Now we can return to normality! We took Tarly’s dummies away last weekend. She’s managed really well without them all week despite being a bit poorly and away from home but the last two nights she has still be asking for the same thing while half asleep ‘I want to go home’ – obviously while away we thought that was a genuine request, now we are home we realise there is slightly more to it.
Tonight it took her well over an hour of being fairly distressed to get to sleep, within a further hour she was half awake and asking for all sorts of things like to leave this world and for me to ‘make it all stop’ – she has not actually mentioned the dummy since the first night but having felt vaguely uncomfortable about how she was managing – taking away something which is important to one of the children really doesn’t sit well with my parenting style unless it is actually harmful to them or someone else – tonight I have relented and given her the emergency one stashed in a hidey hole. She is now fast asleep, having fallen upon it like a starving man on a crust of bread and despite being fast asleep she is still sucking it for all she’s worth.
A year or so ago I would have been proud of reaching a week of ‘breaking the back of it’ and felt that it was another of life’s lessons – now I am just wondering why we kept it up for a whole week when she clearly wasn’t ready for giving them up just yet.
My parents had me swap my dummy for a bike, probably at almost exactly Tarly’s age as it occurred at Christmas. Which at least meant that I gave it away semi-voluntarily. And I loved my bike 🙂
Was incredibly grateful that Small never took to them as it meant we never had to go through the giving up of them either.
well D was *exactly* the same age and did it fairly willingly. She was willing, and indeed it was her who threw them away and she loved the ‘big girls box of stuff’ she got for becomming a big girl and giving them up…but she clearly just isn’t ready on some other level.
Baby steps I guess!
I was always rather smug about not having a dummy when Hannah was six months. 9 years later though, I realise dummy separation would probably have been a great deal easier than thumb separation. Which I suspect will still be firmly plugged in at moments of stress and tiredness when she is my age. She also still has a sleepy teddy AND a blanky. And I think she’s pretty well adjusted…..
I have those “umm… and i did this why?” moments an awful lot. Guess it’ll just have to go down to experience. Doubt she’ll have one as an 18 year old.
Hands up who saw Maddys thumb in this week? Not me anyway, and it used to be in constantly… i guess these things just go when they are ready.
We still haven’t found knotty here despite me having a sneaky look for it (Steve would kill me) and yet another 10pm bedtime as a result – the boy is so tired. Torn between wanting grown up non-thumb sucking child and the sleeping one I used to have! Wondering about getting a new knotty for Christmas! Then I think of his teeth and wonder if it’s for the best – aaargh! At least all the time knotty is lost and bedtimes are so horrid, he’s not sucking his thumb – as opposed to walking round the house all day with thumb in mouth.
Anyway, I guess you could have held out and she would have got used to sleeping with out it eventually but it’s just not worth it, is it.