Does your baby have a dummy? If so do they wake often?

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My DD is 7 months and will usually (although not always) have a dummy just before going off to sleep. I thought she wasn't overly dependent on it until I decided I wasn't going to give it to her at bedtime! It only took 25mins of screaming for her to go to sleep at the beginning of the night but on subsequent wake ups the battle was just too big and I ended up giving it to her just so we could get back to sleep.

I don't have a major problem with her just having it at sleep time (she wouldn't take it in the day anyway) but the constant night wakings are making me wonder if the dummy is partly to blame, amongst other things.

Does anyone use a dummy and their baby sleeps through, or for longish periods at least? If you use a dummy for an older baby at what age could they self manage the dummy?

However if your baby woke lots with a dummy did you do anything to improve this? If you weaned them off the dummy how did you do it and at what age?

Hiya, I had the same worries a couple of months ago and was in two minds about whether to try and wean DD (8.5mo) off it or not. Anyway, we didn't and she can now find it and sort herself out the vast majority of the time. Occasionally she loses it and/or drops it out of the cot as she's settling herself in the evening, (especially if she's a bit overtired and flailing about a bit...) but once she calms down, she tends to keep it nearby.

As for whether there's anything you can do, I'm not sure. We did do BLW, which seemed to give her manual dexterity and ability to get things to her mouth a bit of a kick-start. I also let her have a bi if a play with her dummies in her cot for a while, which may have helped, I don't know.

I'd say you're nearly there, in terms of her being able to put it back in, although I found it took a little while after she was able to do it for her to realize that it was there, iykwim. Very frustrating, but I'd get it and put it in her hand - again, whether this helped her or she would have got there anyway, I don't know.

They're all different, of course, but I'd I were you, I'd be tempted to give it a month or two, just to see if she gets the hang of replacing it herself. I have lots of friends who had no problems doing the dummy fairy thing with their toddlers, so I figure if it gives DD comfort and helps her settle now, why deny her?

Best of luck, OP :)

Thank you for your reply mummy, I think I'm so desperate for sleep I'm trying to explore every possible avenue. However tonight I decided the dummy battle was probably one I don't need right now. I gave it to her when I put her in her cot and she went straight off to sleep, without it we would have had lots of tears. They say it can only take a few nights to wean them off but I feel awful when she's so tired but can't sleep because I'm withholding the dummy. They do say its easier to get rid of the dummy when you can tell the dummy fairy story!

Maybe I'll persevere for the time being and see how she goes. I let her play with the dummy, in fact she does this herself as she'll only suck it when she's close to falling asleep. I once saw a little teddy thing you can get to put in the cot which holds a few dummies so when they're older they just have to find the teddy to get a dummy. Must see if I can find them somewhere!

I've seen those teddy things, think it's a rabbit and you can attach a dummy to each paw. Also have you seen the glow in the dark dummies that you can get in boots. They are MAM ones I think.

I remember the hell of getting up 5-10 times a night to put the dummy back in. Even when there were 4 or more in his cot. But he did eventually learn to find it himself and also he started to wake less and so no be looking for it.
Having a soother like a dummy can be worth putting up with this night time niusance for a while.
Both mine enjoy sucking for soothing and relaxing. DS had a dummy and DD (3) sucks two fingers.

Both mine had them. Just for sleeping until they were around 2. My eldest, who is now 6 never slept through and still rarely does! My second always slept really well. People often told me tales of how their babies slept better without the dummies but I reckon you either get a sleeper or you don't. As I said, my 6 year old can be up 4 times a night sometimes, she just doesn't need much sleep.

That teddy bear is called a Sleepy Tot - www.sleepytot.com

My 6mo has a dummy. She's always used it for naps and bedtime. I don't think it wakes her up...I sometimes hear her waking and cry out, but resettle, so know she is doing it without the dummy. She used to wake loads, but this was bad habits and sleep training sorted it. Then I may have blamed the dummy. But now, fingers crossed, she now sleeps from 7-5 (feed) then til 7ish.

I would stick with it....they're amazing things to send them off to the land of nod!

tiredteddy the glow in the dark dummy sounds like a good idea! & thank you for the link to the sleepy tot tipp

shy thanks for the reassurance it will get easier! And smartie I hope I've not got another 6 years or more of little sleep! You're the 3rd person this week that told me their 6 yr old was still waking! I totally agree that you either get a sleeper or you don't. I've often wondered if its something I've done but deep down I know she came programmed that way. So dummy or no dummy probably won't help with more sleep, but at least the dummy can mean I get back into my bed sooner after each wake up!

Thanks princess, can I ask what type of sleep training you did?

My ds is 7 months old and has dummy for naps and bedtime. He has nights where he needs it replaced every hour, and other nights where he only wakes 2or 3 times. During bad weeks of no sleep I often consider getting rid of his dummy, but then out of the blue he has a better night, which makes me think it's not all about the dummy - he's just not a good sleeper. It is such a comfort to him and can't imagine tackling naps without it! I've recently bought a sleepytot and am really hoping ds gets the hang of it soon.

honestly - get rid of it! Best thing we ever did - when DS was 7 months old - you have to go cold turkey - throw them all away so you aren't tempted.

He had been waking every 20 minutes/ hourly whatever - it was horrendous - the first night we got rid of it he slept for 6 hours straight. And he went to sleep fine without it and I don't think had any memory of being without it by the next day.

He is not a great sleeper now - it's not a miracle cure, but it is much better without the dummy and it's one less thing to worry about.