anyone weaned a dummy / pacifier from a 21 monther?

[nicole136]

My LO has had a dummy since birth, only for sleeps but she is very dependant on it to go to sleep. I have a new baby due when she is 23 months ans as LO wakes me in the night once or twice for her dummy I need to wean it before new baby comes along... I have tried cutting the end off and getting smaller and smaller but she still wakes and asks for it

I thought she would reject it and go cold turkey but she likes it! so fri I think I will go cold turkey but I am really worried about how long she is going to cry for, she is too young to do the whole dummy fairy thing as she does not understand this concept which is a shame as thats the route I wanted to go down

has anyone got any experience of weaning it at this age? how long did LO cry for? and how many nights were unsettled?

she would not sleep for her naps with the cut dummy so I am also worried about that, as she normally sleeps 2-3 hrs in the day with a dummy

look forward to hearing any experience

 

[blahblahblah]

Some of my nieces and nephews were in a similar situation. Their dummies were sent to the dummy fairy/santa, who left them a nice cuddly teddy instead, because they were a big boy/girl. They all seemed to take to it well, and had very few problems with the transition.

 

[Dukechick]

We did it cold turkey. Well, actually I did, and told my DH about it a few days after I took it away! haha......

We only have 1 car, and DH usually takes it to work with him, but 2 days in a row, I drove him. Before I picked up him, I bathed Cameron, and put him in his PJ's, and he fell asleep in the car. After doing that for 2 days, I realized that even once I put him to bed once we got home, I totally forgot to attach his pacifier to his pj's! We went 2 nights without it, and I figured since he could do it for 2 nights, he doesn't need it anymore! Annnnnnnnnd, he didn't seem to notice it gone! He WAS dependant on it when going to sleep, the only time he got it was when we put him to bed, and for naps. He woke up a few times during the night, but he always did, and still does anyway, so I don't think that's why he woke up. That was when he was about 18 months old or so.......... so he was a little younger than your little one, but that's what I did, and it happened to work. I wasn't even planning on it, but we lucked out in that department.

Good luck!!!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I would have another think about this tbh. How do you know it is the dummy waking her, and not that she is waking, and the dummy helps her go back off?

Ruby is mega attached to her dummy for sleep. She would not be able to sleep without it, full stop.

Plus, we found that putting lots of dummies into her cot cut down on 90% of the times of going into her room and giving her back her dummy.

 

[kellyharrison]

I can highly reccomend cold turkey approach as it offers no confusion and you will be shocked at how quickly its forgotten.

We did it around 21 months and I will be honest it Effected her the most at bedtime but we replaced it with a toy rabbit that she now sleeps with still (now 28 months). She remembered it for about a week (its a hellish week) but she stopped waking in the night for the dummy.

This is a perfect age to get rid of the dummy, it prevents you having to do it later when they are more clued up and it may get in the way of speech etc. I couldnt imagine having to do it now, shes WAY more attached to stuff and remembers things for longer. So glad its gone and they really dont need it to settle.

My friends LO's who have them even now at aged 3 still and they say theyre scared to get rid of it because of the tantrums and they wish they had done it earlier.

 

[nicole136]

thanks for your replies! She was so dependent, never fell asleep in her cot without it.
we took her to the ducks and she threw it to the duck, we said bye bye dummy. I thought she was too young to understand

I was expecting tears at bedtime but she asked for it and we said you gave your dummy to the ducks and she gave a look of desperation and....
nothing heard till 8 am the next day!!!

I cant believe the luck we have had, but can say the last mninute thought to go to the ducks seemed to help her.

its been 4 nights and 3 daytime naps and we have had NO tears

I am amazed! I neednt have been so scared and should have given her more credit!

 

[billy2mm]

i was so lucky with my eldest one who just before 2 i noticed didnt have his dummy in his mouth when he was asleep so i just took it away and he never bothered with it ever again.

ds2 however is a different kettle of fish totally!!! this past 3 days he has been off of the dummy but thats coz he threw it at his brother one night and we lost it down the back of the bed. the first night he was still awake at midnight!!! but last night and for his nap today there was no tears (except tonight but that was for a different reason) and he has slept just fine.

i wish i hadnt given ds2 a dummy after trying to wean him down to just for naps (he used to stash them all over the house so when i took one away he went and found 2 more!) but i was bf him and he was using me as a dummy to sleep and would not sleep unless i was feeding him and i just couldnt do it so i gave him one as soon as i got out of hospital and he started sleeping no problem at all.

 

[Char&Bump-x]

I'm dreading this. My LO is so dependant on a dummy, for naps, bedtime and when she has tantrums.

 

[Shawty.Mama]

Hello! I have no idea personally since the LO never took one. However, my best friend said when the cold turkey approach didn't work she would leave them laying where they were and cut the tips off of them and her LO became uninterested very quickly! Hope this helps!!

 

[Sweetie]

My daughter was 23 months when my little guy arrived. We knew we were moving right after so I let her have the comfort until we moved into the new house. The next night we gave it to her brother, "uh, oh.... Brother doesn't have a soother..." And she went to bed... Next night she asked for it and I reminded her she gave it to brother... It was funny because she then told me that no, daddy took it, I told her again brother had it, she says no, you took it... Nope you let brother have it... And that was the end of it! Amazing Funny thing is my son has never used a soother

 

[mommy2lilmen]

thanks for your replies! She was so dependent, never fell asleep in her cot without it.
we took her to the ducks and she threw it to the duck, we said bye bye dummy. I thought she was too young to understand

I was expecting tears at bedtime but she asked for it and we said you gave your dummy to the ducks and she gave a look of desperation and....
nothing heard till 8 am the next day!!!

I cant believe the luck we have had, but can say the last mninute thought to go to the ducks seemed to help her.

its been 4 nights and 3 daytime naps and we have had NO tears

I am amazed! I neednt have been so scared and should have given her more credit!

WOW so great. Way to go lo...
I am dreading the whole dummy take away thing with my 19 month old. He never wakes for it tho, he sleeps all night and only has it at nap or if hes real mad from a bath (Bryce+Bath = OMG HORROR SCREAMS ) I wonder if hes old enough to know to just get rid of it. I have never had a baby with a dummy at all, hes my 5th baby but my 1st dummy user. My older 2 had blankies and they got rid of it by 5, and my 3rd and 4th sucked their thumbs and had blankies, only the 4th one still has thumb and blankie at bed only, my 6th baby he doesnt have anything but a bottle to nod off. Oh my 5th has a blankie to .. I am amazed, I just noticed in my avatar my 5th son the oldest one in the pic doesnt have his dummy...he is always with dummy lmao wow.
Congrats on baby to be coming. Will that baby have a dummy to? Hope she will be old enough at that point to know that the dummy is for the baby and not her.

 

[MandaPanda]

My Bayleigh is 21 months now, and she had a "binky" until about a month and a half ago. . . We just stopped it cold turkey and instead of that,after a couple nights she was given one of her hard toys that normally get put away before night time (My Little Pony). She was happier about that than binky.

My advice is just do it. Weaning I find doesn't really help because when they're crying for it, they'll get it in the end. Mine spend a couple nights straight crying. . once she climbed into her closet she was so lost without it. But then once she had the Pony toy she seemed happy with that and doesn't fuss about it too much.

Now occasionally during the day she still asks about it, when she goes "binky?" I'll just say "no. . you're a big girl now . ." and give her a sippy cup of juice or something to suck on because sometimes they're craving that sucking feeling.

Good Luck!!