With B, the hospital tried to get him to take a dummy to aid with his sucking reflex. He wasn't into it and was never a sucky put-things-in-the-mouth type of baby. Which all turned out really good in the end. Why didn't I learn from this? Why didn't I leave the dummy alone?
I have no idea what I was thinking, but Little Miss was a sucky one. She loved the dummy and it soothed her. At any sign of unsettledness the dummy really helped. But at seven months of age, it all went a bit pear shaped. She would wake up 10 -12 times a night wanting the dummy that had fallen out. Putting a gazillion dummies in the cot with her didn't help, so when the husband went interstate overnight, I took the dummy away. And it wasn't really all that bad. In fact it was good. Little Miss slept well, deeper and longer than ever before.But then teething started to happen and Little Miss was NOT happy. Special numbing gels, baby Panadol, messy rusks and teething rings - cool or room temperature, were not enough for Little Miss. It was my friend the dummy that did the trick. I decided not to stress about the dummy. Hey she is my baby after all. You go with what works at the time. Well I did anyway.
So dummy has been a part of our lives and a big part of Little Miss's life ever since. "Have you got the dummy?" has been the big question in our house. But when Little Miss was around 2.5 I thought this is enough. Dummy looks horrible, and when its in your mouth we can't understand what you say, and it can't be good for your teeth. So I introduced the bed only rule for dummy. Little Miss went with this and it was relatively easy. But then she thought a rest on the couch might warrant the dummy, or a quick sleep in the car would also fit the bill. Eyes held shut. We held our ground, no dummy unless your are in the cot.
But slowly she has started waking up more at night. And guess what she is after? Yep, the dummy. "I want my dummy" is heard at least once if not twice a night. So here we are, I've taken it away altogether. As much as I don't want to admit it, my Little Miss has to grow up. I've explained, "Dummies are for babies. Your a big girl now."
"No, I'm a little girl" Little Miss corrects me.
Its day two. The first night was great, she only woke up once, made a squark type noise and then went back to sleep. However the day sleep has not happened. She wanted her dummy and she wanted it bad. She cried on and off for her dummy for 30 minutes. That is a long time. I had to close the windows so the neighbours would not hear her. I tried to reassure her, I tried to pat, rock and sing to her. She yawned and closed her eyes, but without the dummy she wasn't having it. Sleep was not on the agenda. Only the dummy was. I rang the husband for reassurance, then I gave up on the day sleep. But I didnt give in there was a no show for the dummy.
Hopefully the lesson is learnt, and she wont want the non existent dummy again. But it is only day 2 and we haven't got to bed time yet...
I would love to hear your views or tips on dummies. Do you love or despise them?
7 comments:
I HATED breaking my daughter of the dummy habit. I did it at about 20 months because I was pregnant again and didn't want her stealing the baby's dummy. It worked, but it was awful until about day 4.
My son however, gave it up of his own accord at 6 months. I certainly didn't expect that!
I dont mind the dummy but mine have both opted for the mangy, stinky, tattered blanket option instead... but only at bedtime! x
Well done honey, stay strong. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....you'll be happy you did it in the end. A x x
We did the cot rule like you. But what finally worked was a trade that I had heard someone else do at some stage. Weird thing to do with a 3
year old but this is how it went.
We explained that when she was 3, daughter 1 would be too big to have a dummy and would have to give it to the man in the 'dummy shop' (so he could give it to a poor baby who didn't have one, or the dummy fairy, or whatever story takes your fancy) in exchange for a big girl present that she could have and take around with her all the time... I can't remember which of the items she selected for a big girl (a teddy or a comfort object, or some big girl texters - forgotten!)
It worked really well. She was very attached to her dummy and even snuck it out when she wasn't meant to have it. On the day before her 3rd birthday I saw her with the dummy in her mouth. She took it out and said, 'today I'm still 2 and a half so I'm allowed my dummy. Tomorrow I'll be 3.'
She never asked for it again.
Best of luck!
Thanks for your stories and support, I love the dummy trade for that poor baby who doesnt have one.
Last night she asked once for her dummy and was met by parents in unison, "Only babies have dummies". She fell asleep straight away and didnt wake up once. YEAH!
Very interesting post CF.
Joseph, the little boy I look after each Wednesday is now 3 1/2 and still loves his dummy. He mostly only has it at night and his mother at this stage doesn't want to take it off him.
Luckily when he is with me I made it a rule when he was very little that we wouldn't use the dummy, so if he has it in his mouth he hands it over when he sees me.
Good luck!
Hugs
Peggy xxxx
I tried really hard to get both of my sons to take a dummy (we call it a pacifier here). We bought every type we could and they were not having it! I guess it worked out in the end but it was tough for a while because I felt like a human pacifier.
Good luck with little miss. I had to smile how she said, "No I'm a little girl." So cute. Hopefully, the hardest part is over.
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