weeks to get settled into her own room first. If you're going to take that kind of approach, you could start now by taking away the dummy during the day and only giving it for sleep.

When we got rid of it at night time, we swapped it for a soft toy (I read that for safety reasons, any toy should be smaller than the baby's head) and then went cold turkey. Tough for a couple of days, but quickly forgotten. DD happened to come down with a nasty bug a few days after we ditched the dummy and I felt so sorry for her that I offered it back to try and make her feel better, but she was completely uninterested!

Suetty · 01/06/2020 11:11

@curtainsforme

Mea culpa.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 01/06/2020 11:15

You will have 2 or 3 bad nights but ditch it now. Dummies are a nightmare after 6m.

MaternitySpongeBob · 01/06/2020 11:24

unless there's some medical reason why a dummy is needed (and I'm not aware if that's likely as i know they're sometimes recommended for premies)... go cold turkey, it's time to nip it in the bud now... otherwise you're just fighting this battle only to have it become an even bigger problem later.

you will have to deal with it at some point.

now's the time.

grey12 · 01/06/2020 12:09

My kids never had a dummy.

However I remember reading that you should be more careful is with thumb sucking. So if your child starts sucking their thumb then just revert back to dummy.

It's easier to physically take away the dummy then it is to stop the habit of thumb sucking and many adults still do it....

Original poster
88Pandora88 · 02/06/2020 06:34

Thank you everyone for your responses. She went all day yesterday without a dummy, initially falling asleep without one but then woke up upset, so we tried giving her the dummy and then it just reverted back to usual waking up constantly, so a night of cuddles was had without the dummy. 😊 Thanks for the helpful answers everyone x

OP posts:
hauntedvagina · 02/06/2020 07:18

At six months both mine could put a dummy in their mouth.

Not ideal, and seems to go against what the masses on here suggest, but I used to chuck several dummies into the cot. That way when one popped out they could easily locate another. I think moving to their own room and giving up a dummy is a lot for a little one to handle in a week!

Twiglet2353 · 02/06/2020 21:26

How's it going @88Pandora88 ?

We went cold turkey this morning. Barely napped and has woken twice since putting him down for sleep @ 7. Currently inconsolable with DH. Is usually rocked to sleep too so that's another habit we'll have to break....

Original poster
88Pandora88 · 03/06/2020 07:59

@Twiglet2353 first night was so so, she went down without dummy initially but had just had a bottle. She woke after an hour, tried to rock back to sleep etc, but she just went mental screaming, after maybe 15 mins she was still going (I was still with her) so gave dummy and she instantly fell asleep. Put her back in the cot but about an hour or so later it just repeated so ended up sleeping with her and she then slept OK without it. However during the day she the first nap she screamed like mad again, and later in the day she started trying to figure out thumb sucking 🤦🏻‍♀️

Last night we gave her the dummy again but she wasn't as bad, probably stirring every 2-.2.5 hours which I can cope with haha.

We are going to try reducing how much she has the dummy during the day and see if we can ease it off her but also trying to prevent her starting to suck the thumb 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thanks for asking 😊

OP posts:
Twiglet2353 · 03/06/2020 08:52

@88Pandora88 we gave in after 1.5 hours of constant screaming last night. Was horrendous. Never want to see him like that again. Dummy is back and it can stay, I don't have the balls to go through it again and hopefully the 12 wake ups a night will soon pass....

Original poster
88Pandora88 · 03/06/2020 09:11

@Twiglet2353 same 🤦🏻‍♀️. Good luck to you! I'm sure it'll soon pass! At least I hope so haha!

OP posts:
Sparklybanana · 03/06/2020 09:19

I gave it only if it was asked for and it ended up being pretty easy. Having said that - why are you trying to give up the dummy so soon? Ifbits gone by 18 months its usually pretty easy but you're going to do teething without a dummy and possibly making your life harder than necessary!

Dd gave it up at about 16 m without a wimper. Ds gave it up about 2 ish several times as we gave it back during flights and things.

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