Paci vs Thumb

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

I'm coming to terms with DD sucking her thumb and thought it might be interesting to discuss some pros and cons for pacifiers and thumb sucking.

For thumb sucking- it's always right there available, there's no sterilizing or making sure there's a spare, no odd contortions to reach back to the back seat and find it to try and get a screaming baby to take it. On the down side you can't take a thumb away with weaning.

For pacifiers- lowered risk of SIDS when given to sleep for the first six months, orthotic designs, cute colors and patterns. Down sides are sterlizing and washing, spares, keeping track of them, getting them to baby, repeatedly giving it to baby after it's repeatedly lost or spit out, choking hazard if the bite the nipple off once they have teeth.

What are your pros and cons?

thatgirlree24 · February 2016

My son just turned two months the 7th and still can't find his thumb. On the other hand, my now five year old son found his thumb around 2-3wks and still sucks it to this day. It's very hard getting him to stop. None liked pacifiers even though I tried to give them it. Even tried different ones but they refused. Even tho LOs older brother sucks his thumb and I wish he'd stop, I secretly wish LO would suck his so he won't comfort nurse as much!

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

DS is 15 months and still shows no signs of willingly giving up his pacifier. The best we can manage is limiting it to naps and bedtime but with DD sometimes getting a paci it was bringing up jealousy issues that weren't worth it.

I hate the judgement with both. My mom is especially harsh about DS still having a pacifier and constantly makes comments about it. Other family members hate the pictures where he obviously has one. I'm waiting for comments on DD ruining her mouth or something similar.

groovylocks · February 2016

Olive has been sucking her thumb since before she was born. She is lukewarm on her bepi (Pacifier) and only really wants it when she's either VERY calm or VERY meltdowny. She eats at her hands constantly however. She's starting to favour her thumb and i think she'll be a thumb sucker. But listen, @thatgirlree24 she ALSO comfort nurses too.. Some kids just suck. No i mean literally

My childhood bff sucked her thumb until the second grade. It seemed to stop naturally at that time. I'm not sure what dental issues her parents dealt with however.

taysun · February 2016

We love the paci but she sucks (ha) at keeping it in her mouth. She also eats her hands more in the thumb area but only when she's got a fist.
Shes a big comfort nursed so I often slip the paci in and keep her pressed up against my bare breast until she calms.
I'm not going to worry about it until I need too.

ksrkim · February 2016

Mizuiro007 said:

DS is 15 months and still shows no signs of willingly giving up his pacifier. The best we can manage is limiting it to naps and bedtime but with DD sometimes getting a paci it was bringing up jealousy issues that weren't worth it.

I hate the judgement with both. My mom is especially harsh about DS still having a pacifier and constantly makes comments about it. Other family members hate the pictures where he obviously has one. I'm waiting for comments on DD ruining her mouth or something similar.

My mom too. We would FaceTime with her at night and she'd say to my older son "what's that thing doing in your mouth?" It would really irk me. At that point, it's not like I tried to take it from him yet. Plus he's not really too fond of her so I'm sure that didn't help.

My mom also sucked her thumb until she was 10.

We just weaned my 2 year old off of his paci and I think it would have been much harder to get him to stop sucking on his thumb. I mean I can't even get him to stop picking his nose (gross, I know).

Also he just had his first dentist appointment and she knew right away he used a paci so that isn't good. I wonder if this baby will become as attached. He uses it sometimes and proves to be soothing to him but it's too early to tell if it will become a habit. And if it does, I will probably try and take it from him sooner.

For or those of you using Soothies or Wubbanubs: my son loved a particular Wubbanub and that was the binky he went to sleep with until after he was 2. Please note that the Wubbanubs are for 0-3 months. Now I understand why. The reason we had to take his paci away was because he actually bit through it and it cracked. Imagine if a whole chunk came off while he was sleeping? I felt horrible and lucky at the same time. Moral of the story: pay attention to the age recommendations, don't be a moron like me.

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

@ksrkim My mom has said the exact same thing to DS and a couple times went as far to yank it from his mouth right after.

Her first comment about the thumb sucking though was "well you can't cut her thumbs off".

rmarie13 · February 2016

I was a thumb sucker until the age of 12. It was a really hard habit to break but I eventually did. I remember going to bed without my thumb in my mouth and waking up with it in my mouth. The thumb I sucked is not smaller than the other one. It didn't "mess up" my mouth. In fact I had perfectly straight teeth as a child and teenager (no braces) until my wisdom teeth broke through.
DD loves her soothie but she'll suck her hands when she's half asleep looking for my boob. I'm not worried about her thumb or finger sucking. She'll do what she has to do!

soccsm13 · February 2016

I'm a big supporter of the pacifier! With DS I was nervous to give him one after hearing about nipple confusion and my mom saying "well I never had to give you kids pacifiers...." Thanks mom, but we all sucked our thumbs so... Anyways I finally gave him one at 6 weeks old when he was comfort nursing all. day. long. And I was in tears from the pain and loneliness. He loved it and it was just what we both needed! I was super lucky when at 10 months old he threw it out of his crib and never wanted it back again. So my advise is to take your LO's cues and if they don't want it at some point, see if they are done with it. It helped that we were still nursing so if he needed some comfort I had that to offer instead of the pacifier.

so now with DD, I offered her the pacifier right away at like 3 days old. But she is so different than DS and doesn't need it very often. It's been good to keep her from feeding every hour, and we've been able to stretch out feedings to every 2.5-3 hours, but she doesn't need it to fall asleep at night at all. So I'm thinking we won't need it even as long as DS used it. It's nice not worrying about it falling out of her mouth all night long... But yeah, when I forget it at home it's not pretty!

neither of of them have been able to find their thumb before I offered the pacifier though, so that hasn't even been a consideration. My brother sucked his thumb forever though... Like sometimes we would catch him doing it at like 12 years old!

and isn't it crazy how you can have so many of the things but only know where 1-2 of them are at a time??? I keep thinking my toddler must have them stashed somewhere...

angelicac06 · February 2016

Great thread! My LO HATES pacifiers. He has rejected the mam, the nuks, gumdrops, avent silicone that came with the bottles and the soothies( even though he took it once at the hospital and once a couple weeks ago for 2 mins.)

That being said, he LOVES his hands and of course his thumb so I already know he will be a thumb sucker. I'm a FTM so I have no experience and feel they both have pros and cons. I like that he won't have them in pics and I won't have to worry about taking it away one day but sometimes I wish SOMETHING comforted him so he just chills. As fat as him thumb sucking well its not very attractive either... I have cousins who did well into elementary school and they developed this raised bump on the top of their thumb, yuck. Idk if its still there however, I'll pay attention next time I see them lol.

blended10 · February 2016

I was at preschool pick up yesterday & dd was going nuts bc she was in her car seat & not moving (God help us all) so I stuck my pinky in her mouth. The mom behind me was like "oh I wouldn't do that! She'll start sucking her thumb for sure!" Really? Of course this is the same woman who told me she stopped nursing her son bc she felt like he was just "playing around down there" at 3 wks.
Meanwhile ds never took a pacifier or his thumb & I was the human pacifier. Dd doesn't seem to comfort suck unless she's super stressed so I'll give her a paci or (heaven forbid) my pinky- as she doesn't suck her own hands.

Gingermom15 · February 2016

I never wanted Henry to have a pacifier because it was one less habit to break. One week old and he starts sucking his thumb, fingers, blanket and anything else he could get in his mouth and I realized he needed one for comfort. I figured a paci can be taken away but a thumb cannot. Thumb sucking after the adult teeth come in can cause damage to the alignment of the teeth and growth of the mouth. Every time he started sucking his thumb we could pull it out and replace with the paci. He only uses it now when he's very tired or gassy/can't burp. He won't take it unless he truly needs soothed, we haven't noticed anymore thumb sucking.

Washing and and sterlizing hasn't been a big deal and we keep it on a clip so I'm driving alone with him I can reach back at a red light and find it.

dmendo01 · February 2016

DD sucks on the side of her hand after she makes a fist and sometimes her wrist but never her thumb. She was born with a cherry on her wrist from sucking on it in my belly. She only seems to suck her hands when hungry though. And will occasionally take the paci if she's not hungry. I honestly don't care what she does to self soothe at this point hah

navyblueladybug · March 2016

We have a thumb sucker!!!

Same one every time too. She loved sucking her fists and finally found just the thumb. She's always hated her paci so this is a nice way for her to calm down. However, she still doesn't grasp the concept that she has to keep her arm there too... I think she thinks she can put her thumb in and move her arm away and the thumb will stay, LOL!!! It's hilarious because she gets so frustrated sometimes! It's been a while since this topic was discussed... Any other babies find fingers or a thumb yet?

Mizuiro007 · March 2016

@navyblueladybug DD always goes for the same thumb as well. I find this fascinating and wonder what makes that thumb so much better than the other. Good ol' lefty. We've embraced it.

celainev · March 2016

Little Carlos only takes the pacifier when he is hungry and I'm making a bottle. He used to have it all the time, but at 3 months, he doesn't seem to care anymore. There is he very odd time where it will put him to sleep, but I think we could even do without.

Every now and then he finds his fist and smacks up against it. It's so loud though, haha. Not sure if he'll become a thumb sucker yet!!

teachmegs817 · March 2016

DS is trying to hard to figure out how to suck his thumb. He gets a few of his fingers in his mouth, but realizes that it's too much for his little mouth. He does take to the pacifier and I never thought I'd even introduce him to one, but the NICU introduces pacifiers to all preemies to help with the sucking reflex. He takes it at bedtime and when we are trying to soothe him. He doesn't have it in his mouth all day. I'd say maybe 25% of the day. It always ends up falling out while he sleeps and we don't usually have to put it back in, to get him back to sleep.

As PP have mentioned, weening off of a pacifier would be easier, but if DS is going to go for his thumb, I'd rather that be a def. go to soothing technique that he can do on his own, versus us having to pick him up, rock him, and reapply the pacifier on occasion.

MomofEv+1 · March 2016

I tried pushing a pacifier pretty hard this time bu my 14 week old doesn't care for it. She loves boob and her hand. I am not convinced she will be a thumb sucker and I hope she won't. My SIL "secretly" sucks her thumb to this day. She is 33.

pupsicle23 · March 2016

DD is officially over the pacifier and is all about her hand. She doesn't suck on her thumb or particular fingers, though. She makes a fist and chews on it.

Edited for gif fail

Knottie1456179799 · March 2016

LO is not a fan of her paci- she'll take it when she's extremely tired and/or upset but that's about all. She loves to suck her hands, which is fine with me

She's also a comfort nurser, especially at bedtime. She's 15 weeks, so going with the flow for now.

As for criticism, my grandmother refers to the paci as "that thing" and harps constantly on my sister (her LO is 26 weeks) and I to not let the babes have them. Our response is "Would you rather risk square baby teeth or have a screaming baby?"

MomofEv+1 · March 2016

I think the thumb is probably the greater risk for an overbite. My only issue with a pacifier is when older kids have them hanging out of their mouth while talking. I would want my LO to give it up before then. One of the reasons I want her to take it is that she may not be as inclined to put smaller objects in her mouth if she already has a plug.

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