The Great Debate: Pacifiers or Hands/thumbs?

Kougl Wife to Be! · August 2011

Weigh in on your opinions and what you have heard. My LO takes a pacifier just good but lately she has been chewing on it and shoving her hands in her mouth with the pacifier or without it. I'm thinking she might be trying to bust through teeth with all the drooling and cheweing but who knows!

MamabirdtoBe · August 2011

I prefer the paci. I can take it away, later

mrambo3 · August 2011

I prefer the paci bc it can be taken away later but lately DS has been sucking his thumb. He seems to only do it when he first wakes up in the mornings and when he is put to bed, which are times where I can't stop him from sucking his thumb.

lilylow · August 2011

Pacifier

Els has started trying to suck her thumb at nap and night time. I've been putting socks on her hands.

vanfox · August 2011

I used to adamantly say no thumb sucking before DS was here, but he wanted nothing to do with the paci and started sucking his thumb at 7 weeks. Now I pretty much think if they want their thumbs badly enough, they'll get them.

Nanna · August 2011

None of my children took to the paci, despite some encouragement on our part. The boys went through brief phases of finger sucking, but nothing stuck. Beaker, it seems, is an avid thumbsucker. She's found a way to soothe and calm herself - why on earth would I discourage that? Yes, we may have some struggles down the road if she keeps it up, but lots of parents struggle with getting their kid to give up a paci, too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and in the meantime I will be glad I'm not one of those parents who has to get up umpteen times a night to fetch a lost paci for my baby to get back to sleep.

GHBEA · August 2011

LO uses her thumb and I prefer it over the paci. she can sooth herself this way and I don't have to look for a paci at night, first thing in the morning or when I'm out and about. It's always there when she needs it.

misssurly · August 2011

Nanna:
She's found a way to soothe and calm herself - why on earth would I discourage that? Yes, we may have some struggles down the road if she keeps it up, but lots of parents struggle with getting their kid to give up a paci, too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and in the meantime I will be glad I'm not one of those parents who has to get up umpteen times a night to fetch a lost paci for my baby to get back to sleep.

Yes

MrsCali_Bride · August 2011

Our oldest one loved the paci and used it until around age 2. He never even tried to suck on his thumb/fingers. The twins won't take the paci no matter which one we try. They took the gumdrop ones in the hospital but now prefer their fingers. Amelia only does it on occasion but Owen does it all the time. I know that you can't take them away like the paci, but like pp, I love that they've found a way to self soothe and I don't have to get up to pop a paci back in their mouths or worry about finding a clean one before we go out anywhere.

MrsLCH · August 2011

misssurly:
Nanna:
She's found a way to soothe and calm herself - why on earth would I discourage that? Yes, we may have some struggles down the road if she keeps it up, but lots of parents struggle with getting their kid to give up a paci, too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and in the meantime I will be glad I'm not one of those parents who has to get up umpteen times a night to fetch a lost paci for my baby to get back to sleep.

This.

kaube · August 2011

MrsLCH:
misssurly:
Nanna:
She's found a way to soothe and calm herself - why on earth would I discourage that? Yes, we may have some struggles down the road if she keeps it up, but lots of parents struggle with getting their kid to give up a paci, too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and in the meantime I will be glad I'm not one of those parents who has to get up umpteen times a night to fetch a lost paci for my baby to get back to sleep.

Yup, all of this
This.

mamababyrn · August 2011

LO used to love her paci, but she much prefers her fingers now. I like the idea that you can take a paci away later, but right now she always has what she needs to soothe herself.

RunningGal900 · August 2011

I offered a paci, but he hates it. His sucks on his fingers if he's really worked up or trying to go back to sleep, but it's not a round the clock thing. I think it's great. When he wakes himself up, I can see him on the monitor sucking his little finger. My other friends tell me stories of getting up every time their baby drops their paci at night to pop it back it.

Pre-baby, I would have said paci all the way bc I can take it away later. However, I have known one family my entire life that had an issue getting their kid to stop sucking their thumb and I have known many, many babies who had their pacis for way too long, so I don't think it's a given that a paci will be taken away and thumbsucking will continue.

Nechie122 · August 2011

kaube:
MrsLCH:
misssurly:
Nanna:
She's found a way to soothe and calm herself - why on earth would I discourage that? Yes, we may have some struggles down the road if she keeps it up, but lots of parents struggle with getting their kid to give up a paci, too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and in the meantime I will be glad I'm not one of those parents who has to get up umpteen times a night to fetch a lost paci for my baby to get back to sleep.

Yup, all of this
This.

Add me to bandwagon here. Also, DH and I both sucked our fingers growing up and we turned out okay.

goalieamy24 · August 2011

I was never a fan of the Paci. And neither is LO, so that works out well. He loves his fingers/thumb. I don't have a particular reason, just not a fan of the Paci.

virginiagirl11 · August 2011

Ugh, neither?

To be fair, I am glad (for now) that DS has found his thumb. It really helps him calm down. However, both DH and I have said that we would prefer he used a paci so that we could take it away later down the road. On the other hand, it is nice not to have to wake up in the middle of the night to pop a paci back in.

Like I said, I would prefer neither but for now we'll just see how this thumb thing goes.

kpips20 · August 2011

Neither of my kids took a paci for very long and while I was a little concerned with DS (b/c EVERYONE made the argument that you could take the paci away and not the thumb), he never became a chronic thumb sucker and now only does it when he's trying to fall asleep. And my friends who were so anti thumb had pretty terrible transitions away from the paci. DD quickly gave up the paci and now sucks her fingers when she's tired and I'm just fine with it.

Scout05 · August 2011

SS: I would have prefered paci, but she REFUSED to take one and won't to this day.

She chews on her hands, and has gotten her thumb in her mouth a few times, but she just doesn't seem to need to suck for comfort.

kgail11 · August 2011

MrsLCH:
misssurly:
Nanna:
She's found a way to soothe and calm herself - why on earth would I discourage that? Yes, we may have some struggles down the road if she keeps it up, but lots of parents struggle with getting their kid to give up a paci, too. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and in the meantime I will be glad I'm not one of those parents who has to get up umpteen times a night to fetch a lost paci for my baby to get back to sleep.

SAME!!! To the pp who put socks on their hands??! WHY??? That's a hugely normal part of development called self-soothing! It's a good thing ... socks on their hands to discourage that? Really? Makes me sort of sad.

This.

ckolak · August 2011

Eh, I think that pacis are better because you can take them away, but at the same time, it's nice that they can't lose their thumbs. DD is currently sucking her thumb, we'll see how long that continues and if we need to intervene at some point.

The Great Debate: Pacifiers or Hands/thumbs?

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