Has anyone taken away a dummy at 6-9 months. How did you do it and was it worth it ?!

[genieg]

Long history of terrible sleep issues with DS1 which I am trying to avoid with DS2 (6 months).

So as DS2 is still waking several times a night, usually so I can put his dummy back in.

I'm sure it will be a hard process but how can I drop the dummy and will it give be more sleep in the end or could it make things worse ?

ANY advice would be great as I can feel myself getting very down at the thought of another 4 years of very little sleep.

Do it do it do it.

We did it at about 8 months. We'd already taken it away for during the day and naps, but we were getting up several times a night like you and decided enough was enough.

First night was quite painful, I think he went off without too much fuss then woke up and was in a state for a while, eventually dropping off.

Second night bit of a fuss, but much better.

Third night we all slept completely through. Bliss. Wish I'd done it sooner tbh!

Thanks for the feedback. Its so hard. I've managed 2 naps today without the dummy. Woke up at lunch after 1/2 hr but when back after 5 minutes soothing from me.

Its the nighttime that worries me as he's always been a good napper and has a very regimented internal clock which means his need to sleep beats his need to cry. Not so at night as I did try last night but gave in.

In the night did you soothe him or sit with him or keep going and coming back ? Last night I did an inconsistent mixture of everything and in the end gave him his dummy.

I think the first night when he got in a bit of a paddy we just cuddled him then sat with him for a bit to calm him down, then put him down again, then did a bit of going and coming back until he was asleep.

The second night was much easier, only had to go in a couple of times for not very long, and as I said, night three was completely peaceful.

I was very worried about doing it but it was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be - only one night of horrendousness and then sorted very quickly. I know it is hard not to give in though, but it was well worth it imo.

Worried about this for ages before going cold turkey on the dummy at 7 months with DS1. He might have taken slightly longer than usual to drop off for his nap on day 1 but then hardly seemed to notice. The thought of doing it was far worse than the reality.

If only I'd remembered this with DS2- he is now 22 months and still has his to sleep. Dont think he'll be giving it up anytime soon. He only has it in bed so I'm not hugely worried about it and he does find it if he needs it in the night.

Am going to try to be rid of it by Christmas though...

If you decide you want to go the other way and keep the dummy a bit longer then give this a try: www.sleepytot.com/comforters/sleepytot-baby-comforter.aspx

We gave one to DS at 7 months and haven't had to put the dummy back in ever since!

If you decide to get rid of the dummy, let us know how you get on...I know I need to do it at some point (he's now 10 months)!

Thanks everyone. Had a not too bad night last night. Slept for about 5.5 hours without waking which was the longest stretch for a while which has to be a good sign. I'm staying with him and patting soothing rather than leaving the room as he's still only 6 months.

Didn't give it for naps today although his lunch nap ended up only 1 hour instead of 2.

But at bedtime he totally self settled in the room by himself after about 15 minutes of alternate chatting grumbling which he hasn't done since tiny (without a dummy). I'm feeling hopeful!

Mini marmite - will post again in a couple of days. If it does work it so far hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought. Apart from the 1st night when I decided to randomly start doing at 3am and understandably pissed him right off and I gave in. The next morning I dropped it for naps so night was the 3rd experience for him. Sleepytot looks great if it works for you - if it does I wouldn't worry about the dummy as they are a great comfort - just the replacing it that causes the problem (took DS1 well over a year to replace it himself and by that time his sleep patterns were up the swanny!)