As a mum of two toddlers I know how important a good nights sleep is.
My little ones have been in a routine since they were very dinky and so sleepless nights for me have been very few and far-between.
I thought that was about to change as B (2 years) really needed to ditch the dummy she has for naps and bedtime. I was so worried about this as I’m rather used to sleeping well and not having to worry that my littlies are unhappy or unsettled, so I must say I did the worst thing and put it off.
Any excuse would make the weeks go by, ‘she’s not well’ or ‘she’s teething’ – anything I could think of to delay tears at bedtime and an upset little girl in the night when she couldn’t find her dummy.
I really should’ve given my little girl more credit.
We gave up dummies last week, and we haven’t had one teary moment, one upset bedtime, one disturbed night
or any mention of buying more!
How did I do it?
There are lot’s of ways of ditching the dummy from inventing stories that the dummy fairy has taken it, to swapping the dummies for something more exciting like a new toy- all of these I thought about using but decided to just go for it cold turkey without any tricks. Well, no tricks using fairies…
Last monday night at bedtime Miss B had her usual bath, milk and story and climbed into bed. She settled down and felt around for her dummies.
Gone.
“Oh no! mummy!” said little Miss B, “my dummies! (she had 3!) “My dummies they gone!”
Enter my very fabulous acting skills… “What?! They have? Let me see!” (looks under the pillow and around the bed…
“They have disappeared!”
No tears, just laghing, smiling and discussing where they could possibly have gone.
“Oh well, never mind” said I, hoping and praying the tears wouldn’t come.
And you know what? They didn’t come. All that came was, “Oh well, never mind!” And a little girl snuggled her bunny and went to sleep.
Simple.
A week on and we talk about the dummies when she brings it up, we wonder where they went, did they go on holiday? Where they perhaps too babyish for her so went to find a baby? Everytime we talk she’s not upset and she doesn’t ask for another one.
So we have ditched the dummy – did you? I’d love to hear how you got rid of the soothers!
February 3, 2012
Lynda
Both of mine had a ‘special present’ they chose (a racing car and some dressing up shoes from what I recall) which they really wanted. We talked about how long it was until Santa came and what a long time to wait for something so lovely and then decided if we could do without the dummies maybe we could get that present anyway. One star chart and 5 nights without dummies and the presents turned up, Dummies never seen again and no tears or sleepless nights:-)