the thumb!

i have one thumbsucker and no paci users. pedi said at our 2 yr visit to not even try to get her off the thumb until she's able to be reasoned with... lol, it's not worth the battle right now. but i'd still like to know some of your tried and true stories/methods of getting them off the thumb?

 

I'm right there with you. Abby has sucked her thumb since she was a newborn. She mostly sucks it in the crib with her lovey, but I'm starting to notice that she'll suck it at other times without her lovey. She's become addicted to her lovey too. I'm thinking of taking that away and see if that might cut down on the thumb sucking. I'm sure it won't. I know I sucked my thumb til I was about 4 or 5. My teeth are fine and hers look fine so far, so I'm trying not to stress about it too much. I'm more annoyed with the constant whining for the lovey. I'd love to hear any tips or stories too.

 

Why bother? She's still so young. There's no harm in it, your pedi says it's ok, and self-soothing is a legitimate need. And if you take away one self-soothing mechanism, she might just replace it with something else (pulling out hair, sucking on a blanket, whatever).

 

I didn't start with my son until the he was fixing to go into Kindergarten. I then limited thumbsucking to his room (no TV, etc, he could do it, but he would have to go to his room which usually deterred him), and I also ordered Control-It which is an all natural cream made for nail biters. Great stuff, very bitter and really did the trick in keeping his thumb out of his mouth.

 

Ya, I wondering the same thing myself. I have noticed that it has effected his teeth. I have identical twins so I can see the difference between the one that does suck his thumb and the one that doesn't.

 

I wish I knew what caused Annelise to stop sucking her fingers. I'd be rich if I could sell that secret. She just quit shortly after she turned too. Maybe you'll be so lucky! Karina and her paci are a whole different story. I hope to conquer that addiction in the next couple of weeks.

Glad to see you in this forum, Amy!

 

I've got a thumbsucker too Amy. I have no idea what to do with him and his thumb.

 

Our dentist said not to worry until they are getting in their permanent teeth. I hope for my sons' sake he stops earlier as I don't want him to get teased but it is so great that he can self-soothe like that, I'm not doing anything to interfere. At least not yet.

 

Oh, and I forgot to add - for those who only have thumbsuckers, be grateful. Ivy needs to not only suck her thumb but also play with the ear of whoever is holding her (or her own ear, if she's on her own). I swear my earlobe is going to get calluses... :wacko: (Yeah, I know, I could do something about it, but I've got other battles to choose.)

 

I have two thumb suckers one 2.5 and the other 13 months. The 13 months is hard core with a calus to prove it. My mom sucked her thumb until she was 12 !! It was because they tried so hard to stop her she fought back. We are just saving now for the Othodontic work....

 

I have one thumb sucker...he has since about 5 mos old. Lucky for us, he ONLY does it with his lovey. As of 2 1/2, he's only allowed his lovey in his bed for nap/bedtime (and in the car IF it's nap/bedtime). Lately, we've seen him sneaking in to his bed for his lovey during the day, so now we keep the loveys up on the dresser. We're fortunate in that I've NEVER seen him suck his thumb without his lovey, so we have good control over the habit (well, except while he's asleep, then he does it on occasion without the lovey). And he's funny about it...he'll tell you all about how his loveys have to stay in his bed so that he can suck his thumb with them when he goes to sleep .

Everyone told me NOT to let him suck his thumb when he was little & I actually helped it along. He was such an unhappy baby & was SOOO much better once he found his thumb (he didn't have an adequate suck to hold in a NUK, but he wanted it!). I talked to both our Ped & dentist and both said NOT to worry about breaking the habit yet. They disagree on age...Ped said around 4-5 & Dentist said around the time that permanent teeth are coming in. I already notice a difference in his teeth, but both DH & I required braces, so I'm sure he's doomed regardless.

I thought he MIGHT break himself of the habit last winter when his thumb got SO dry, but we kept that Lanisoh stuff on it & it did fine. He has a callous on it (has since he was quite little) so it's pretty tough! His thumb nail is ickier than the rest, too. Ewww!

Oh well, it makes him happy & he goes to sleep easily. At this point, I cannot complain. And, I don't worry.

 

My son is a thumbsucker and I don't plan on doing much about it until he's a bit older. He was only doing it at night but did start during the day because I let him bring his blanket downstairs during quiet time. :gah: It was so much taking that away. :nea: Now his blanket stays ONLY in his room and he does suck his thumb only at sleeptime. So far his teeth look okay but they are a bit buck. :grr: The dentist noticed it immediately.

 

I have a thumb sucker too. I only let Ana suck her thumb at sleep time though, with her lovey that stays in her bed. If I notice her thumb in her mouth at other times, I gently remind her to take it out. Our pedi dentist said not to worry about it yet. I sucked my thumb until 1st grade too, so I'm not too worried.

 

B's a thumb sucker, and right now, I'm not going to stress about it, I can't remember if it was the ped or the dentist who said most kids will give it up on their own. Although he's just like my sister in that he only sucks his thumb when he has his lovey. For her, the lovie "mysteriously got lost at Grandma's" and she quit sucking her thumb. Part of me recognizes this as a legitimate solution, except a) he loves his giraffe, and he has since he was months old, so the thought of taking it away from him just seems so cruel. and b) Joel has the same lovey. So I can't take away B's without taking away J's.... so we'll probably be finding another option! GOod luck! If only they could all be paci babies!