Becoming a Dummy-free Zone

Ha dummy! Take that! We’ve finally got you licked and being 3 weeks dummy-free now, I think we can safely say that the war is over. Phew!

This is not going to be the time or place where I open the can of worms that is “to dummy, or not to dummy?” There is an abundance of interweb literature on the matter of choosing whether or not to pacify your baby with a pacifier, some of it science-y based on research, some of it opinion (at times heated) based on experience and much of it contradictory, as is so much parenting advice. I’m a firm believer in doing what works for you, burn those books if you need to!

I’m the Mum of three and my two older boys, now aged 15 and 13 did not use dummies. With the first, my Big Boy, there was certainly a concerted effort on my part to force a dummy upon him. He hated it. I’d poke it in and hope like hell that he’d take to it. Please suck on it, pleeeeease. But nope, spit and thud as it landed on the floor. I eventually gave up. He survived … and thrived … and by the time my Middle Young Man arrived, using a dummy was something that didn’t even cross my mind.

Then I welcomed Baby Girl. It was ten years later, I’m ten years older, ten times tireder and she seemed to cry ten times more and sleep ten times less. Let’s give this dummy-bizzo another whirl. And. She. Loved. It. Hallelujah!! It got to be that using a dummy became part of our sleep time routine – for day time naps and also for heading to bed at night. I should say dummies – plural, as one was never enough. There had to be one in the mouth, one almost up the nose, one in each hand and a couple of spares close by. Just in case, you know.

Too many dummies or not enough mouths?
ps. she really IS sound asleep here! Crazy hey!

A little while ago, we started talking to her about life-after-dummies. Preparing her for the inevitable. We had a friend expecting a little one and Baby Girl chatted excitedly of gifting her dummies to the new baby, how kind, how cute …. but nope, when it came to crunch time there was no way that little wrinklepot was getting her dummies!

A few weeks ago when we headed away for the weekend …. ooops we forgot to pack the dummies

… oh no … (shhhhh of course I packed them, I’m not entirely crazy) but after only a little whinging and asking for them about 38 times, sleep eventually came. Then of course you’ll remember the kids and I went here and she must have thought me stupid to have forgotten to pack those dummies again. Damn. Each night though she remembered and begged for them but eventually drifted to sleep. While on holidays, parts of our floor were ripped up and replaced (not that this has much to do with the story) but holy-moly the mongrel floor guy was a bloody dummy thief and now they’re gone. Gone, gone.

So, how has it been? Great now …  though it did take a little while. For the past four nights there’s been no whinging, no begging and not even a mention of the D-word and so woo-hoo I declare the war won.

Did you ever have to take your child through the dummy D-I-V-O-R-C-E? How did you do it? Was it easier than you thought it would be? I’d love to hear your strategies!