Weaning off the dummy

[glummum1988]

Hi all

My LO is 6months actual age but was 7weeks prem so corrected age is just over 4months. We have been using a dummy to get our baby to sleep which up until now has been working however in the last couple of days she has started waking every 2 hours, only for a couple of minutes until we pop (and hold) the dummy in. She will sometimes get very drowsy and then spit the dummy out just before she falls asleep but more recently it's in her mouth until she goes into a deep sleep when it then falls out. She doesn't wake up when it falls out but then tends to wake 2 hours later. We use the dummy for night and day sleeps. She is clearly going through a massive development leap at the moment too because she has started sitting up, rolling back to front and has found her feet so not sure if the wakings are due to that.
Can any one help with whether the new 2 hour wakings are due to the dummy being a sleep association or are they down to a development leap?

Thanks in advance

Not sure, but if the dummy is causing more issues than it’s fixing I’d get rid of it personally. My now-toddler cut right back on her dummy use about that age but still had it occasionally until 7 months.

@FudgeSundae thanks for replying. How did you manage to cut the use down please? We only use it to trigger sleep, never to settle when awake. I have literally just given it to her just now to trigger her morning nap. She held it in herself (for once!) and then it fell out right before she fell asleep. Hoping of it is an association for hat we can nip it in the bud quickly!

Dummies are recommended to prevent SIDS.. Prem babies tick a box....

We just stopped giving it to her when it was more trouble than it was worth. A lot of drama for a night or two but then she forgot about it. It was hard but so was replacing it 20 times a night!

My DD is 20weeks and the exact same. I introduced a dummy for prevention of SIDS, and it also helps her reflux. She will fall to sleep with it, but it drops out as soon as she gets into a deep sleep. In the night she won’t settle back down until she has it back, granted this is usually just once, but there has been occasions this is more. I think she is also going through a leap, so when she wakes and tries to resettle herself, she realises it’s missing. I’ve thought about taking it away, but as she is good at going down, and will usually settle straight back down when you give her the dummy back, I’m scared of the repercussions and the sleepless nights. She can sometimes find it herself and put it back in, but that’s rare.

@DressingGown87 I tested the waters yesterday and we did naps without the dummy. It was awful, she screamed and cried but eventually fell asleep out of exhaustion and instead of getting around 3 hours day sleep she got just over an hour. Her little face looked so sad and tired when she was awake and I just felt to guilty so we have decided to carry on using the dummy to trigger sleep. Basically we are going to carry on as we are until it becomes a problem. I don't think waking once/twice a night is too bad considering their age and the horror stories you hear about 10+ wakings a night. Also I assume if they are only waking once or twice then they are self soothing without the dummy at some point right?

@glummum1988 I’ve tested the water too, and I we both ended in tears and grumpy . Last night she woke three times for it. Going to just leave her for a bit at night, see if she can resettle without it as she is just usually messing about, but not leave her to get upset. I don’t think either us of are ready for cold turkey 😂 I don’t know if she has always done this, but when she was in the next to me I did it without noticing in my sleep, but now I physically have to get out of bed to go to the cot I’m noticing more 🤷🏽‍♀️. But like you said a few night wakings, and quick 30second fix at this point of their lives / development is fine, in comparison to struggles others are having. I assume she settles at some points on her own. I’m just craving a full nights sleep.

You and me both 😂! We still have her in our room at the moment because she was prem, so I really should stop moaning because I don't even have to move to pop it back in. We actually only had her wake once last night (additional to her normal 2am feed) and she slept a full 4hours so I am convinced she capable of self soothing!
I have seen these little rabbits that you can attach the dummy to so they find it easily themselves, but not sure if I'm ready to put anything in her cot yet!