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Age

I find the best time to wean a child off a soother is between 6 and 9 months of age or else wait until your child is 2.5/3 years old.  When used for sleeping the soother can sometimes be the cause of lots of night awakenings for babies as they don’t have the hand-eye co-ordination to replace the soother for themselves leading some babies to wake multiple times a night looking for it. In this scenario, I feel it is important for them to learn to settle without it as it is greatly inhibiting their sleep quality.

Children can usually find the soother for themselves when they are about 1 year old therefore it no longer disrupts sleep. I find it is best to wait until the child is older and you can explain why you (fairy/santa etc.) is taking the soother away and implement a reward system. I find taking the soother off a child between the age of 1 & 2.5 years too difficult as they don’t understand why it is gone and leads to a lot of heartache and tears all round.

Sleep Without Soother / Dummy

When you take the soother away your child is going to need to learn how to settle in another way. This will take time to learn. Therefore, be prepared for a few long evenings and periods of wakefulness during the night. Always remain calm with your child and empathetic but don’t introduce any habits you may regret later.

Babies
Use a very gentle settling technique whereby you are responding to your baby very frequently but don’t replace the soother with a bottle/breast/rocking….. dependency or your help will continually be needed during the night. If you use a gentle consistent response at every wakening you baby will learn how to settle themselves to sleep and resettle during the night without any assistance usually within 1 week.

Older child
Your child will need to learn how to wind themselves down and stop thinking about the soother, I find audio books can really help with this or soft gentle music, introduce a few nice breathing exercises with your child if you find he/she just cannot relax. Most of all be very patient and empathetic this is a big step for your child and it will take a little bit of time. Be prepared to be up during the night. Do try to avoid introducing any habits such as staying with your child until he is asleep. Remind your child you will be back to check on him and do check on him every 1-2 minutes until he eventually falls off to sleep. Your child will, in a little bit of time, with patience and consistency learn how to settle/resettle himself without the soother.

Services

Consultation with Tailored Plan & Support

Recommended for parents experiencing settling issues and/or frequent night awakenings.  Includes a tailored step-by-step plan.

Single Consultation

Recommended for parents who want to discuss and overcome minor sleep issues with their baby or young child.

1st Year of Sleep

The 1st year of a baby's life is a very busy and exciting time. With this package you will have a helping hand all the way to guide you through developing a workable routine for your baby along with helping you through any sleep issues that may arise.

Public Talks & Media

As a Baby Sleep Consultant I give talks, seminars and training courses to the public & businesses.

Testimonials

Here is what Baby Sleep Academy customers had to say:

Hilda & Robbi

Hilda & Robbi

Before we met Edel were we completely exhausted and at our wits end, up every night at least 7 times with our son. Within about 10 days Dylan was happy in his cot and slept 12 hours straight! We couldn't speak more highly of Edel and she was such a fantastic person to deal with.*

Lesley

Lesley

Without Edel’s help and support I know I certainly wouldn’t be in a home with two very happy & content boys that sleep all night and thrive on their routine each day. She always understood how I felt. We would highly recommend Edel as a baby sleep consultant – she’s amazing!!*

Muireann

Muireann

I had no time to myself the entire day and despite being a new Mom and being told that this time was unpredictable I knew in my gut that it was wrong. We put our faith in Edel’s expertise in terms of sleep and we weren't disappointed. With the constant doubt we felt as new parents she was able to point us in the right direction.*

* The testimonials appearing on this site were actually received via e-mail submission. They are individual experiences, reflecting real life experiences of those who have used our services. They are individual results and results do vary. We do not claim that they are typical results.  Testimonial Disclaimer

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