thumb/hand sucking

ravenclaw1 · December 2013

Boo has discovered her hands this week - she's pretty jazzed about that fact.

She's also pretty stoked about how well they fit in her mouth and help her go to sleep. She does take pacifiers, but if it falls out, she's perfectly content with sucking on her hand/thumb. I know as they grow older, it becomes a habit that will need to be broken, but I really can't see a way of changing this habit at this age.

Thoughts? Others in the same boat?

Mags04 · December 2013

Mine loves chewing on his hands too, even after nursing. When he first started doing it I thought he was hungry but nope he's just fascinated with his hands lately.

coraggiosa · December 2013

There is nothing I can do to keep DD's fist out of her mouth. She's a strong little bugger, and if I try to remove it, she just puts it back. I figure that it helps soothe her, and it's not an issue now. I'll cross that bridge when she's older.

Albertsgirl1982 · December 2013

I think it's great. You don't have to keep getting up to put the paci back. And LO learns to self-soothe which is really important.

sugarellie · December 2013

My LO has discovered his hands too and will chew on them , suck on his fingers etc. The biggest challenge with it is pulling them away when your trying to get a bottle in his mouth.

stephl3055 · December 2013

We've come across this issue the last couple of weeks as well. Sometimes she tries to shove both hands in her mouth at the same time. And one time she put her fingers so far into her mouth she started gagging.

I try to remove her hand and replace it with the pacifier when I notice she's doing it, but sometimes she does it in the car and I can't stop her.

bumpuser9130703 · December 2013

Mine loves it and i think its adorable i wont be attempting to correct it until shes older

bermybabe68 · December 2013

My DD does it to and has been for a little while. Sometimes she sucks her hands so hard and loud that you can hear it 2 rooms away! It doesn't bother me, I just make sure I wash her hands well though. Oh, and she discovered her feet a few days ago. I caught her with her toes I her mouth yesterday, the little stinker

Violet1372 · December 2013

Sophie found her hands recently as well. I am not doing anything about it because really what can you do? I've tried to give her the pacifier when she has her hands in her mouth but she spits it out and goes back to her hands. So when she's in the mood for her hands I just let her have at it

AppleMuffins · December 2013

I put mittens on dd's hands at night since she's always trying to scratch her face and grab her ears. It seems to deter her a little.

For those of you who do have your lo sucking their hands/thumbs, does your child do it with both hands or just one? My dd only brings her right hand to her mouth, but I know she's too young to really have a left or right hand preference. Makes me a little worried. She still likes to keep her hands in a fist too, more often than not.

GermanShredders · December 2013

I just put lanolin on the rough spots every night.

ravenclaw1 · December 2013

She totally prefers her right hand

stephl3055 · December 2013

Usually it's her left, but she will often put both in there at once (or attempt to).

bermybabe68 · December 2013

Usually the right hand in the mouth with left hand right behind trying to cram it in too.

blinnea23 · December 2013

Yep!

bumpuser9130703 · December 2013

Both hands. In fact, I think her ultimate goal is to fit both of her hands in her mouth at the same time.

csspencer · December 2013

He loves his hands. I usually have to take them out of his mouth to put his bottle in. Today I was cracking up because he was trying to suck on his hands (both) while sucking on the bottle. It wasn't working too well.

psychgirl33 · December 2013

Yep. DD1 did it, too. She's not a thumbsucker at all. It's a developmental phase. No harm in letting them suck on their hands.

And Tess prefers her left hand. She also shoves her fingers in and gags a lot.

AppleMuffins · December 2013

I'm glad some have said their lo only chews one hand. Makes me feel a little better. I know two hands is the norm though. I think, studying early childhood education (and thus development) has me over thinking and being too critical. More knowledge isn't always better! I went to Google and now I'm paranoid she has cerebral palsy even though it would be very unlikely. I know, I know back away from the Googles! She probably just needs more time to refine her skills, considering this only started in the past week or two.

strlitemiss · December 2013

Keegan loves his hands but last night he fell asleep sucking his thumb and pinched his face and screamed for a half hour after that poor guy.

SweetPeaK26 · December 2013

Dd has given herself arm hickies.

ejb23 · December 2013

My DD has just started too. Mostly left hand. It seems to wake her up more when she does it though. I think she gets excited to have found them

staebells · December 2013

My LO won't keep his hands away from his mouth. Not too concerned, but it isn't really soothing to him yet. I think it frustrates him, because he can't get his whole hand in his mouth, and both hands definitely don't fit at the same time--which is what he would like! I tried to show him how to suck his thumb, but he can't just suck one finger. I fold his little fingers down except his thumb, but only works for one second. Maybe he'll learn how to do it for self-soothing in the near future. Then I wouldn't have to swaddle his arms anymore. He could use one for a purpose besides rubbing his eyes!

Lbear8 · December 2013

Mine loves the hands too, and frequently gags herself and I can't help but laugh

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