Hi, we've got a similar problem at the moment. I had no problem with giving a dummy & it really helped out DD with wind for the first few months. Now it's a problem, us having to replace it during the night & constantly during day sleeps.
I found a thread on the Baby Whisperer forum that summarised a technique from Elizabeth Pantley's no-cry sleep solutions. It roughly said to give the dummy as per usual, wait til bub is sleepy, then remove when intense sucking has stopped. Bub will be upset, give dummy back (bub will only last couple of seconds), count one thousand, two thousand .... ten thousand; remove again, give back again. Repeat process til bub falls asleep without the dummy. The most important time is the first going-to-sleep of the night apparently. I think you repeat the strategy any time bub wakes for dummy.
It is supposed to take about 10 days for this to work.
It is recommended to do for night sleeps first, not for daytime naps, unless your kid is a great napper.
We are just starting to try it. Last night I did usual bedtime routine & didn't give dummy (as DD wasn't crying for it)then did the process 5 times. Each time it got longer before she cried for the dummy back. This took about 40+ min. I think maybe I was supposed to get her off to sleep without it, but I ended up giving it to her.
I just got frustrated today & tried to remove the dummy completely (what the heck, I'm not getting any sleep whatever we do so maybe that would be a faster solution) BUT DD was inconsolable, even using pick up/put down strategies which we've used successfully at other times. So will now stick with the other method. Can't stand seeing DD upset.
I don't know if it's going to work, but it might be worth a try. If you search the forum it is called 'gentle removal'.
If I have any luck I'll let you know. I'd love to hear how you go
Good luck!
PS. My DD is a couple of weeks younger than yours.
PPS. I forgot to say that there is something in the strategy about holding their chin - check the actual thread;
also I'm wrapping DD's hands up near her face and trying to encourage her to suck on her fingers.
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