Waking constantly for his dummy

[DIANNEKB]

Help help help ... my little man has not slept through the night yet.. he was doing about a 7.5 hour sleep before he woke up but now he seems like he is constantly waking for his dummy :shame: ... he is driving me nuts... he does not even have his long sleep now... after 45 minutes in bed sometimes a half hour he is waking of rhis dummy and last night it was every hour he was waking and sometimes it was a half hour.... how do I break this cycle... it is driving me crazy.. I can not let bubs cry it out as he has heart problems which he will have surgery on to repair it sometime in the next couple of months... I am just at a lost as to what I can do ... I cant keep going on like this my eyes are hanging out of my head and bubs is only a catnapper during the day so I never get to catch up on sleep..

Any help would be appreciated.

[Sonja]

Try and get a copy of the "no cry sleep solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. She descrbes a technique for weaning babies off dummies which doesn't leave them to cry. I haven't tried this but am using one of her other techniques for weaning by 10 month old off night feeds. If you can't get a hold of it I have a copy at home and can email you the technique.

Also, I recall reading a post by another mother from Perth whose baby was unsettled and she rang one of the sleep schools in Perth (Ngala) and the advice given seemed good and did not involve leaving the baby to cry.

[Kezzzza]

Hi Dianne

I called Ngala last week about some sleep issues and when they asked if I gave DS a dummy they said not to worry - I could teach him to become dummy independent. And yes - it worked!!

The first thing you need to do is buy a chain for the dummy that clips onto bubs PJs - make sure the chain is less than 10cm long (I bought a Nuk brand one from the Chemist). When you put bubs down for the night, guide their hand down the chain to the dummy - then guide their hand (with dummy of course) into their mouth. It might take a couple of times of doing this, but DS had it sorted after one try.

Good luck!

Kez

[sharvs]

Kez,

How old is your bub? I'm having the same problem with my DS at the moment. He would use the dummy to go to sleep, but if he woke during the night he didnt need it. That all changed last week. Now I am going in a few times a night to put it back in. He is teething tho, so it could be related

Sharon

[Sheer Bliss]

DD started doing that somewhere around the 6month mark, and i used my sisters solution and gave her another dummy! lol She is now 15months and goes to sleep every night with 2 dummies, one in her mouth & the other in her hand.
when she wakes up, there is another dummy in her hand waiting. I hear her sometimes cry & search around for up to a minute, but usually she finds one of them & goes back to sleep on her owm.

[Kezzzza]

Hi Sharon

He's 7 1/2 months... didn't really want a dummy until he started teething at about 4 months.

Cheers
Kez

[kylie80]

I had the same problem with my DS. I went to nagala and they told me to make him dummy dependant. We put about 5 dummies in the cot and when he did wake we would go in and make him pick up the dummy himself and put it in his mouth himself. He learnt to do this and when he did wake for dummy he knew to look for himself and he would go back to sleep.

[DIANNEKB]

Thanks everyone I will try this technique... bubs is only 5 months old so I hope he's not to little to learn... But I will try my hardest. :fingerscrossed:

Thanks again

Di..xxx

[Wivi]

Hello Di,

Just wanted to let you know there is light at the end of the tunnel. My boy did the exact same thing (although maybe 3-4 times per night) at the same age. It really annoyed me for a while but he slowly got better and now at 8 months he wakes maybe once per night and some nights not at all. He can put his dummy in himself now but he's not very good at finding it, especially if he is lying on his tummy. I am trying the nagala suggestion now (but it has only been one night so far). But I just wanted to give you some encouragement.

Tania

[DIANNEKB]

Thanks tania, I feel better hearing stories like yours... bubs only woke for it about 3 or 4 times last night so I cant complain anything is better than every hour... I bought the dummy chain today and I will start to give it a go tonight.:fingerscrossed:

[Elfin]

DianneK is he able to reach out and put the dummy in himself? I used to have about 5 dummies in the cot with my babies so it was easier for them to grab one and pop it in themselves. Only works if they can do the dummy themselves:D

[leenaomi]

Kylie80, I'm also trying this tecnique starting tonight! Thanks for the great suggestion.

Normally DD has her dummy for each nap but will go to sleep at night without it. Then if she wakes, I give it to her. However lately she practically begs for it as soon as we mention bedtime. Sometimes I can persist (with her screaming) and she will go to sleep without it but that does not a happy household make!

I've always had such a moral problem with the damn dummy and now I feel like I'm just making her MORE dependent on it rather than weaning her off it. Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that it's best to wait until they can understand better before taking it away and I guess I just need to stick it out until then.

I'm pleased to know I'm not the only one in this boat!

[DIANNEKB]

easterlily, he is not quite old enough yet to do it himself..he does try to put his dummy in his mouth but he never gets it in there... so I am sure he will do it soon:fingerscrossed:

[babytoo]

Hi Di....I just posted in another thread...my bubs has started the whole waking thing a million times a night and I end up feeding her twice a night when previously she slept through...she is nearly 5 months old and I am beside myself, constantly going in to put her dummy in, sometimes once every hour and then after 4 hours I will feed her etc.....I also think she is teething etc...now I did find something interesting in the fact that there are so many of us with the same probs at the same age.....I ran into a friend today and she made me feel so much better...maybe you will too but she said to me that soooooo many bubs between 4-6 months go through a bad stage of waking etc because they do such a large part of growing during this period....you only have to look at every second post in here whether be in the sleep section or another that questions why bubs is waking like this :) Its certainly made me realise how common this is and on the other hand I look at my 3 yo and realise that he got through it (and he was 1000 times worse than my DD) so we will all get through it, it is just a temporay stage:fingerscrossed: Good Luck xxx

[DIANNEKB]

Thanks babytoo makes me feel a little better... :yes:

[Wish_Bear]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. My 7 month DS is doing excatly the same thing and i am going insane. I have a dummy chain and will be trying that tonight. I also hope it is just a phase and will grow out of it soon. Thanks again you have helped me a lot.:smiliedance: