20 month - taking away the dummy

[queenriccy]

hi all,

I need any advice/tips you can give me to keep me strong.
I have had enough now with this dummy - for a boy who cries when we have to get out of swimming lesson to now crying and screaming not to get in because he wants his dummy I now feel it's time for it to go.

Pheonix only had it for bed from 13 months - then all of a sudden a month ago crying and screaming for it ALL the time , and it doesn't help mam and dad just give him it to keep him quiet, I have explained to mam and dad and my husband that I need all their support with this or it isn't going to work.

My hubby let me have an extra hour in bed this morning and for that whole hour all Olly was doing was crying for his dummy - hubby gave in and gave him it !!! I came downstairs and cut the teat off it and gave him it back and told him it's broken - he hadn't asked for it since.

But I'm going to try and get him to sleep without it tonight - I just want it gone !!!

So apart from getting rid of every dummy and cutting the teat off the one I keep offering him (he doesn't want it and gives me it back) what else can I do ? I'm thinking about letting him pick a new toy and giving him it whenever he asks !!

I know he is too young to understand what I say to him but I want this over with as quick as I can

Thanks for any advice


Xxx

 

[queenriccy]

Pheonix !?? Haha they was meant to say He !!

 

[glowing]

I will be following this Callie is 18 months and uses the dummy and muslin cloth to stroke her face to go to bed/nap. She rarely has it in when playing and I take it off her when she gets into nursery. I leave it on the coffee table and not make a huge issue of it being there. If she grabs it and gets a muslin I know nap time is looming. My friends dad bought a fairy door and put it in the garden and the hung the dummies on the tree for the fairy babies and she pretended that they left her a present instead. When she asked for a dummy she used to show her the toy and remind her that she swapped them for her toy. It seemed to work I think she was 2 and a half.

 

[queenriccy]

So he asked for a nap .. He was yawning and really tired.
I sat with him in his room and gave him a cuddle but without his dummy, I stroked his face with a teddy that's always been in his cot. He did cry but I just kept shushing him then he pointed to his cot so I popped him in and wrapped a blanket around him and left the room - kept everything the same apart from the dummy and he cried for 3 minutes and dropped off. I know he can sleep without it, he usually drops off in the buggy or the car without it.
I'm feeling positive ,, hubby is out tonight so I'm doing bedtime alone !! Let's see how that pans out !! Xx

 

[littlemonkey]

The first thing you need to do is get every one doing the same thing other wise it's a waste of your time. So ask your parents to get rid of all theirs and make sure your OH is on board.

My LO still has his but purely for sleeping in his cot. He doesn't get given it until he's in bed and gives it back straight away before getting up out of bed. The dummies are kept in his room out of his sight and reach. Usually because he can't see them he doesn't want them. If he does ask for it, I generally find distracting him works, if he's insistent he will be given it, but will also be put to bed. He quickly got the message with this and usually now if he asks for it, it is because he's tired and wants his bed anyway.

It is about being consistent, which is why you need everyone doing the same, and it can be tough for a while until they get used to it. With my LO once he realises he's not going to get his own way, tantrums end quickly! I find doing things to distract him worked well.

 

[Heres Hoping]

I stopped the dummy a couple of months ago with my 18 month old. She was the same, used to be for naps only but had started crying for it allthe time. I basically had enough one day and just stopped cold turkey. We had tears and tantrums the first couple of nights which was hard going but it was sooo worth it. My girl loved the dummy for comfort, so what I did was encourage her attachment to teddys going to bed and nap time which has helped, going to bed she cuddles her teddy instead. Also if she asked for it id just say no dodo yucky. Persevere with it and you'll be so glad when he's dummy free. But I also agree u need everyone on board, its so annoying when people undo your hard work. Good luck! x

 

[Kay Kay]

I'll be watching this with interest queenriccy cos matthew is the same as olly! Really whiny for his dummy esp at night before his bath when we read stories. I can't stand him talking with it in so would love to get rid but I'm waiting til he's closer to 2 (or 2 and a half) and can understand a bit better. Good luck and keep is posted xx

 

[babyslog]

We are going on holiday in May so wil wait till after then as im hoping it with help with calm down on the plane.

Noah is the same age. In thinking even maybe closer to christmas as leave them all for the 'elves' to take in exchange for presents! Lol.. He only has it in the nights and nap time now and onces its out his mouth and hes asleep its all fine. He wont ask for it in the day. But i swearbe has a stash as i can only even find one at a time and he appearanwith it in his gob outta nowhere lol! X

 

[Iwant3]

All 3 of my children have been different with the dummy thing! 1st child a boy had it in his mouth a lot throughout day and to sleep......he still had it at 3 and dentist said to him by next birthday (4!!!) he was to swap his dummy for birthday presents! this was giving him almost another 6 months with the thing! My son then went home and from that moment would not have his dummy! just like that!

Second child a girl, had reflux from 2 weeks and didn't take to dummy due to constantly puking! so she didn't have one at all - despite me trying with one.

third child (now 11 months) has access to them during the day but doesn't want them, but has them in her cot for night time - with spares in easy reach if she looses one. And she will have a dummy for naps in the day. But can sleep in pushchair/car etc without.

So currently I have no experience of taking dummies away - I do like the idea of swaping the dummy for something else he really likes/wants though! Maybe like the tooth fairy - leave all the dummies somewhere at bedtime and let the dummy fairy take them and leave a present!

 

[Durhamchance]

Blake was only 6 months when I took the dummy away, but I found the cold turkey method worked best. I threw the lot away on the day I decided to do it and within 4 days he had forgotten all about it. He has a comforter instead and sucks on that in bed!

 

[queenriccy]

Well sickness and poops hit our house yesterday at 3pm. Iv only had 3 hours sleep all night because Olly has been projectile vomiting and when he wasn't sick it was poo explosions . Since 7pm last night we have got through 3 sleeping bags (1 covered in sick, 2 in poo) and 3 pairs of pjs. Then because he brought the last 5 days worth of food up ( there was a lot) he asked for his breakfast at 4am so he wolfed down a banana and half a slice of toast - then it came out his back end quicker then it went in, poor baby's bum is red raw

So I gave him the dummy back for bed last night and from getting up at 8am he hadn't asked for it so I'm going to try and keep it this way for now until he gets better.
I'm currently washing his bedding and dummy's and things incase the infection spreads. He is out in the garden playing at the moment and seems a lot brighter

Thanks for all your advice ladies

Xxx

 

[Staceylou27]

Easter is coming up...could the Easter bunny take it and give it to a baby who needs it and replace it with a chocolate egg/treat etc?
Just a suggestion.

My lo is 4 months and uses a dummy for nap times when she can't settle I her teeth are hurting her. I have been trying to get her to settle without it but it doesn't always work.

I love the fairy door idea too. I saw some little wooden fairy doors at the weekend that you attatch to the skirting board, if I struggle to get rid of the dummy I might try that!

 

[Kay Kay]

Oh no hope he's better now! Nightmare! Xxx

 

[clairebear22]

My eldest had dummies until he was 2.5. He lived them and went to bed with 3. One for his mouth and 1 for each hand lol. We never let him have them while he was awake unless he spotted one, then I let him have it for a couple of mins before casually popping out of his mouth. He has autism so we expected it to be difficult to break his habit because he has to stick to routines and rituals.

Apart from it taking him a little longer to fall asleep he never cried for it at all!!

My youngest has his 'huggy' which is an unused terry nappy square and also had a dummy. One day at 18mths old I noticed he was far more excited over his huggy than his dummy so that night I put him to bed with just his huggy and that was that, he never had one again!! I was very very lucky!

I hope your LO drops it soon x