i failled miserably last night

I decided yesterday that enough was enough and that Rhiannons dummy was going, so i cut a slit in the top of it, and when she had it, she took 2 sucks and threw it way...went back later to it, brought it too me and said "broke broke mummy" and i said "yeap dummy broken" "dummy gone".

Put her to bed last night and she played for a while but went to sleep without it...when it was time for us to go to bed, we had to move her before, and she woke up...well thats when it turned to sh*te.

2 hours of screaming, and she actually found where i put the cut dummy, and even though she hated it tried to suck on it....she threw up 3 times, but eventually went back to sleep for like an hour.

then we started all over again...i just couldnt do it...i was the one that decided that she shouldnt have it, so i was the one causing her all this upset, so at 3 am this morning, i ended up giving her the backup dummy. and she went straight to sleep.

this morning, she has a running nose, is really tired...extrememly clingy, has a cough and is sneezing heaps....boy did i pick the wrong time to try and break the habit.

But i feel like i failured miserably, and think i am just going to have to leave it until she is a little bit older.

I sent Kent and email apologising to him for not carrying through with it...and he was really good about it.

Of course it really doesnt help that she is sick, she threw up 3 times last night and once this morning....but is still happish, and still eating...so yeah...we are going to try again in about a month

Hugs, Kaz, it sucks, We had months of this trying to cut Jakes bottle habit. In the end, I found it easier waiting till he was a bit older, and you could "reason" with him a bit more (read- bribe, lol)

Also, the first night is the worst. If you did it for another few nights it would get less and less, the crying, but when you decide to do it, you can't give in, no matter what. It sux, and its super hard, but you just can't give in.

Poor thing, I know how hard it is, having been there, done that, it took us months of half hearted attempts to get to the point where we are now. We have been bottle free for about 4 months now, and sleeping through for about 2 months.

It is really really very hard when they are sick as well.

Hugs to you.

Thanks guys, i never thought it would be so hard, but i also know that i cant do the CIO method either as it just breaks my heart, i end up crying just as much as she does.

its a bugger she is sick though, as it means that i am going to have a clingy child for a couple of days (reads, sleeping in my bed, while Kent sleeps in hers).

Charlotte still has her dummy and I am not going to take it off her because its like her comfort thing. I have been told that she will self wean eventually.

The only thing we do is ensure she doesn't have it when we go out - we limit it to the car and in bed. Works fine.

Don't feel like a failure, I can hear exactly where you are coming from because it sounds like you do things very similar to how I do (no crying it out, sleeping in our bed etc). Is Rhi happy and healthy and are you guys ok with it? If yes, don't stress!!!! hugs

Kazzle wrote: yeah we are okay with her having her dummy, and sleeping in our bed... i love the way i parent

Kaz, what I've quoted there is really important - especially the bold part. What matters is that you and Kent are happy with how things are happening, and that Rhiannon is content too (which she is!)

Don't feel you have to live up to others expectations, the only person you have to please is you! Do things your way, since it suits you, and she'll get rid of the dummy when you both are ready

awwww you guys have made me cry, thanks for being so supportive and daikini until i wrote it, i didnt actually realise i felt that way, and now that i know that, im a lot happier.

Hey Kaz and Curious G if it suits you better wait until your child's a lot older to bin the dummy. My niece was about to turn 4 when she got rid of hers. She made the decision herself and threw them all in the rubbish on rubbish day. That night when she was tired and asked for her dummy my sis reminded her that she'd thrown them all out and she said "oh yeah I remember" then rolled over and went to sleep.

My niece is now almost 8 and a very beautiful little lady - her 4 year dummy addiction had no impact on her teeth or any other nonsense you might be told.

Remember Kaz you are a fabulous mother with a happy, confident, secure gorgeous little lady - you're obviously doing a fantastic job.

I'm sure you're doing the best you can with what you have

I'm a cop-out, and have taken Seb's bottle away now at 18mths as I really don't want to deal with it later, and he has been fine with that. Dummies would be alot harder though.

I had my dummy until I was 4 as well.
Both my older girls had bottles until that age too. On the lead up to their 4th B'days I'd say every now and then that big four year olds don't have bottles. Then the night before their B'days I gave them their last bottle and we put them in the rubbish bin, they were happy to do it then. After that they asked a couple of times but I just said "But your a big girl now, would you like a big cup like Mummy" and that worked.
Now Alyssa has her dummy (but no bottles, she hates them) so I guess I'll be doing something similar when she is old enough to understand.

PS my teeth are straight too