dummy dependance....

Good morning,


What can I do to get my baby sleep without his dummy now ?

He's 4 months and he's quite addicted to his dummy :-( Especially to go to sleep and then he loses it and I have to wake up many times to put it back.... I'm so exhausted....


I've read the advice of Gina Ford but I would appreciate to get any other input from mothers who had to deal with this problem.


My baby still hasn't found his thumb... I'm trying to put it in his mouth but it doesn't work so far....


Thanks.

you may try Elizabeth Pantley's "gentle removal method" which is a bit time consuming, but she claims very effective. (didn't have a dummy problem so I can't speak from experience.) It basically means - before your baby falls asleep - remove it. And if he cries, put it back in, and when he's really drowsy remove it again. And so on and so forth. You are "gradually" trying to reduce his dependence on it - so letting him FALL asleep with it is the wrong approach - let him get good and drowsy with it and then remove it. The same technique would apply in the middle of the night.


Otherwise- you could just ride it out for a few months (until he's six months old) and try Ferber's controlled crying method. His method is NOT recommended for babies under six months - and so I wouldn't do it until he's old enough.


Most sleep doctors state that the conditions that your baby falls asleep in - should be the conditions that he is in when he awakens during light sleep. Which means- if he fell asleep with the dummy in his mouth and it falls out, and he wakes up in the middle of the night without it, he's going to want it again - hence why you're going back and forth multiple times.

or if i am not wrong, tracy hogg aka the baby whisperer...before bed, let your baby suck very strongly on the dummy while still awake to let off energy...and when he spits it out, put him in bed without the dummy...


not sure if the above description is accurate (need to dig the book out).

We cut the tip of the dummy off which then made it less interesting to suck, my daughter just gave up on it!


We did it when my daughter was over one year old so not sure if it would work with such a young baby. Also, I didn't put my daugther to bed with the dummy (after being cut) as I wasn't sure how safe it would be.

It would be helpful to have more information regarding your baby's feeding. Many baby's at this age still require night feedings and it is possible his frequent waking is due to hunger.



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