When did you know YOU were ready to wean the prop?

[Jaxsta81]

My son is 2 yrs 4 months and I have a week off work in August and I'm thinking of using that time to wean him off his long overdue dummy however even though him having one fills me with guilt and embarrassment I am not sure if I am ready to go through it.

I hear "leave it, he'll give it up on his own" and "he's still so young" but somewhere in me I think it's only going to get harder the  longer I leave it.

I know he can sleep without it as he never has it at his childminder's for his naps so it's totally associated to us, home, bed.

Anyone else felt like this and any advice? Do I just go for it and know it will be max 5 days of pain and then done or leave it to another time or live in hope he'll just grow out of it?

For the record I'm thinking dummy fairy or giving it to my friend's baby who is due around that time.

[anna*]

Hun I am just go into pop this over to Toddler Sleep

[ENMS]

Following. My son is 2y7m and sucks on his lovey to fall asleep. I am terrified at the thought of removing his lovey but at the same time, I don't want to wait too long either!

[jessmum46]

Do you need to remove a lovey I understand the dummy but I definitely kept a stuffed toy in my bed for years, in fact I still have it now (though not in bed with me )

[~Lori~]

Hey Jaxsta, long time no see

Both my kids were VERY attached to their dummies.  My dd was 21 months when we got rid of it and it was hard for a few days but we did "trade it" for a little bear that she still sleeps with as a lovey (she's .  My DS1 was a tougher cookie.  I think we finally were done with it at 26 months.  He was a hard one with it though (super spirited).  But what worked for us was to poke a hole in the tip. At first it was small enough that although he noticed it, he didn't change the suck considerably.  Every night we poked more holes/made the hole bigger.  He was so upset about it but it ended up him being the one to not want it anymore because it was different, so that worked better for him because he has always liked to be the one to make his own decisions on   We also gave him a little stuffy to sleep with instead and that bear has now become his lovey.

My DS2 who is 27 months is very very very attached to soo soo and I want to get him off of it this summer so am going to attempt to try the same "hole" thing with him soon.  hope it works!

[Buttonbobs]

Jaxsta81. I have no btdt as my Dd still has her dummies (plural - she has one in her mouth and one to hold as she falls asleep). However, I made a decision when I have her a dummy to only take it away I could discuss it with her and she'd understand. I think we're at that point now (32 months) but am waiting a little longer so I can get past potty training and she also is also ill so too much on at the moment.

I would guess if you can get an LO to agree it is time to give it up then it should be slightly easier. At this age understanding and communication is so much more present than when weaning a sleep prop with a small baby. Could you talk about the idea in advance with your DS to get him used to the idea, like you would with PT and other major changes? See how this sits with him and go from there.

[ENMS]

Do you need to remove a lovey  I understand the dummy but I definitely kept a stuffed toy in my bed for years, in fact I still have it now (though not in bed with me  )

Yes but he sucks on it, like a dummy... so if I don't remove it, he will keep on sucking it, and it's not too good for his teeth  he has a teddy bear which he's slowly getting attached to, so I'm hoping that once I remove the lovey, he can still hang on to his teddy bear and feel comforted?

buttonbobs great idea! I think this is a good way to go.

[Jaxsta81]

Hi all!

Glad to hear I'm not alone in this plight!!

Lori- like the pin pricks idea and I might combine that with the plan to give the dummies to my friend's new baby. We have been talking about giving the bun bun ( dummy us attached to one of those dummy bunnies) to baby Monty and he said it voluntarily the other day which amazed me but I'm sure he didn't really understand what it meant!! I was going to get him to decorate a box and put them in there and give it to the baby but thinking about it that's too much for him to handle so maybe I'll do similar to the dummy fairy where it disappears overnight.

That week we have off I was also going to do lots of fun days out as a reward for giving up bun bun and also to knacker him out!

God wish I'd never given it to him as this us a lot of prep!

Is a sticker chart a good idea? Too young? Overkill?

[~Lori~]

Honestly, I would still give the paci every time (and I have, DS2 is my 3rd!) The thought of weaning is actually more scary than the process of it (to  me) and the paci has been a wonder for us   I've also thought about giving the paci to a baby in abox, tried that with DS1 and he just didn't get it!

[lilybug25]

I have always been pro paci, DD1 was toaken away when she was 26 months as she wasn't using it for sleep just during the day so the paci fairy came, we had a few naps/nights of her crying herself to sleep but she got over it quickly.
DD2 who is 2 yrs and 9 months, had only used hers in bed since she was 4 months old but suddenly 3-4 weeks ago she started to refuse to give it to me or put it on her night stand when she woke up. I knew we were going to have to use the paci fairy again and soon. I tried to go shopping for the stuff on Saturday but couldn't find what i was looking for so just decided to do it next weekend. Well yesterday at nap time she slip her paci in half and I went to get the only replacement paci in the house and it was also ripped so no pacis anymore! Right now its nap time and my usual excellent "a sleep in 3 minutes" sleeper is still calling me and crying after 40 mins (last night there was no issue going to bed since she didn't nap). I doubt she will nap today and may just go to bed ok tonight or she could fight that too. I am ready for it and i know in 7 days she will have moved on and sleeping without crying for it (if it even takes 7 days that is).
Lots of hugs though and I would suggest making a plan and sticking with it.

[~Lori~]

Yes, lilybug25, even though it totally throws them off to learn to go to sleep without it, and their sleep may be CRAZY for a time, it won't always be like that