To dummy or not to dummy?

[BettyButterknife]

Ds2 is 20 weeks I think, and over the past couple of weeks has become completely dependent on his dummy.

He used to wake once in the early hours for a feed (ff) and go back off for a few hours more but now wakes multiple times between 1am and 7am and will not settleunless we replace the dummy. We're not inthe same room as him (different floor in fact) so to replace dummy is a right faff.

Can't decide whether to try to wean him off the dummy or to stick it out until he can replace it himself (when is that??). What's best way of stopping the habit - col turkey or something more gentle?

And if you don 't use a dummy or bf or rock to sleep then how do you settle a baby who wakes in the night but isn't hungry?

Hi I can't remember what age they learn to put the dummy in themselves at. My DS would never bother to look for the dummy in his cot, even when there were 4 or 5 of them in there. He always called us in to find it for him. Little bugger!

This is a common age for babies to be up loads in the night. Its not just the dummy. It usually gets better around the 8-10mth point.
I'd carry on with the dummy.

If you do decide to get rid of the dummy you do it cold turkey and stick it out till he's got over it. Which could take up to 2 weeks.

I'd also carry on with the dummy. It's such a help and saves you a lot of rocking etc. to soothe LO to sleep, it can also be a life saver when nothing else works (in supermarkets, cars, etc.).

There was a period of a few weeks around 6 months when DS was waking up something like every hour (sometimes a lot more) looking for his dummy. DH slept next to his cot on the floor and just reached out to plug DS back in :) . He was swaddled until 9 months, so do not know when they normally start to find their dummies, but he's been alright finding them since sleeping unswaddled. That infuriating stage will pass, and your DS will learn to replace the dummy himself (if he wants to, that is.. if he wakes up for your company, he will shout out regardless of whether he can find it or not). My DS also has loads of them in his bed just in case.

During that horrible dummy replug phase I looked into every solution I could find. Cold turkey is really the only way to get rid of dummies in babies so young, and that did not feel right to me - it's his comfort and security after all.. I'd rather do it when he can understand that it's taken away and given to squirrel babies or whatever
Anyways, also bought a "Sleepytot", which has helped some folks. It's a bunny comforter to which you can attach dummies making them easier to find. I never did it, but DS likes it as a comforter anyway, so nothing to lose there.

Good Luck!

Crikey, ok - looks like we'll have to stick it out.

He is seriously waking every hour crying for it to be replaced though. I am like a zombie. Not sure I can take much more, and definitely not until 8-10 months! This job is hard.

We had the same problem. Got a Sleepytot Baby Comforter and never looked back. You put the dummies on it and they figure out how to find it themselves. Only advice I have really. Other than going cold turkey or replugging for many more months! :)

DD (9 months) goes to bed with approximately 100,000 dummies around her. She finds and replaces them herself during the night. She also knocks/throws them all onto the floor so every morning I have a dummy collecting and washing ritual.
Looks mad written down like that.
100,000 = about 10 in reality.
Sleepytot baby comforter looks interesting...

Hi - we had exactly this problem with dd1, needing dummy replacing sometimes every 20 mins. Just before she hit 6m I couldn't take it anymore and we did cc - was so horrid first night but by night 3 she was sleeping 7 til 7!! 7m old dd2 doesn't have dummy but has been using me as one - feel that I'm nearing the cc zone again - don't want to but no sleep can make a nice person do horrible things!!!