Dummies, sleep and sharing rooms

Well I have been totally lame on the blogging front over the past month or so, I’ve been suffering from bloggers block or something. So I think it’s time for a little update on my boys. We’ve actually made a few big changes in the last month.

We got rid of J’s dummies, it wasn’t planned. We had thought about the dummy fairy, sending them away to santa, cutting the ends off – all the options were considered and we hadn’t really decided on how or when.  Then one morning I was sick of hearing ‘dum dum’ repeated over and over, he was like a stuck record. So I got the dummies handed them to him and marched him to the bin and told him he was a big boy and it was time to throw them away. He did it while sobbing his little heart out, I felt like an evil cow. So I took him to the sofa, we sat down and had big cuddles and I explained that he was a big boy now and he didn’t need dummies anymore. R would be keeping his because he was a baby. Then I told him if he went all day and then went to bed without a dummy Mummy would buy him something.  He had the choice between a new toy or something chocolate and he requested a ‘Choc choc egg.’ (a kinder egg). So kinder eggs were purchased and he was rewarded the following morning.

He did amazing, had a slight wobble just before bed when R was given his dummy but he’s doing really well – no battles at bedtime and he sleeps perfectly fine without his dummy. I’d definitely imagined huge tantrums and battles at bedtime and we had none.

The second massive change happened in the same week – I had a week off work and I’d decided it was time to get my room back. So we moved R in with his brother, completely moved the bedroom around and hoped for the best. It’s been a bigger success than I ever imagined. As you all know R was a rubbish sleeper, never sleeping through, battles at bedtime etc etc.  They have been sharing now for 3 weeks and only one night did R put up a fight and that was only for about 15 minutes. He’s also slept through the night every night apart from three. I feel like a new woman, I’m not sure what to do with all the sleep I am now able to get (if only I went to bed a bit earlier.) I’m wondering now why I didn’t do it months ago? Probably because it wouldn’t have worked, maybe I was just lucky that I got the timing perfect? Maybe it was fluke, or maybe he is just happy because he likes someone being in the room with him?

He actually does wake up, but he only moans a bit (hubs has heard him when he gets in from work) but he doesn’t cry enough to wake anyone up.  He then puts himself back to sleep, whereas when he moaned in my room I would wake up and deal with him, when I probably didn’t need to as he could have put himself back to sleep.

So anyone who is worrying about taking the plunge with something I would say go for it, its never as bad as we imagine it’s going to be. At least in my experience.