When is the best time to get rid of dummy - and how?

[EmW1987]

Hey,
My dd is 16 weeks and uses a dummy for naps and to sleep at night. Despite being anti dummy I caved in as she had reflux and the sucking helped. Reflux now seems under control but the dummy has remained.
I won't use it during the day, other than for naps. But I'm debating when the best time to get rid of it is? It definitely helps settle her and I can see her eyes shut as she sucks on it but I know it's only a matter of time before we are getting up to plug it back in and to be honest we are already doing it a few times a night. It seems we either need to get rid of it soonish or wait it out.
I dont want to replace it with any other sleep prop i.e. Feeding to sleep but know that it's going to be a be a battle and CIO isn't an option for me. I'd be interested to hear how others have got rid of the dummy and when worked for them?

Hi GlitteryFluff
I've brought the air wrap bumpers but not used them as I've found it easier to put my arm through and put the dummy back in and also she seems to need her hand holding to stop her thrashing around and taking the dummy out.
I'm just not sure I can cope with this much broken sleep for another few months, especially as all my friends seem to have babies without dummies that are sleeping through the night. I know if we take away the dummy it will just be something else we need to do to settle her though!

There are two factors to consider:

(1) Making finding/replacing dummy as easy as possible.
(2) Tackling light sleeping so that baby doesnt wake as frequently

For making finding & replacing dummy as easy as possible (both for yourself, and also for baby to do themself from 8m ish), the best solution I have found involves:

• cosleeper cot
• sewn on dummy saver
• Swaddle (If young enough, used normally)

You can take 1 side off any cotbed and wedge it up to your bed, to make a side-car cot.

Then you don't need to move from under your duvet to replace dummy amd hold it in, if needed.

A sewed a ribbon with a press stud at the end onto the chest of all my sleeping bags (be aware this will carry a SIDS risk though). That meant that I could quickly and easily find dummy without even opening my eyes, just with a sweeping hand movement. As baby gets older she can learn the same to find her own dummy.

The sidecar cot and ribbon together mean I could find and replace dummy without moving from my bed, without getting out of the duvet and without opening my eyes.

Much comes down to realistic expectation on this. You will be needed to help your baby go back to sleep, whether you is a dummy or not. So make is as easy as humanly possible, in order to prioritise your own sleep. If you ade of the opinion that:

• the cot cannot be next to your bed
• the cot needs to be in another room
• methods to keep the dummy within reachable distance are a risk to far

Then you can only expect that this will mean you'll have more disturbed nights sleep. So you have to decide what is more important than your sleep.

Light sleeping (so waking frequently to need resetting) is a completely seperate issue. A deep sleeper may only need the dummy when first going to bed and following any wakes due to hunger. A light sleeper will wake much more easily. Light sleeping is usually due to:

• lack of calories over the whole of the previous 24/48 hours. Frequent, big feeds to ensure as many calories as possible helps with this.

• over tiredness, lack of sleep over 24h. Maintaining limited awake time and frequent naps helps with this.

We had a comforter that you could attach a dummy to. Helps them find it in the night.

seems to need her hand holding to stop her thrashing around

A swaddle would help. But you should only use a swaddle if used before 3 months of age. If not, a tightly tucked in blanket maybe?

Or maybe she just wants you close? With a sidecar cot, you can cuddle into her to his her still.

I gave DD a dummy after serious illness . After about 4 months I only used it at night . Then at 12 months I got rid of it . She just cried for it for a couple of nights then it was forgotten .
I did give her one back for around 3 nights when she was in real pain with back teeth at around 18 months but no problem at all when I took it that time .

Hello!

My little one is 12months old and uses a dummy from naps and nighttime only. I'm hoping to get rid of the dummy but worry she will just switch to sucking her thumb instead??

Any advice? Has this happened to anyone else?