Someone please help me regain my sanity - DD just won't sleep

[beanybean]

I took DD's dummy (she's 2) away from her a few months ago and now she takes hours to go to sleep and is using her bottle as a substitute. Did I do the wrong thing taking the dummy away first and should I have stopped the bottle and then the dummy. What do I do now? I'm so worried about her teeth and she isn't sleeping enough either.

Hmm. Nothing wrong with her still using a bottle at 2, but she shouldn't be using it to soothe herself to sleep; as you say, it could damage her teeth, so it would be better for her to use a dummy rather than a bottle. Does your DD demand a dummy during the day, or does she just need it at bedtime?

Just at night. Since i took it away she's been using the bottle as a dummy almost to soothe herself to sleep and drinking so much milk it can't bee good for her or her teeth. Do you think I should give her the dummy back?

I took DS1's dummy from him just before he turned 2; we had five days and nights of misery before he accepted his fate, and since then we've never looked back.

But since you've had a few months of misery without the dummy, and your DD's using the bottle as a substitute I would consider replacing the bottle with the dummy.

She needs the sleep (and I'm sure you do), and maybe when she is a little bit older you'll be able to get rid of the dummy for good without disrupting her sleep.

Can you offer her some alternative as a soother? She could choose a new cuddly toy/blankie type thing (my DD cuddles hers to sleep) or a light projector with music (my niece aged 5 used DD's when she stayed with us for a week, it helped her to feel safe and relaxed in a strange bed).