How to get rid of the dummy

If like me you chose to give your baby a dummy and are now the parent of a two or three your old who still loves their dummy then you might be looking for a few tried and tested tips on how to get rid of it. Read on friend.

To dummy or not to dummy?

So firstly if you are reading this you will either have already given your child a dummy and are looking for a way to wean them off or you are thinking of giving them one and are looking to see what future battles await you. If you are the second one then to you I say give them it. the amount of time and tears it saved in the first two years of Willow's life was well worth the half a week it took to get her to forget about the thing. I know they say they are bad because they can make the teeth grow out of line and other things but that is with excessive and extended use. If you want to give your baby a dummy and they want it then you'll get no judgment here.

How old should you wean off the dummy?

The experts here say to try and stop dummy use by about 12 months which is all well and good if you can but I know from experience that in reality often children are a good bit older when they are really ready to give it up. In my opinion, if at 12 months you are still finding it a good tool to help your baby soothe and keep calm and you do not feel ready at this point to start weaning then don't. listen to your instincts as a mother or father and of course don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with.

Willow's dummy journey

Willow didn't start the dummy until around a week after she was born, I wanted to breastfeed her but in the first 2 days every time I tried, she would scream as I had no milk production at all then. The midwives said I should try bottle feeding and she was instantly fine. On about day 6 my milk suddenly turned up and decided to try her on the breast. To say she loved it is an understatement and I liked that I was now able to do what I had hoped. But the moment I put her on the breast she started to want to be there 24 hours a day, which I know is normal but if you have ever breastfed a baby you will know that it is painful to begin with. Bloody agony actually and I couldn't cope with her wanting to suckle constantly so the dummy seemed a good compromise. It worked fine, she would settle herself fine with the dummy and just spit it out when she wanted a feed. Great.

Now let's fast forward to her about a year and a half later and oops the dummy is still in her mouth but I'm starting to notice she is now getting a bit attached to it but I think to myself it's okay she is still young she'll give it up when she is ready. Maybe not.

Fast forward again another year and she is now 2 and a half and in full I love my dummy mode but now she can also talk and ask for it when it's not near and pick out her favourite one from where she knows they are kept.

I remember looking at her in her high chair with two dummies in her mouth and after the initial hilarity of this I thought to myself I'm going to have to do something about this.

How did I start her weaning journey?

The first thing I did was to take her dummy's away completely except for nap time, bedtime and in the car. I chose to let her keep them at these times because she was still (in my opinion) using them as a good tool to help her sleep. To be honest this was the hardest part of the transition as she asked for it every time she was tired or upset. Looking back now I realise that it may have been confusing for her at first because she was allowed it sometimes but not at other times. I left her at this stage for a good few months until she was no longer asking for the dummy during the day.

How did I get rid of the dummy completely?

This was the part I was dreading if I am completely honest I did drag my heels a bit on this but a couple of weeks ago I made the decision that it was time to go cold turkey. So I sat her down and asked her who are dummies for and she said 'babies', so I asked her if she was a baby or a big girl and she said 'a big girl'. So I explained to her that there were babies out there who didn't have any dummies and I think since she is such a big girl we should give her dummy's to the babies who need them and to my surprise she agreed and seemed to love the idea that she was helping the little babies. So that was that I threw them out and resigned myself to just bear any aftermath that came. And she asked for her dummy after this a grand total of once, I reminded her about the babies and she was perfectly fine.

How long was her sleep affected?

The first night was a bit rough to be completely honest, Willow generally doesn't wake up through the night anymore but that first night she needed a good few cuddles. She woke about four or five times but went back to sleep pretty easily. Then on night two, she woke up twice for a cuddle and by night three she was completely back to her normal sleeping habits. Amazing.

Now I am not saying it will be this easy for each child as some may be more attached to their dummy than others but this was what worked for us so it is worth a try.

Some other tips to try

• Something that really works is cutting the tip off the dummy as it makes the child spit it out and not want it anymore.

• If your child really needs something try substituting for a lovey, a small blanket or toy they can be attached to instead.

• Try making a big deal of it, pop the dummies in a box to give to the babies or the dummy fairy and put it outside for the postman. Then swap it for a thank you present to make them feel proud of themselves for being a big kid.

• Try reading some books with your child about giving up the dummy. Florrie the dummy fairy is a lovely little book you can get Here. Another lovely one is Bea gives up her dummy available Here.

Let me know in the comments what worked for you and thank you for reading.

If you have enjoyed this post I would love it if you would sign up for email reminders when I post new content. Thank you.