Baby wanting to sleep with/suck dummy all night long

it was around 4-6 months when it was at it's worse and he would literally wake up every 30-45 mins. Close to 7 months we did some sleep training as I was on the brink of losing the plot after months of next to no sleep, but luckily for us he literally went from waking almost every 45 mins, to the first night of sleep training entailing one session of crying for 20 mins and being settled back to sleep and then sleeping through until 7am! At this point he still couldn't necessarily always find the dummy himself but seemed to start being able to settle without it on occasion if he woke through the night. We introduced the cloths at around the same time and always had 2 in his bed, and to this day he'll have one in his mouth and the other close by or in his other hand :) I'm also hoping that when he's ready to lose the dummy (although am in no rush to do this!!) he'll then still have his cloths as comforters....well that's the plan, they could just remind him he no longer has the dummy LOL!

We had the same as SG and it started at around 5 months, got really bad between 6 and 7 months and he managed to find it himself from around 9 months when we started putting 5 dummies in the cot so he was guaranteed to find one. Some babies seem to manage sooner though (attaching to a cloth is a good idea) and it probably depends on how heavy a sleeper they are how often they wake.

Agree with everything kiwi has said...I also have a love/hate relationship with the dummy! DS only has it for sleep or if he needs soothing (eg fallen over and hurt himself). His dummies are attached to cloths to make them easier to find at night, but before he could do this I was up every 45 minutes at one point and wanted to throw them out the window! I'm hoping one day he'll do what a friend of mine's baby did. She just one day said "dummy caca" and so her Mum said, ok, throw it away and she did and never asked for it again!! LOL

I have a love hate relationship with my sons dummy ;) Yes it can interfere with breastfeeding if used incorrectly. At the same time if not for the dummy I'm not sure I'd still be breastfeeding my 21 month old now, so it works both ways. You need to keep in mind that if your baby is hungry, regardless of what the clock says, regardless of what the book says, regardless of what your mother-in-lawo or best friends says, you need to listen to your baby and feed them. If you give a dummy instead to try and get into a feeding routine then you run a risk of underfeeding, dropping your milk supply and ending up giving formula top ups and weaning early.If though, you use a dummy only as a sleep cue (ie feed and then give the dummy after swaddling etc) and make sure you feed your baby when they show signs of hunger then this shouldn't be a problem. You should also wait until you are getting a good painfree latch (no sore nipples) and they are gaining weight well so that you don't interfere with them learning how to suckle properly and they don't use too much newborn energy with sucking for no milk. I imagine you need to treat it like introducing the bottle, too early and they might not BF well, too late and they might reject it (so waiting 4 weeks or so might be wise). I have to admit I gave EBM by bottle and a dummy from when my baby was about 4/5 days old as his latch was so painful and his suck so strong I was in agony and the alternative was giving up BFing, if I could have held out then maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to right the bad latch but then again I'm not sure I could have held out it was that sore. Your other problem may come though that if your child uses either a dummy or the boob to get to sleep, after the first few months they may not be able to sleep without something in their mouth and will wake frequently looking for it. A dummy is easier than the boob but can still involve getting up multiple times int he night until they are old enough to find it and replace it themselves. Tru Blu you might have this problem with your DS. From what I've read, the orthodontic dummies aren't proven to be that much better than the cherry and damage to teeth/palate shouldn't occur if the dummy is only used for 2 years or less, but it depends on the child, how they hold it in their mouth and how their palate is. I do worry about his teeth (they look fine) but my son seeps so well with his dummy and I'm not a CIO type mum so I'm really hoping he gives it up on his own sometime soon.

Hi! It was actually my DD 2 who had major sleeping problems. She only ever had breastmilk straight from the source so refused to use a pacifier. Many a day I wished I could just stick a pacifier in her mouth so she could suck on something other than me! At the age of 2, I stopped giving in to her demands and she now thankfully sleeps through the night. I am just about to have another baby who I am planning to breastfeed from the breast only but I'd love to be able to give him a pacifier but I've heard that that can jeapordize breastfeeding so I'm not sure if I should... Anyway, about my four year old, she started sleeping through the night at 12 months. I thought she was bad until her sister was born and I discovered that a much worse baby existed! I used to write about her too on EW back in 2007-2008. I am wondering what's in store for me with number three... I do believe using a pacifier helped her to sleep better at night and to self-soothe. That is why I am hesitant to take it away from her now at the age of 4.

My 4 year-old DD still sleeps with a dummy all night and her teeth are perfectly fine. She has had a few dental examinations and no dentist has ever seen a problem. IMHO, it is a myth that pacifiers are bad for teeth.

My four children also twins all had dummies as babies, being born pre term also found them a source of comfort. They would go to sleep with them and like yourself my son of our second set became very attached to his. He would resettle once he had been given it if dropped. As time passed he often had two, one to hold and one to suck at bedtime. Though opinions will be different they didn't do any of ours any harm, and like yourself with four little ones if it helped them settle and not wake their siblings too then I see no harm in continuing if that is what makes him feel comforted.