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Original poster

Keeping dummies in at night

20 replies

mhorne · 06/07/2005 20:26

I have a 6wk old son who has been using a dummy. He has real trouble holding on to it and nighttimes can be a nightmare. I can be in and out of his room every 20 mins to replace it. I have tried to settle him without it but he won't have it, I have also tried various types (currently on the cherry sort). Any suggestions would be gratefully received..... and yes sellotape has been considered!!!!!!!

OP posts:
starlover · 06/07/2005 20:28

haha, there is NO solution i'mn afraid! my ds is 5 months and i still have to go in and stick it back in... roll on the days when he can do it himself

dejags · 06/07/2005 20:29

sorry to say this MH, but 10 months down the line I am still going in up to 10 times on a bad night to stick it back in. He is perfectly capable of popping it in himself, we just have bad sleep association which I don't have the energy to tackle.

I would get rid of it much earlier if I knew what I know now.

ssd · 06/07/2005 20:36

I was still going in about twice a night to pop it back in when ds2 was 3 (years!!)

simone131182 · 06/07/2005 20:41

hi unfortunately like u say there isnt anything u can do really my dd had hers till she was 4 and i still had to get her her dum when she dropped it i hope u get it sorted hun i really do i know its not much fun but he will sort himself out soon xx

Original poster
mhorne · 06/07/2005 20:44

Thanks, no surprises really! I just can't remember my DD doing it (she's 19mths old now and finds her own dummy), oh well I will just have to enjoy the couple of hours uninterrupted sleep I get at the mo.

OP posts:
lemonice · 06/07/2005 20:45

I think it can't be harder to teach him to settle without it, short term pain for long term gain...Good Luck

simone131182 · 06/07/2005 21:09

at his age it should be easy to break him from the dummy it will be a hard coule of nights but like lemonice said its got to be worth it x x

lunavix · 06/07/2005 21:11

Ds started off like this, but by about 5 months could find it.

We use MAM, it seemed to help him cos they fit better in his mouth.

simone131182 · 06/07/2005 21:13

yeah or try a dummy clip when he is a bit older or asda sell some small dummies for 40p they are really small a freind used them for her dd when she was 3lb as they were the only ones small enough for her tiny mouth x x

marthamoo · 06/07/2005 21:15

There is no solution! I used to lie awake at night, waiting for the dummy to drop out, praying ds1/ds2 would be asleep before it did and 'inventing' various head brace, dummy holding in devices. I still think there's a market there...

Bear with it - dummies are a blessing and a curse.

simone131182 · 06/07/2005 21:18

i agree marthamoo i would give my next child a dummy and my dd had one but like u say they are as much a pain as a god send at times x x

jennifersofia · 06/07/2005 21:21

They do learn to do it for themselves eventually, but that also means that they can then intentionally drop it under their bed so you have to go in half asleep and scrabble around under their dusty bed to find the blinkin thing . Trust me, you really don't want to do this for a few years. Do consider going through the difficulty now of getting him to settle without it - it will be hard, but it could be 3 days / week crying vs. 2-3 years getting up in the night. I had hoped my dd would decide she had had enough of it, but it hasn't happened yet...

simone131182 · 06/07/2005 21:27

i had that then got a dummy clip then she decided that she could take that off so the getting up started all over again to be honest when they are older the will get rid of it when they are ready my dd got up one day i told her to throw it in the bin and i would buy her something special and from that day on she hasnt asked for it she was 4 and a half i tried to push her to do it at about 3 but she just wasnt rady x x

ghosty · 06/07/2005 21:34

I used to try and think of awful ways to keep the dummy in at night ... I think once I even thought of using cellotape .... but it was 3am and I had been up and down like a yo yo all night!
I the end what I did was make sure that there were about 3 or 4 dummies in the cot near her head so that when I stumbled in at night I could find one easily and plug it in. By the time she was 8 months I did it in my sleep almost.
Miraculously at 9 months DD worked out that if she reached up next to her head she could find a dummy ... so from that moment on it has been bliss. Now, at 17 months, she goes to bed with a dummy in her mouth and one in each hand (and a couple more in the cot too) and we rarely hear a squeak from her for at least 10 hours or so (sometimes 12!).
Hang on in there, you will find that eventually he will find it on his own ....

Original poster
mhorne · 07/07/2005 09:23

Just a quick update from a revitalised mummy. I managed to keep DS asleep after his latenight feed without using the dummy, went into his room at 2am for next feed and managed it again. A whole night without dummy. He slept better and I certainly did. Lets see what happens tonight!

OP posts:
simone131182 · 07/07/2005 10:15

fantastic well done hope it carries on hun x x

toria77 · 07/07/2005 21:08

lol at the 'scrabble under a dusty cot to find the dummy' - 'been doing that 4 the last few weeks- will have to decide whether to go dummy-cold-turkey or just investr in 200 to sprinkle 'round the cot- my ds wakes me every 1/2 hour for his some nights

Harrie · 07/07/2005 21:18

2nd time round I have a six month old who I am trying to get off a dummy. She is doing well, she cries more before going to sleep but I am just gradually wittling it out. I can cope during the day so I don't give it her, if we are out in the pushchair she goes to sleep without it. My 1st daughter used to wake all the time for it so I just stopped going in and she learnt to go back to sleep herself (she didn't scream luckily) now at nearly 2 she just has 4 dummies in her cot (they don't leave the cot) if she loses them she doesn't wake (touch wood) so I say get rid.

Mirage · 18/07/2005 21:39

Well done.I reluctantly used a dummy with dd1 & my HV said that if I got rid of it before she was 4months old,she would never remember having it & it wouldn't cause problems.Once dd1 found her hands,we binned the dummy & never looked back.I am currently letting dd2 have a dummy when she is fractious & am hoping that she gives hers up as easily when the time comes-I can't face getting up every night to re- dummy!

BigBumpBonnie · 18/07/2005 21:44

My dd is 2 and i've got the same problem. I'm sure she sometimes deliberately drops it just to get me back in the room. Thing is I have to go and put it back as I know she won't go back to sleep without it.

She went through a phase of wanting 2 dummies, one in her mouth and one in her hand and used to cry if either one was dropped. The worst thing has got to be trying to scrabble around to find one in the dark when you're half asleep and the sinking feeling when you can't locate one. I even had to go out to the car one night to get one!! where do they go????

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