My DS is 8 months old. When awake, he has no interest in sucking his thumb or a dummy. When it comes to naps and sleep, however, it's a different matter. For naps, I have to rock him gently in my arms as I sush, and he drops off in minutes. However, he will not nap in the cot when laid down until his dummy is put in his mouth. At night, he breastfeeds to sleep or drifts off with the dummy in as DP pats and shushes him. When he cycles into light sleep in the night, he screeches at the top of his lungs until the fallen-out dummy is replaced in his mouth. He is actually semi-asleep whilst doing this, so he isn't conscious enough to find it and replace it himself (he can do this, we've been training him whilst he's awake). If we wait to see if he'll stop or find the dummy, he then wakes fully and is then hysterical for hours. If we pop it in, he'll sleep 11-12 hrs. However, this can mean we are waking to put the dummy in every hour some nights (and I am an imsomniac who can't get back to sleep quickly when woken). During his naps, he sometimes wakes up crying after 30 mins and the dummy has fallen out and I have to go in to replace it, then pick him up and rock him back off to sleep again in my arms.
However, sometimes, he will continue napping when the dummy falls out, and, once in a blue moon, he won't wake needing the dummy when being put down. Similarly in the night; some nights he unlatches and falls asleep without continuing to BF or needing DP to put his dummy in and sometimes, he sleeps right through, even though we can hear him being a bit restless during the lighter phases of sleep or even waking briefly and getting himself back off to sleep. It all seems very hit and miss. Have tried working out if there is anything different about the times when he doesn't need the dummy but it's totally random. Have also tried Elizabeth Pantley's trick of gently closing his mouth but it doesnn't work for him.
Incidentally, he started sleeping throught the night at 7 weeks and never woke needing a dummy. The habit started when he was teething and sucking the dummy at night was the only thing that gave any of us a few hours sleep.
At the moment, he is still in our room in his cot, as we only have a small flat, but we are hoping to move soon and move him into his own room. We really need to crack this dummy needing thing. He has never sucked his thumb when napping or sleeping and we wish he would! Have tried to get him to do it but it's never worked. Am desperate for advice. We won't do controlled crying, so would ask v politely that no-one suggests it. Help!