Dummy weaning at 5 months - help!

[diana.upton]

Its getting to be around 20-30 times a night getting up for the dummy, we have ruled out hunger and sleep regression etc and its def down to the dreaded dummy.......we are knackered!

I looked on the net for controlled crying at night in order to remove the dummy. How did you do it for a 5 month old, would you do a minute of crying then resettle and then extend the time by a minute? Or what worked best for you?

Also, would you still use the dummy for daytime naps and the initial going down in the evening, I dont want to start if I am doing anything that could hinder or make the process longer and more distressing for lo?

Time for another very stong coffee I think!

 

[llsarahll]

Sorry no advise as my lo never got a dummy hope u get it sorted soon xx

 

[Emzywemzy]

I'm not sure hun as I haven't taken the dummy off Holly yet, but I can empathise as she went through a phase of crying for her dummy every 5 mins in the night! It's now gone back to 2/3 times a night and I can cope with that, so the dummy stays for now! She's also just learning how to put it back in herself, but she won't do it herself at night yet. Good luck, let us know how you get on! x

 

[barbarap]

i usually put a rolled up sock or muslin cloth under her dummy, by her cheek, so that it doesn't fall as easily or if it does it'll be close enough for her to reach.
but my girl always sleeps with her head on the side, so it's easier if she was facing up...

 

[lil_miss_pink]

I went cold turkey with Charlie after we got to the same stage of getting up around 20 times a night! He was about 5.5 / 6 months old. I started by only giving it for naps & bedtime for a couple of days, then on Friday night, put him to bed without it and did CC. Left him for 3 minutes, then went back in and soothed in cot for no longer then 1 - 2 mins (rubbed his tummy, shhhhh etc). Then went back out and repeated. It took about 1.5 hours for him to go to sleep - the screaming was awful. He woke up around 4am screaming and we did the same thing but left him for longer - 5 - 10 minutes. Then he went back to sleep about 5.30am.

Next day, did CC for all of his naps but really he was not too bad, maybe 20 mins at each one. Then same thing at bedtime - this time there was about 45 mins of screaming. He slept through til 6.30am though for the first time in months!

But on 3rd day, he went down fine for all naps and less then 5 mins of bedtime crying! Then he slept through til 7am and since then, we have had less then 1 minute of crying and he sleeps through every single night.

So it was SO worth it! My friends with dummies are so jealous - he is 7.5 months now and doesn't even remember having a dummy.

 

[diana.upton]

Wow lil miss pink, sound worth it, not sure how on earth you coped with the crying though and I am sure I will think of caving in at some point. Glad I am not the only one who had/has to get up so many times in the night. Dummy less night starts next Wednesday night when I do not have to work for the remainder of the week. Fingers, toes, legs and anything crossable is crossed. Do you still give the dummy if lo is unwell or are you completely dummy free?

 

[sam2eb]

We took the dummy of LO yesterday & are using CC to settle her.

TBH it hasnt been as bad as I thought. It has taken about 20 minutes for her to fall asleep for her naps & 5 minutes to go to sleep last night. It was tough when she woke through the night though, she cried for ages & I was so close to just giving her her dummy back.

Reading things like what the PP has said keep me determined

 

[Lara310809]

I personally would let my LO self settle if they were able. If it doesn't take a dummy to gt them to sleep, then don't offer it. OT, but have you tried MAM dummies? The have a silk teat that helps LO keep it in their mouth. My LO was terrible with other dummies (tried Avents, Tommee Tippee etc), and the MAMs were great because they stayed in. And they don't have a handle that LO can catch on their fingers easily, so doesn't get pulled out as much. THey sell special dummy clips for those too, so you can stll attach to their clothes if you want to.

 

[kerry1981]

I took Jenna's dummy from her at 5 months and we have not looked back. I got a book by Dr Ferber - solve your child sleep problems and that really helped me see why we needed to get rid of it and also his explanation of why controlled crying will help your child learn to self settle made it alot easier to bear. Take the dummy away as soon as you get up in the morning and don't give it back at all, even for naps. The first day for naps Jenna wouldn't sleep so I just cuddled her and she eventually passed out. It wasn't easy during the day but the night time was actually much better.

I definitely recommend you get that book before you start, it helped me alot and Jenna doesn't cry any more when we put her down. She just rubs her silk blankie over her face and will drop off.

Hope it goes well for you!