Baby+ Dummy= no sleep, HELP!!!!

*Twinkle*

Hi there, i am hoping someone will come along and give me a miracle cure for my problem:p
My little girl is now 18 weeks old and has a dummy, she doesnt bother with it too much during the day but when she's irritable i'll pop it in and she'll settle, she will even nod off with out one sometimes but.....she tends to spit it out in the night and roots for it until i put it back in, ive tried just leaving it out, hoping she'll nod back off but she'll wake up and start to cry, so i'm in and out of bed all night like a yo yo and i am sooooooo tired, i can honestly say, ive not had a full hours non interupted sleep in weeks, i wish i never gave her it to start with but i did and now i'm paying for it.. i dont want to leave her to cry as i have other kids and i dont want her to wake them.
Any ideas on how i can either get her to keep it in....or better still the easiest way to get it off her?
i am running on empty at the moment, HELP

balletshoes

my DD had a dummy for bedtimes too - but she had 2 or 3 in the cot with her, one she'd have in her mouth when she went to sleep, and she'd be holding another one (don't know if that was a comfort thing or not to be honest).

You could try clipping a spare dummy onto her PJs for bedtime?

*Twinkle*

thanks for the idea but she cant put it in her mouth on her own yet....she's close but she doesnt realise you have to let go of it once it's in your mouth, lol, plus i put the scratch mit things on her babygrow over her hands to keep them warm of a night

Nicki

If she's not that fussed with it during the day, I'd wean her off it at night to be honest. Sounds far more trouble than its worth! Maybe start on Friday night and just go in and settle her without it every time she wakes. Even if it does disturb your other kids, they can sleep in on Saturday and Sunday, and I suspect it won't take too long for her to give it up at this age.

Its not all that unusual for her not to be sleeping through at 4/5 months anyway. She might just be one of those babies who wakes in the night. If she can learn to self settle though, it will make your life a lot more tolerable, even if it takes a little while to teach her.

mishkanorman

with both our boys we used a baby blanket and fed the dummy over a corner, they could find it as it was quite sizeable (we used the kind you would put over them in a pushchair) as soon as we did this they stopped waking - i remember those endless trips to put the dummy back in with a shudder !

I was a thumb sucker and didnt ever want that for my boys, (being 25 and waking up with your thumb in your mouth is no fun !) so we stuck with dummies, they gave them up quite late (age 4/5 +) but did so with no fuss and sleep through with ease.

pinkclouds

Would she be able to put the dummy back in her mouth if it wasn't dark? Could you try a soother clip and a nightlight?

Is she fond of sucking/chewing on anything else? You could try substituting the dummy for a knotted muslin or a doudou - they are less likely to fall far from her if she falls asleep holding them, so she'd be able to find them more easily.

Is anyone in the family able to take turns with you, over the late night dummy shifts or during the day so you can catnap? Even a few hours of uninterrupted sleep might help...

Lotus-eater

Get rid of the dummy, have a few bad days, then you should be back to normal.

mirrorimage0

ok so i think the choices are you either

keep getting up to put it back in until she is old enough to do it herself

you wean her off it (it wont take long at this age)

lots of people have recommended ewan the dream sheep to me so just waiting for it to turn up

have you been on the thread newborn to a year lots of people in similar situations to your self hun come along and have a chat.x

thegirlintheattic

I'd wean her off it over the weekend. Don't give it her tonight and when she wakes settle her without it. I agree that at 18 weeks she will not take long to break the habbit.

*Twinkle*

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

ok so i think the choices are you either

keep getting up to put it back in until she is old enough to do it herself

you wean her off it (it wont take long at this age)

lots of people have recommended ewan the dream sheep to me so just waiting for it to turn up

have you been on the thread newborn to a year lots of people in similar situations to your self hun come along and have a chat.x

i'm already in there, i thought i'd post here as i'd get more response from other parents who's kids are over one
ive looked at the dream sheep online but pennies are a bit tight this month.
i'm will try putting her to bed without it tonight, i am just so tired tho i know i'll give in just so i can get a bit of sleep!:(
it's be ok if she slept in the day, but she doesnt, she may have 10 mins here and there, like now, but she soon wakes and then wants to be entertained......kids eh no two the same, my other two were so easy compared to this little monkey:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

She may be only napping during the day as she is relient on the dummy and not falling deeply asleep. You could try this weekend of giving it up, if necessary if you cant bear to through them away, give them to someone else, you can't get to them during the night. If all else fails by monday morning you havne't got to buy new ones, but hopefully the habit will have lessened.

I know what your going through but my nocturnal dummy runs happened a little later, after 6m or so when the little wotsits were able to find it and plug themselves up. Best thing i did was to use a dummy lead clipped onto their grobags, so they learnt to reel it back in.

Mine were late in giving up too, son had it till 4yrs2m due to a front tooth bash, but only at night and he knew he was too big as he'd hide it if friends were round.

Daughter was 3 and half, but with a lot of preparation and coercion on my part. when I mentioned it a few months before she got really upset about the thought of it. But by sowing the seed and gradually reducing it during the day, she was fine. Just as well as i was dreading it.

They all get there in the end. My problems are now different, I have reception/school worries.