Trade off between dummy and sleep?

[Mayandbump23]

My DS (nearly 1) has used dummy on and off since birth though only during the day and never for sleeping. Since a visit to grandparents a couple of weeks ago when we gave him a dummy to help him settle in the middle of the night we have given it to him at home, too, and he seems to sleep longer and better (less wake ups) with it. Without a dummy he will only sleep 9-10 hours a night, with a dummy 12. He seems happier and more rested in the morning and wakes up with a smile on his face rather than crying. Given that we have managed nearly a year without a dummy and I know that he can go to sleep perfectly well without it, should I take it off him or keep on using it as it seems to ensure better sleep for him? Everything in me says ditch the dummy before it's too late but on the other hand DS doesn't nap very well during the day and someone said that 9-10 hours isn't enough sleep for a 1 year old so if I can get 12 hours with a dummy, is it worth it?

That's a tricky question and only you can really decide. I must say though that in your place I'd let him keep the dummy since he sleeps better and it makes him happier.

DD (same age as your DS) has had a dummy since she was about a month old, it made a HUGE difference to her sleeping as she's a very sucky baby. Unlike your DS though she only has it for sleeping (and, ahem, for having her nappy changed at the moment as otherwise she turns into a wild beast). Sometimes it falls out when she's asleep but she doesn't notice.

If you're worried about too much dummy usage, you could try cutting down during the day perhaps? Does he use it a lot during the day? Could you get him to nap without it and just keep it for his night sleep? (Maybe that's a really daft idea though.)

I don't live in the UK but in another European country and here EVERY baby has a dummy, for the first few weeks of her life everyone was amazed that DD didn't have one - and that includes doctors, an osteopath, midwives... I can assure you that there are no adults or older children walking about here with dummies. So I don't any longer see dummies as the evil they are often portrayed as being in Britain. If that's any comfort...