When would you become worried about hand sucking?

dalzien · May 2013

Our LO has had an awful time adjusting to a sleep routine. We tried a soother for a week, but then she became dependent on that to fall sleep. We've managed to take it away, but she has now taken to sucking on her fingers to calm herself down. I will try to soothe her myself by placing my breast in her mouth, but she will spit it out and instead suck on her fingers. She is EBF and is just over 9 weeks. When would you become worries about hand sucking? I don't want it to turn into thumb sucking, but I want her to be able to soother herself if she wakes up in the middle of the night.

pgros005 · May 2013

I would never worry about it. She is simply finding het hands. You Va.t force it to stop. Let her do what she does. These little creatures are way smarter than us.

littlebean4 · May 2013

exactly this. I would much rather them suck on hands than a pacifier though I know a lot will disagree. I never did a pacifier and she loves to soothe with her hands. My pedi said not to try to break it until 3 and even then it won't cause dental problems until 5 so I wouldn't worry.

CougFan · May 2013

Not sure you would stop it in car seat or nap/bed...sounds like a losing battle. She is soothing because she needs it. If it makes you feel better I read that BF babies are less likely to become hardcore thumbsuckers because they get comfort from nursing too.

ToAoShesha · May 2013

Her sucking in her hands us her way of self soothing... It's a great thing! You would be in trouble if your LO couldn't self sooth. Don't stop her and don't worry.

jaime52005 · May 2013

littlebean4:
exactly this. nbsp;I would much rather them suck on hands than a pacifier though I know a lot will disagree. nbsp;I never did a pacifier and she loves to soothe with her hands. nbsp;My pedi said not to try to break it until 3 and even then it won't cause dental problems until 5 so I wouldn't worry.

Do u mean months..I hope not year...5 yrs old is to long we encourage our patients to stop age 2 to 3 the latest

dande2129 · May 2013

At this age, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just let her do whatever soothes her.

Cellis · May 2013

ToAoShesha:
Her sucking in her hands us her way of self soothing... It's a great thing! You would be in trouble if your LO couldn't self sooth. Don't stop her and don't worry.

This! DS sucks on his fingers and I'm not worried.

rjeller32 · May 2013

Babies suck to soothe, it's just a fact. They are not going to be guaranteed to form a thumb sucking habit out of it. I sucked my thumb until I was 6 and I didn't get a paci when I was a baby.

Hand sucking is nothing to worry about, not this young.

Angela814 · May 2013

Never. I have a 7 yo who sucks her thumb at night and an almost 3 yo with a pacifier. I actually don't know which I'd prefer for DD3. I need her to figure out something because being a human pacifier all day long is exhausting. I think at this age I'd prefer a thumb or fingers since she can't lose them. She spits out the paci after a while and then gets upset that it's gone,

littlebean4 · May 2013

No year, my ped said it won't cause dental problems until 5 years of age and even up until 3 years old, it's a pretty easy habit to break....after that, your screwed haha

diana.filipi · May 2013

I wouldn't worry about hand sucking unless it was still an issue around 4 or 5 years old maybe. As an infant be happy with it.

When would you become worried about hand sucking?

Re: When would you become worried about hand sucking?

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