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I'm just wondering when your babies gave up thier dummies? Yasin is almost 2 and still has a dummy and blankie for sleep and stressfull situations. I'm not really in a hurry for him to give them up because he seems to need them and they make my life easier but I'm just wondering how much longer he'll need them for.
Also how did they give them up? Did you encourage them to do so/suggest it yourself or was it thier idea?
Matilda gave up the dummy around 13 months, but kept her wrap (blankie). Because of her sleep issues we have actually encouraged her to hold onto a few comfort items to help her sleep so she has her wrap and now a doll she takes to bed with her. We won't actively encourage her not to have one. If we go somewhere without the wrap she often will grap a piece of fabric & use that, although she prefers muslin wraps to anything else.... with number 2 on the way we think that the more comfort Matilda can get the better.
All of my girls threw away their dummies when they were still baby babies (8-11months mark) And they never had a blankie, I don't know why, they just didn't get attached to anything like that, Makes me wonder what Nate will do. He hasn't taken the dummy yet he prefers his big warm human one, lol.
I took Lindsay's dummy off him at about 8 months because he just didn't need it and I don't even think he noticed it was gone.
Erin on the other hand, had hers until she was 2 and 2 months and we asked her to give it to Santa to give to another little girl. We only did this because she was starting to talk with it in her mouth and we didn't want her to develop language issues (don't know if she would've, but didn't want to find out). She will occasionally sleep with her toy dog though.
Paige has callouses on her thumb from sucking it (which she does when she is tired) and her blanket. We had to take the blanket on holidays with us too. We are not worried about her having either of these comforters, but if the thumb sucking starts to interfere with her teeth, then we will have to get her to stop.
I agree that they make life easier though and if it is their only comfort, why should we take it off them before they are ready IYKWIM?
We took Jennas off her at about 1, and I honestly dont think she noticed. It was such a joy! The only time it made things difficult was after a breastfeed sometimes she would wake up and get hysterical if she didn't have something in her mouth, but she soon got over it.
Its a tough one - I personally hate to see a toddler with something in their mouth like that, but if it gives them comfort, who really cares!!
We were talking about them on Saturday night at dinner, and the other (older mums in their 40s with gorwn up kids) said the ways they got rid of the kids dummies. One got their child to post the dummy to the poor little children than didn't have dummies. They put it in an envelope and addressed it, posted it and all. I think thats seriously cute ;)
Jenna now cuddles her dolly and teddy at night to wind down, and they are there when she wakes up to play with. We come in and the dolly has her clothes taken off!!
Do what feels right - but dont be in a hurry to take it away if its really comforting.
Emily rejected her dummy when she was only a few months old, as soon as she could direct her thumb into her gob with some accuracy.
She has a blankie she takes to bed, but she's only allowed to have it in the bed, not carry it around the house. She has her portable comfort item already in her thumb.
DH is really at me about the blankie, he doesn't want her to have it at all but I think it's ok for now. I am in no hurry to take it away with a new baby coming, she'll need it I think.
Mackenzie has just turned 2 and I'm trying to TT her at the moment so I'm not pushing the dummy issue with her. She only has it when she goes to bed so it's not too bad. I thought I'd leave it until Christmas and see if she will leave it for Santa or I really like the posting idea! I might have to try that one if I don't have any success. I also saw on the Nanny the dummy fairy - where they collected all the dummies, tied them to a tree for the fairy to collect at night and when they came out in the morning there was a present for the child. I think it was a doll which she could then take to bed.
George never had a dummy. Looking back now, I think I should have given him one. His sucking technique couldn't have been any worse than it was, and in any case he ended up spending hours sucking our fingers, when a dummy would have been cleaner and easier. I think I just had an anti-dummy-snob mentality!
With Milly, we introduced it at about 6 weeks once the breastfeeding was going well. We then phased it out at 6 months at the same time as starting her on solids. This was very easy to do, but then I don't think that she was really that attached to it in the first place.
DD Gabriella had a dummy till she was 2 yrs 4 mths. Then at Easter time the Easter bunny substituted it with a couple of easter eggs and we havent looked back. In fact when she sees older kids with dummies now she tells them that dummies are for babies!! She does sleep witha Dorothy Dinosoar soft toy tho that comes everywhere!!
We decided to get rid of the dummies except for nap and bed time when Mason was 2, then they would slowly get "lost" untill there was hardly any left. He was really attached to his glow in the dark one so once that was old and ready for the bin it got lost too. He got upset a few times but after a week he totally forgot about dummies!
From memory i think Brad was about 2.5yrs. By this age he only used it at bed time and when he needed comfortingand then if it wasn't always available he could go without. I cut through the teat and we went cold turkey. He put it in his mouth and realized it was broken and gave it back to me. For a few days he kept asking for it to go to bed and i gave it to him and as soon as it was in his mouth he gave it back to me. Like most others kids it was easier to give up than the blankie (wrap) since his brother came along he has taken a liking to his that i cut down to handkerchief size again, not that he had had it for over a year and a half.
hi :) My neice was about 18months when my sister decided she'd had it long enough. My niece was the same as ur son - only needing it and her wrap/blankie for bed time. One morning my sister cut off the tops of all the dummies in the house and showed them to my neice. She said to her "they're all broken now honey - but ur a big girl and don't need them anyway". My neice looked at the broken dummies and helped her mum put them in the bin. Since then she never needed them again (if she ever asked for it at bed time my sister just reminded her that they were broken and she accepted it). Even when i had my dd a few months after and she saw her dummy, we just reinforced that she was a big girl now and that dummies were just for babies. it really was a simple as that....i'm hoping i'll have the same luck when i get there!!!!!!!!!
ummm okay my ds was 4 1/2 yrs old when he gave up his dummy, we didn't worry about it to much as we had a terribly stressful few years and i just didn't have the strength to change anything, i just needed to focus on day to day living. he only had them with his teddy when he went to bed and also if he was sick or upset, and he never took them out of the house not even to step outside to get the mail lol he used to hide it under his pillow. he gave them to santa to give to a baby on his suggestion and there was no problem
lani has a dummy but only for sleeping and when she wakes she gives them to me, actually it is quite a good tool for getting her to bed especially at night, she is so full of beans and so happy to play and spend time with us that we really need her in bed around 7.30 so we can have quality time with ds before he goes to bed at 8 for school. when we say time for bed quite often she will say no not yet play, but as soon as we say oh don't you want your dummy she says yes nigh nigh now, tis very cute and we will continue with this for a bit longer i guess.
All my boys gave theirs to Santa...they were so excited to wake up xmas morning to see their pressies, they din't even care about dummies...lol...we put them on the tray we leave for santa and in the morning they were gone..if they did ask about them, Santa swapped them for pressies..they never asked after that..
Jan xx