Baby Sleep Help - Natalie's Response

Mum Zone's resident Sleep Expert Natalie of Sleep and Settle is available to answer some of your questions about settling your baby and more.

Topics include: Sleeping and settling, moving from bassinette to cot, cot to bed, breastfeeding/formula, solids, floorplay for babies and play for toddlers/children, wrapping/sleeping bags/dressing baby, behaviour/tantrums, what's normal? bedroom environments, music, lights, entertainment, mattresses, mattress protectors, sheets, unsettled babies and the 0-12 week afternoon arsenic hours, reflux/colic, teething, worms, toilet training, night terrors/nightmares, the older child issues 5-10 years and single parenting/separation/divorce.

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Reader's Question

My 5 1/2 month old baby currently uses a dummy. The use of the dummy is mainly restricted to sleep times and occasional use during the day if we are stretching out her naps or are out somewhere where quiet is required. We want to stop using the dummy at 6 months. How should we do this?

Natalie's Response

Hi,

Great question, simple answer!

Here's some reasons for not having a dummy:

• They interfere with speech
• They encourage ear, nose and throat infections
• They grow thrush around in and around the mouth.
• They fall out and need to be replaced by you all night and every night until you get rid of it!

I promise that your fear of removing the dummy is worse than how your baby will cope without it!

Now are you ready!... Collect all of the dummies and put them in the outside garbage bin.

I appreciate that this is scary and your daughter will be upset.

Then...remember that we the adults, create the habits, good and bad with our consistency.

So... after you remove it don't talk about them anymore, just say "all gone" if your daughter indicates she wants it and don't let anyone give her another one. It will take 3 days for your daughter to forget she ever had one, (so try and stay away from other children who have them for a few days).

Then stick with a gentle sleep strategy that you apply to your baby at sleep time to help her self-settle to sleep without the dummy.

If you have a strategy that you are comfortable with and apply it with confidence, consistence and persistence she will be able to self-settle to sleep with your help at the very next sleep. Many parents find that the baby can self-settle without any support from mum and dad within 3-7 days. Your life will be so much easier without it.

Happy sleeping.

Natalie

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The opinions expressed on these pages are of a general nature and are by no means a substitute for professional advice. Therefore neither Mum Zone or Natalie Ebrill of Sleep and Settle are liable for any actions pertaining to the use of the supplied information.