Dummy Problem

Hi Karen.

I am wrapt to hear that Jada is sleeping through the night for you, that is FANTASTIC!!!!! Well done on seeing this through, you should be commended!!! You would also be very proud of your little girl as well.
Isn't it amazing what a good night's sleep does to you (and the rest of the family). I'm so happy that Jada has settled into a sleep pattern for you, expecially leading into Christmas where you will be full of energy after a good night's sleep.
Keep up the great work, and I am the same as you, I recommend any other mum's who are having the same problem to try (it may not work for every baby) but I think it is worth a try.
Keep smiling and enjoy your little girl.

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't been here in a while. Life just gets so busy this time of year hey!

Donna! So pleased to hear things have improved so much for you!! Fantastic that Cooper has been sleping so well for you and your dummy prob has been sorted! Must be such a relief for you. It is amazing the effect that good sleep has on their disposition also huh? And so awesome that you've got such a strong support in your Hubby & Mum. So are things still going well?? Would love an update. That's so good that Cooper loves his food!! Alynta is like that also. Her word for all food is 'yahyah' (I think it came from us saying yumyum) and she says it all the time!! Sometimes I think she has a one track mind! So cute!Does he like banana? Alynta used to love banana and avocado, (separate or together) I know together sounds gross, but she LOVED it!! Hope to hear from you soon!

Karen! So glad to hear that everythings sorted for you with Jada!! You've done such a fantastic job and you must be so proud of her too! Having good nights sleep again makes a huge difference doesn't it? Have you been noticing the difference in Jada also? I found Alynta was so much more alert and sooo keen to play and learn etc! Anyway, love to hear how it's going.

Learning Mum! So good to hear things are still going great with you and little one. It's so awesome that you're out here sharing that with others too. It's great knowing that you've been able to help someone isn't it, even if only by being supportive. You sure do a fantastic job of that! Would love to hear from you if you the chance of it.

Take care all. Talk soo,
Smiles & Rainbows! grin
Shani

Learning Mum
Hi i am proud to say that my Emily is now sleeping through and isn't even having as night feed anymore, and it's wasn't because of cc either
I did try that for about 1 day but i was crying as much as her because i couldn't handle her crying when i knew that there was somthing i could do about it, so i gave into her to keep myself sane.
Anyhow i looked at our daily routine and feeding etc she has always been a great day sleeper so that wasn't a problem.
I ended up changeing her routine from 4 bottles a day and a small top up during the night and some solids to 3 bottles a day and 3 solids a day at no particular time , it's sort of like demand feeding i spose but on the bottle i let her tell me when she is hungry and since i did that she has been amazing!!!
I don't actually know the reasoning behind it perhaps she was overeating and uncomfortable at night???? it's a mystery and i don't mind if i ever find out.
Thank you for you wonderful advice anyway it was a great help .

Hello All,

Update as promised .... Cooper is now sleeping 1.5 - 2 hours / 3 times per day with no crying or need to settle ... seems like he's completely forgotten what a dummy is. (I shielded his eyes from the dummy's at Coles today!) Our catnapper no longer wakes at the 40 minute mark. Overall - our cc experience was for 1 day .... & max 34 minutes to settle. So proud of our little guy & our household is a different place to be.

At night - Cooper is comatose from 7.00pm 'ish, barely opens his eyes for a feed at 10.30 'ish & genrally sleeping through to 6.00am (wish he'd push it forward to 7.00am though!).

Last night he did wake 3 times - but think he's teething .... I was attempting to rub Bonjela on his gum at 4.00am - think most of it went onto his tongue which he kept poking in the way. It's a hot one here in Perth today (40 degrees) - so trying to keep him cool & comfortable.

Cooper loves banana & all the other fruits I've tried so far (apple, pear). He wasn't overly keen on avocado - so mixed into his vegies & he scoffed it down no problems. Just started him on chicken ... whoa - could really tell the difference in his nappy!! He's also had weetbix & egg yolk & vegemite (but vegemite made his cheeks a bit red - the salt??)

I'd honestly say that improving Cooper's sleep means that I'm enjoying so much more being a mum & look forward to his happy talking from his cot when he wakes now - rather than crying and frsutration when he would wake after 1 sleep cycle. Glad we made the decision to take away Cooper's dummy - only regret is we didn't do it sooner, 5.5 months sleep deprivation was enough.

Wishing everyone a happy xmas and new year.

: ) Donna

Hi Donna!

That is so awesome to hear of all the success that you and Cooper have had!! It's so great that it all came together for you so quickly.

Sounds like your bub has a really healthy appetite too!! Isn't it great when they will eat almost anything.

I know just what you mean about being able to enjoy your job as Mum so much more now that his sleep is improved! I felt exactly the same way! It really is so good to hear how everything has improved! Congrats to you and bub.

Have a fantastic Christmas and Best wishes for New Year. Hope to 'hear' you around.

Smiles!
Shanna

Just wondering how things are going for you guys now a bit down the track. I am going to take away the dummy of Beth and see what happens.

She has 4 bottles a day before each of her sleeps. She has 3 1 hours sleeps and then goes to bed at about 7pm.

She has been waking about 4 times a night 1 of those times for a feed. We have jsut starting giving her water rather than formula and she is coping fine. She has a drink then goes back to sleep.

We have givin her bad habits as she falls asleep in my arms after having her bottle then we put in her dummy and put her into her cot. She will stir a bit so she knows she is being put in adn she is ok with is majority of times.

CC doesnt work. She is incredibly strong willed and will force herself to cry just to stay awake.

So I think I will take away the dummy and see what happens. I think too that I will have to stop myself from getting her out of her cot to cuddle too. Maybe offer her the bottle of water while she is still in her cot.

I dont know how it will go.

Hi again Grayfox80,

Well I just replied to your other post, and now reading this one it sounds like you'd probably get heaps out of reading the BW book yourself. I won't go on since you've obviously read other stuff I've said.

Hope all goes well.

Smiles!
Shani

Hi grayfox80,\ I was in your position only 2 months ago, & I think you have a pretty good Idea on what you need to do. I used to give cuddles as well, but I had to stop because it was just dragging out the time for her to self settle. I only had to do the cc for 2 nights then magicly she started sleeping through again. I also found that by making her 3rd sleep of the day earlier in the afternoon this helped. I did the same with the water at night in her cot instead of the bottle.
I also found that sleeping in your arms doesn't hurt too much as long as you self settle her in her cot once she wakes again.

any questions I'm happy to help in any way
by the way Jada is now 7 months, & was having this same problem at 4months.

Hello Grayfox (& other mums ..... Karen & Shani)

Our household hasn't looked back since we went 'cold turkey' on Cooper's dummy in early December 04.

Cooper is also now 7 months old (born 26.6.04) & prior to 1 night's cc & decision to put away all dummies he had never slept through the night from birth (so approx 5 months of coping with very minimal sleep - eg. I was sometimes up 12 times in a night - considered a good night to only getting up 3 times!!)

Goodluck with taking away Beth's dummy - it really is trial and error ..... we would weigh up so many things re: light in room, when fed etc - and did end up being that when Cooper's dummy wasn't in his mouth, upon light sleep he would wake fully & cry for it.

Cuddles while they're still in their cot work wonders. When we first gave Cooper's dummy away I found he was soothed by me gently stroking his cheek (he'd try to get my fingers in his mouth to suckle sometimes though!) Even now we sometimes give Cooper water while he's still lying in his cot (usually day sleeps, 'cos hot weather in Perth at the moment).

Another thought - you said - she has a bottle before each of her sleeps .... have you tried the 'feed, play, sleep' routine - that way the baby isn't associating the feed with the sleep - because of play in the middle (??? Just a thought.)

Good luck - love to hear how things go for Beth & your family.

: ) Donna

Hi guys,

I am so extremly grateful to you all for replying.

Well before going cold turkey on the dummy issue I decided to drop the night feed first. I figuired doing both at once would have been a bit nasty for the poor bugger.

So after 3 nights of just water she is off her night feeds!!!! I cant believe it. No more warming up a bottle at god knows what hour of the night.

I have slowly been taking the dummy off her. She doesnt have it all the time. If she doesnt open her mouth for it I dont put it in. I am easing her into it, well thats what I like to tell myself anyway. hahaha.

I tried CC again the other day but just like the other 2 times I have tried it she forced herself to get that upset she vomitted. In the books it says if they vomit to clean them up without giving any eye contact but it doesnt say what to do when your child is a talented projectile vomiter who can shoot the other end of their cot if htey want too.

Anyway, I have heard theres a book called the baby wisperer that is an adaption of CC only you dont have to leave the room to do it. She did it with her son and has never had a problem. And thats something something because he is quite a handful.

Well anyway I apologise for any spelling typos etc but I cannot be bother checking what I have written. I am off to bed to get as much sleep as absolutely possible.

Thanks again for replying!!!!!!

You are ****STARS*****

Take care,
Christy

Hey Christy,

Great to hear of your sucess with dropping Beth's night feed. It's amazing how quickly they can adapt isn't it??

Sounds like you're doing a great job with the dummy too. The best way I found with that was to give it to Alynta when she first went to bed, but then just not give it back to her.

That must've been so awful to have Beth so upset that she was sick!! You must've felt terrible. Poor both of you. To be honest, I don't even like the sound of 'clean them up without any eye contact'. Oh, sorry, i hope you don't think I'm having a go at you. That just sounds so wrong to me. obviously you dislike that approach yourself. (oh and I can totally relate with the projectile vomiting thing, not my daughter, but myself - really gross!! lucky it doesn't happen too often) Um, I know I already mentioned it to you and that you commented on it yourself, but it may be worth you reading the BabyWise book (youi're probably sick of hearing about it) as it's approach is quite different to alot of other books and what they call controled crying, though there is some crying involved. it worked wonders for us and Alynta is quite a strongwilled bub (though she hasn't made herself sick) Another lady I had mentioned BW to told me she found a copy at a library in Brissy so maybe they might have one where you are too.

Anyway, the Baby Whisperer sounds quite good also from what you said. Would love to hear how it goes.

Hope you see some improvement soon. Have a great day,

Smiles!
Shanna

Hey Donna,

So good to hear of your success. You must be so proud of Cooper and be a happier family all around with more sleep. It makes such a difference hey?

Good thought about the feed, play, sleep also. another point with that is that baby's sleep patterns are actually based on their hunger patterns also.

Hope things continue well.

Smiles!
Shani