Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Dummy Dilemmas

We're at the point in Max's life where we think it might be time for him to give up his dummy. It's not the first time we've been here. Sean and I originally agreed that we would take it off him when he turned one, but we couldn't bring ourselves to do it. We then said we would do it once he started walking, we made it 1 hour into that attempt. Next up we said we would try again once he turned two, we didn't even pretend to try on that attempt. Then we said Christmas, we planned on making Santa the 'bad guy' and tell Max that Santa took them away. Part of that stuck because now if you ask Max where his dummy is he will either say 'Santa eat it' or 'Dinosaur eat it'. But they didn't, his dummy is still in his bed or on his bedside table where it's always been.



So, do we try again? I had planned on doing it today. I was going to gather up Max's dummys and get him to throw them in the bin. But we were rushed this morning and I never got around to it. Or if I'm completely honest, we were rushed, so I used it as an excuse to not throw out his dummys.

I think that part of me feels that saying good-bye to the dummy is like saying bye-bye to my little baby. Once the dummy is gone, he will be a fully fledged toddler on his way to becoming a little boy.



Do I even really need to make a thing of it? We've gotten to the point now where Max only has his dummy at nap time and bedtime. He doesn't have it any other time of the day anymore. Do I just let him use it for sleeping until he decides he doesn't want it anymore?


Did you have dummy dilemmas? Any and all advice will be appreciated!!


14 comments

  1. I am going through the exact same dilemna with my 2 year old and have basically reached the same point. She only has her dummy for nap and sleep time and I still don't have the heart to take it away. I have now adopted the theory that you don't see adults walking around with a dummy so I don't see any long term issues and I am going to let it progress naturally! She only sleeps with it for about 5 minutes before it drops out anyway. So my advice is stop thinking and making it your decision and relax and let Max make the decision himself when he is ready!

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    1. Thanks Carly, it's good to know I'm not alone on this. I think you might be on to something here :)

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  2. Hi lovely,

    There's a book from seed.com.au, & it's about a dummy fairy.

    It comes with a bag that you tie to a tree in your backyard, & you put all the dummies in this bag & then in the morning, he gets a present in return for giving up his dummies :)

    Good luck! xx

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    1. Thanks Cherie, I'll have a look at the book tonight :)

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  3. tamsyn do whatever you feel is right for him. penny is 3 and a bit. has her dummy to go to sleep with every night and for her nap during the day. she is also still having 3 to 4 large bottles of formula a day because i cannot get her to drink any sort of milk except pink milkshakes from mcdonalds and i can assure you i aint doing drive through everyday!! bottom line is she is happy and healthy and i don't care what any one else thinks. all i know is by the time she starts school there will be no dummies and bottles. whats a few years with them going to hurt?!. i don't see it as a big problem. i much prefer happy content children. if you are opting to get rid of the dummy though i think cherie is onto something. it sounds like a sweet idea. xo.

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    1. Thanks V, I'm really leaning towards this approach at the moment. I much prefer to see Max happy and not screaming too xx

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  4. I have a technique that my husband thinks is insane, but so far it's worked on both of the boys. Have you ever read The Twits by Roald Dahl? Mr Twit adds a sliver of wood each day to Mrs. Twit's walking stick and chair legs until eventually she's convinced that she's shrinking. I do something similar ;)

    I get them down to only one dummy, and then snip the end off of it, and then keep going, just shaving the tiniest amount every couple of days, when the boys questioned it I told them that they were sucking the dummy away.

    Declan took a little over a week until he said that he didn't want it any more.
    Connor was a lot more persistent, and it took about a month until he gave up, the nipple was down to a tiny stump!

    One important thing was that the teachers at their daycare knew what was happening and used the same explanation as to why it was disappearing :)

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    1. Hi Fern. Very clever! I think I've decided to let him keep it for sleeping for now. But this sounds like it will work if he doesn't grow out of it on his own. Thank you!!

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  5. He does look so cute with the dummy! Sorry, I'm no help on that front - Brian never took a dummy, but Simon does so I'll be where you are in a year and a bit! Brian has a blankie that he sleeps with and it seems like the dummy is similar for Max.

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  6. this is such a tricky one. i will be looking for some advice when it's time for my son to lose his dummy, but here are a couple of suggestions:
    1) when he's not using them you could cut the rubber bit and then when he asks for it you could tell him that he bit them off in his sleep - he may not want them now that he's 'bitten them' off
    2) you could give him a toy or something to encourage him to not want them. but he has to post them to the 'dummy fairy' (or something like that. And you can make it a little project for you both and write a letter to the dummy fairy and in it he can ask for a toy and then you can pack all his dummies up and walk to the post box together and post them to the dummy fairy. then he can wait patiently, excitedly for a few days when the post man delivers his little toy/gift in return?

    i hope it helps. good luck :-)

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    1. Great ideas, thanks Amanda. Sounds like you'll be ready to go when its time for your son to give his dummy up :) xx

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  7. Can't help sorry Tamsyn but just wanted to say that Max is adorable and that hair, oh my goodness, sooo cute!

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