HELP! DD is thumbsucking:-(

goldenprincess

DD is 3 months old and has never taken a pacifier.  She always spits it out or gags on it. She absolutely hates it!  This past week she has discovered sucking her thumb.   We're not thrilled about this for obvious reasons(crooked teeth, etc). 

Did anyone else's LO do this and were you able to break the habit right away?  We would prefer DD to take the pacifier vs the thumb b/c at least we can always take away the paci later on  but we can't ever get rid of the thumb.  Any suggestions on getting DD to take the paci instead?

 

TIA

EXL311

I would let her suck her thumb but continue to try to introduce the pacifier.  We kept trying with DS but he would spit it out so I just gave up.  He's 4.5 years old now and still sucks his thumb with no end in sight.  DD is 3 and we just got rid of her paci this past summer and she doesn't feel the need to suck on her fingers.  It's not the end of the world if your DD continues to suck her thumb.  We're planning on getting the nasty tasting stuff for DS's thumb soon so hopefully that will help.

wellfleet04

Both my kids suck their thumbs and never took a paci.  I was ok with it.  They were/are both able to soothe themselves to sleep.  My DD is 2 yrs 4 months and for the past year I'd say only sucks her thumb before bed, nap, and in the car (similar to how other kids her age use pacis).  I imagine she'll give it up completely on her own when she's ready, and if not I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 

aprilmomtobe

just let her suck her thumb. she's so little, just let her soothe herself the way she wants. it seems like all kids need braces anyway!

hikerbeth

My DD would never take a paci.  She was a serious thumb sucker until she was about 8 months.  She had just cut her first two bottom teeth, bit her thumb, drew blood, and never sucked her thumb again.  It sucked for a few weeks since she couldn't figure out how to soothe herself, but it was effective.

I wouldn't worry about it 'til much later.

AZ_Erica

DS sucked his thumb occasionally from birth on.  He never took a paci and the thumb never became a habit.  DD has never taken a paci and has recently started sucking her thumb occasionally as well.  I just keep trying the paci but don't worry about it to much.  I really think they are going to do what they want in this department.

Zenya

-auntie-:

Seriously?

Let her self sooth. It's such a great thing for a child to be able to do this somewhat independently of you or some artificial device. Her thumb isn't going to go missing in the dark and cause her to wake up the whole house. She'll always have it with her. It's not going to fall out in the car while you're driving. It's not going to fall on the floor.

Her teeth won't become "crocked" as that's a function of jaw and tooth size/alignment. Even if she does suck well into third grade, the "fix" for "bucked tetth" is pretty quick but by then she'll likely have given up her thumb because of the stigma.

Exactly.  Lots of babies just need to suck. You either nurse them 827 times a day and night  (like I did with my son) or they take a pacifier or if you hit the jackpot.. they suck their thumbs.

mauceddie

Wow. I was expecting your post, with the all-caps HELP to be about a 6 year old. You're seriously this worried about your infant???

 

99% of kids stop sucking their thumbs themselves with no dental issues at all.

 

Don't worry about this at all. Be grateful that your baby is able to self soothe.