How/if to ditch dummy in 3m old?

[moggle]

DD is 15 weeks old and has a dummy to go to sleep at night. I would like to get rid of it but, we're really lucky that she's a great sleeper at night, so should I just leave it rather than risk disrupting everything?

She had it from 4wks because the easiest way to stop her flailing around in her bednest (bedside crib) and waking herself up was to put a finger in her mouth. (She hated swaddling).

She never has the dummy for any other naps, but for those she's usually in the bouncer so being rocked, or in the car or pram. I'm just starting to put her in her cot in her room for morning nap, with a light projector lullaby thing.

Since about 10 weeks she's slept through most nights and our usual nights go:
6.30-7pm start bedtime feed (she's ebf)
7.30-8 in bednest with dummy, drops it maybe 5-10 times, we go up and replace it. Not a huge deal.
8-9 she falls asleep, don't usually hear a peep after this.
11 dream feed
Then asleep til 7-8. Usually have to replace dummy 3-10 times during the night but as I'm right next to her it's not currently more than a minor annoyance to me.

However we really don't want to have to get up to replace it this much once she's in her own room, so are thinking of trying to ditch it now. But how? I don't want to do controlled crying at all. Any tips on replacing dummy with a toy or comforter that's easier for her to find in the cot? Is she even old enough to find comfort in a toy etc?

Also, if we decide to leave it, how old do they need to be to find the dummy in the cot and put it back in? (assuming it's attached to one of those comforter dummy things)

Bump...

I think she is young enough that going cold turkey will be short lived- just ditch it . Soothe her through the discomfort and hopefully it will pass.

Any tips for how not just to replace it with another difficult prop like rocking to sleep... Can I do pick up put down with her at this age?

I'm not really an advocate of PUPD for any age, I know some people swear by it though! I just think that it teases the baby. I would just hold her hand, perhaps place some weight on her tummy. Try not to hold her, withdrawing a hand is an easier prop to get rid of than a nice warm hug. As my son got older, about 18 weeks I replaced my hand with a bashful bunny comforter- he used to hold the ear- this was on the advice of a sleep consultant. He used to hold the ear- it became a very healthy sleep prop for him- he even preferred it to dummy as it still comforted him when he had a cold (which obv a dummy doesn't). It was also very easy for him to find, though he rarely let go- babies often sleep with fists clenched. He still has it now at 3.5yrs and it's a great source of comfort for him! X

We ditched it just before 6 months because a book said it was a good time. She was spitting it out by then but unable to find and get it back in.
We only had one tough night and then she just forgot about it. She soon found her thumb though so now we have a 4yo thumb sucker. That's tough to crack. I often wish we had left it until later to discourage the thumb.

Thanks for all the advice. Yes I'm a bit worried about the thumb too. I was a thumb sucker but gave it up pretty easily about 4yo and DH never did it so hoping genetics is on our side...

I had a little experiment tonight and did have a little go at getting her to sleep without it with no luck. once I put her in bed and she'd got bored of "talking" to herself, she started whinging and when I didn't immediately put the dummy in she worked herself up to crying with real tears quite quickly even though I was lying right next to her with my hands on her (I did only leave it a minute or so and was constantly sh-ing her). She was hunting around for something with her mouth - definitely not hungry- so I do wonder if she remembers it even though what I've read says she shouldn't yet! Anyway once I plugged it in she fell asleep in 5 seconds, and I've only had to go upstairs once to replace it.
Weekend after this one we are at home so perhaps we'll try it properly then...

I seem to remember from the no cry sleep solution that you can try and take it out of their mouth just before they finally drop off to sleep (same applies to boob which is what i tried to do with my son). They will fuss and cry at which point you give it back and repeat over and over until they finally fall asleep without it.

Its not a quick fix but something to try over a longer period of a few days. Id like to think this worked for me as i tried religiously every night but then we hit the 4 months sleep regression and i ended up just feeding to sleep after which he discovered his thumb.

Something to try anyway so you can feel like you are proactively trying something!!

Good luck!

Why would you ditch it at all? Several studies have suggested a large reduction in SIDS risk for babies under 6 months just from soother use. And babies get huge amounts of comfort from oral soothing. I don't see the downside, to be honest.