Take away dummy? or not?

[JulieBannon]

my little one has had a dummy since she was about 1 month old to help her sleep. when she is due her nap during the day or its bedtime i give her it and it has always seemed to help her to sleep. also if she gets unsettled during the night i get up and put it back in and she settles back down after this.

she is 6 months now and i remember reading somewhere this is a good time to stop using it. was wondering what others had done and if it was a good idea or not?

also should i keep getting up to giver her it back if she wakes? or am i just making more work for myself? she is still in our bedroom and will be until jan, we are going to inlaws for 2 weeks at xmas and she will be sharing with us then so i didnt want to giver her too much upset at once.

since she has been ill with thrush her routine has gone out the window, she used to go to bed at 8 and wake up at 7 wanting fed at 8. now she goes to bed at 9/10 and wakes for an extra feed at 4 am. i know she just making up for not feeding well while she was ill but im looking forward to her settling down again.

so, in a round about way do i stop using dummy?

thanks for any help

[kerri-anne]

I think it's down to personal preference. Both of mine still have a dummy, although only when they are sleeping or napping. To be honest I've not even thought of taking the dummies away (maybe I should have) so will be really interested to read the replies you get.

Illness does tend to mess up routines but hopefully your LO will get back to normal in no time xxxxxxxxxxx

[Anna07]

I took the dummy away at seven months because every time it fell out of her mouth in the night she couldn't settle herself so I was up and down all night putting the dummy back in. It was hard to get her to settle for naps and at night for a good few days but it didn't take too long and she slept so much better without it I found.

I have no problems with dummies and if it hadn't been for my interuppted nights sleep she would prob still have it now.

I think though it gets harder to take it away the older they get, my friend took the dummy away from her little boy when he was nearly two and she had a month of difficulty.

Hope this helps.

A x

[jaybabes]

I have a 9 month old & she still has her dummy but only for naps in the day & at night to help her sleep. She doesn't really have it other than that & I can cope with that. I totally see where u are coming from with the waking in the night to put the dummy back in for her though, it can get a bit tedious & tiring.

With my previous daughter who is now 11 1/2, i didn't take the dummy away from her until she was about 2 years old. which was fine, all I did was say they had all been lost & I couldn't find them. She was a bit fidgety the first few nights but then she forgot about it.

I don't intend on taking the dummy off my current child yet, probably wait until shes 1 maybe.

I do think its personal opinion when u take it off them, if it helps them settle & sleep then whats the problem.

[Nickit]

Like the others have said it's personal preference. Isabelle never took to a dummy so I am not talking from personal experience so some of this is probably 'easy for me to say!'.

I've heard/read that dummies serve a purpose (to satisfy the need for sucking) for the first 12weeks only. As you have found, if you continue to use them they become a 'prop', often to help them sleep.

That's why I think it's an entirely personal decision as to when to take it away. If you find it a bind to keep getting up in the night to put the dummy back in, I would bite the bullet like Anna07 did and get rid now; you'll probably be in a for a few difficult nights but she'll soon forget about it.

[JulieBannon]

i think i might take it away, although it does seem to help her sleep she is at that stage where she pulls it out herself without meaning to, last night within 20 min of putting her to bed she pulled it out 6 or 7 times, sometimes as i stood and watched.

will have a chat with hubby and maybe do it tonight as he is off for a few days.

thanks everyone

[Sebs]

Good luck!! I also think its personal prefernece, we have just taken Dominics away and he has been fine, I think whenever you do it, you just have to prepare yourself for a couple of sleepless nights.
xx

[acad]

Hiya
Again it does come down to personal choice, both of mine have them, for napping and night-times, also for when they are upset i find it really calms the situation down, i'm not looking to get rid of Aub's just yet, i'm going to wait and maybe start weaning her of it after xmas and then the easter bunny will take it for her

[mrsharvey]

Jess still has a dummy but only for bedtime, we are going to get rid of it at xmas, Jess knows she is giving it to father christmas xxx

[isabellasmum]

I have no plans to get rid of Isabella's. It is a godsend at times when she's cranky and needs to sleep.

She never cries for it in the night. If she did I might think differently.....

We'll prob wait till she's a bit bigger and then we'll plant it in the garden to grow a noo-noo tree. If anyone has read the Jill Murphy 'the last noo-noo' book awww it's lovely