Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Thumb vs Pacifier
Zara is a thumb sucker since birth. We did try to give her the pacifier in the very beginning but she used to spit it out, and stuff her hand into the mouth instead (before she found her thumb). She has a permanant bump on the thumb and sometimes when she sucks too hard, a little cut is found.
Last week, I found her thumb was even bleeding a bit from all the sucking, so I took out the pacifier and tried to offer it to her. She did suck on it, like trying out a toy. Here is a video captured with her using pacifier. She had her hand placed below her chin all the time, afraid of the pacifier falling, a sure sign that she's not a pacifier user.
5 minutes later.. it was back to the thumb (photo below taken on a different day).
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34 comments:
wien has the bump too...so difficult to wean off her thumb! At one time she stop sucking, but now back again!We hv to constantly remind not to do so....and she is 4 now!! I also need help on this!
luckily my son is neither a sucker for both thumbs and pacifier... maybe that's why he just kept talking non-stop all day... LOL!
y'know, maybe you should invent a pacifier that has the shape and texture of a thumb. that way kids won't know the difference. imagine how much royalties you'd get for that! such ingenuity!!
that'll be 12 cents for consultation fee, thank you!
Grace sucked her thumb till eve of January 1 of her Kindergarten 2 year, that is, just before six. She tried very hard not to suck and resolved it as a new year resolution. It finally worked cos her bump was too huge.
But, she is grinding her teeth a lot now...
I think I was neither both. :P
What so nice to suck actually?
Actually, I've seen a little girl who also suck her thumb and it looks really painful (it's sore and bleeding)... that makes me think it's better to let em suck on the pacifier..
Adrian too a thumb sucker before, but he wean off once I apply some 'yue yi oil' on his thumb :p,
Alvan like his pacifier and his little toe more than his thumb, he was in the stage 'put anything inside his mouth' so better not to wean him on pacifier 1st :)
Zara was so careful and cute :)
Yee Ching used to be a thumb sucker too and doesn't like pacifier like Zara. I am glad that she is able to wean off from the habit totally at 15 mths old.
i'm afraid ashley's thumb will bleed one day as well since she is a thumb sucker when she is sleepy and wants to sleep...
Damien sucks the pacifier when he's sleepy. We’ve been trying to help him kick off the habit. Nowadays, I tell him: You’re a big boy already, it’s so shameful to suck on the pacifier, people will laugh at you. On days when his mood is good, he’ll remove it instantly and said: ‘big boy already, cannot suck, shame shame, wait people laugh at me.’ Otherwise, he’ll just ignore me and suck even harder, very rebellious huh? Hmm..i should take a picture of him sucking his pacifier and get everyone to laugh at him..haha..;p
My younger sis used to suck her thumb until she enters Primary One, now there’s a permanent bump on her thumb! ;)
Oh no.. lil' President also sucks his thumb!
Does she still suck her thumb? Any signs of stopping? How are you trying to stop this habit?
Very funny lah, she trying to make sure the pacifier doesn't drop :)
Now pacifier is easier for us to wean off. Now how do u wean off the thumb? I remember Jefferene mentioned in her blog that she plaster yeeching's thumb to wean her off. :P
oh dear, rye li also sucks her thumb - she only found her left thumb over a mth back. before that was her fist and then fingers. was just about to blog on this but havent had the time yet and then i saw your blog. didnt know zara does it too.
a friend of mine said that most breastfed babies will suck on their thumbs coz it kinda resembles the nipples. dunno how true is this.
how will you stop zara from sucking her thumb? my sister sucked on her thumb all the way till primary school. her thumb till today looks funny.
Ok, how am I supposed to make any intelligent/witty comment about this?.. LOL!! Erm, at least Zara's nor sucking her toe..?..
Suck her thumb till it bleeds? That's really bad. I guess she might wean it off over time. Someone I heard used to put some peppermint rub on her kid's thumb to prevent her from sucking. What the kid did was to wrap her thumb with her shirt and still suck on it!
Gavin was on the pacifier till about 1.5 years. I wean him off because I was afraid he would have awful looking teeth.
Jessyn,
You didn’t use Jefferene’s trick? But Wien is so big now, she’ll know how to unplaster herself.
Simple American,
Oh.. then thumb sucking is definitely better than biters! Should I say lucky me?
Egghead,
Your son is breast sucker ma.. haha..
May,
That’s cheap consultation fee! Good suggestion.. now if I only work for Avent.
Mother Superior,
Wow.. Grace does persevere huh, she has it as a new year resolution, and she really got rid of the habit. Well done! Grinding her teeth in the night or all the time?
J-mumbles,
Asked those people who likes smoking.. I guess it’s the same feeling kua.
Sue,
I was really torn between the 2. it’s more natural to let them suck on the thumb since they are already doing that in the womb, but it’s harder to wean them off. It’s easier with pacifier. I tried both for her, and she stuck to thumb sucking, so I just let her be.. I guess, soon, I’ll have to ‘wean’ her.
Rachel,
Adrian didn’t cry when he can’t suck on his thumb?
I really wonder if I should wean Zara off, but what would she do without a thumb to suck on?
Jefferene,
Yeah, I remember your post. And I very much wanted to try your method, but I don’t know when I should do it on Zara, it’s her only comfort object, without this, I wonder how she’s going to comfort herself.
Mom2Ashley,
It’s the same with Zara too.. when do you plan to wean her? It’s such a tough decision.. for me at least.
Blurblur,
Zara sometimes also understand she shouldn’t suck her thumb. She’ll say, “Cannot cannot suck suck thumb”. But then when she’s too tired, or bored, she still can’t help herself.
Eee.. that’s my fear, that she’ll be sucking her thumb till very much older.
Geetha,
I don’t know Geetha. I would like to stop her but it’s her only comfort object now.. I don’t know if it’s too ‘cruel’ to stop it.
What about you? Plan to stop President soon?
Michelle,
Yeah. If I have to, I’ll use Jefferene’s method too.. but I just don’t know ‘when’. And she’s kind of cute with the thumb in her mouth. :P
Syn,
Jefferene shared her method before. To plaster the kid’s thumb. Don’t know if it’ll work on Zara, but I’m trying to see when is a good time to stop her.
LB,
Tough one huh?
She sometimes still does try out her toes.. just sometimes.
Khongfamily,
Yeah.. so careful.
Sesame,
Yeah.. The thing is she doesn’t know how to control her own sucking, and doesn’t know how to swap thumb. Smart kid that was who knows how to wrap her thumb with t-shirt to get rid of the peppermint taste..
Aaah.. that’s nice. I really wonder when I should wean Zara off the thumb.. Hmm.. must seriously consider this, and plan out.
My sister was a thumb sucker too. She only stopped at the age of 14! Yes, FOURTEEN! It was so hard to wean her off. She tried very hard but couldn't. My kakak even rubbed chilli on her thumb, then wrapped it up with a layer of plastic. That also failed. She eventually kicked the habit herself!
Funnily, my baby sis was a thumb sucker too! She had the exact same bump on her thumb as you described. It takes a while to get them the habit, and even longer to get the smelly bolster out of the way!
i like the pic where she sucks her thumb..
Ryan doesn't like the pacifier since he was born.. he does not know how to use it when we give it to him...rite now he only sucks the bottle nipple...whenever he is drinking the milk..dunno why?
Thumb sucking bad for the teeth ... can make teeth grow funny and out like bugs bunny!
Belle doesn't like her pacifier. She actually bites on it. She isn't much of a thumb sucker too. She likes to gnaw on her index finger. I think it's due to her itchy gum (teeth are growing). The only thing that soothes her are the nipples. I die lor!
I plan to stop him, but I pity him too. I am strongly considering it though.. scared his teeth/gum will be disfigured. Now is still okay, but if he goes on till 3-4 years old, serious oredi :)
Cocka,
You always leave me speechless….
Kate,
Yikes.. that’s what I fear most.. The older they get.. the harder it’s going to be to kick the habit. Maybe I should try to stop hers soon.
Domestic Rat,
Yikes.. another case.. I really really should consider helping Zara to stop hers soon.
Gene Lim,
That’s good that he doesn’t have any ‘habits’. How does he get comforted then?
Anonymous,
Only if it goes beyond 3, 4yrs of age. Btw, who are you? Why are you coming to my site so often without leaving your name but only –ve remarks?
Vien,
Hey, that’s good. If you see what the expert has to say. It seems it’s the most natural way to provide comfort to the child, but because modern days mum can’t afford the time to do so that’s why the thumb and the pacifier comes into the picture.
Geetha,
Hmm.. lets work on this together.. I’ll have to start helping her kick the habit too.
for your information, that was the first time I leave comment. Your blog is free access to all. You only want +ve comments? -ve ones doesn't mean that it is not true. I am only talking the truth and honestly.
A lot of million dollar footballers in Europe also suck their thumb when they score goals… a sign of Zara ambition?
Anonymous could be anyone even the bloggers that visit your blog. Those regular bloggers are so diplomatic and probably only commenting on the things that you want to hear. Noone like negative comments as the negative comments are always the truth and the hardest to come to term with. Stop ranting if you are not able to accept criticism. When you stop ranting, you stop criticism.
-ve comments which you claimed can come across as +ve comments too. Everyone's comments are to your best interest - you can always brush the -ve comments aside if you think it will not benefit you and Zara. Perhaps, you should stop just living in a world of your own and Zara's - another child is on the way and this same child will need your attention too. Be fair to both your children - give the unborn child the same attention as you have given Zara.
she loves her thumb so much. I have cousin who suck her thumb even when she is teenager when she sleep..
Anonymous,
Well, if you want to say something, at least get your facts right first. "Thumb sucking bad for the teeth ... can make teeth grow funny and out like bugs bunny!". That's not facts.. the fact it, if the habit is carried out till 3, 4yrs of age.
And thank you for visiting.. you can leave whatever remark you want.. And I can also choose to ignore you.
See Fei,
Woh.. didn't think of that.. but there are lots of thumb sucker out there.. they probably have the same ambition.
Cookie,
We don't start blog to get 'criticism'.. especially parenting blog. You don't go to some mother and just criticise just because that someone was making a generalised comments or ranting. You only do that when your identify is secured.. you feel you can criticise or condemn more freely and when you are securely hidden behind your 'mask'.
It's my blog.. I choose what I want to write.. And you can choose to leave a comment and I can probably just ignore it. Thank you.
a mother too,
I never said I was going to ignore my 2nd child. And I'm going to be as fair as I can to both.
-ve comments are baseless or factless.. like what you have stated here. When did I say I'm not going to be fair to both the children? You only say it because you are in the security of your own unknown identify. If you have to reveal yourself to say this, would have have rephrase or rethink about what you have to say?
Channelwong,
That's my greatest fear.. and I shall choose to wean her soon.
haha so cute with the pacifier, she looks very busy making sure it won't fall off :P
hmm.. sucking thumb may end up in biting finger nails?
he get comforted by me or kit carrying him..and lotsa huggies
Hahahaha, it's so funny and cannot help laughing at how she tries to stop the pacifier from falling, hahahahaha. Soli, soli.
Aiyo, better not start her with the pacifier, else there'll be one more task for u - headache weaning her off.
Actually, I think it's alrite for her to suck her thumb for the time being. She's still so small. No worries lar. It'll come a day when she doesn't even want to smell her thumb.
Hey, love the video of Zara putting her hand under her chin...ha ha...so cute!
Btw, agreed with your comments on "It's my blog.. I choose what I want to write..". Sheesh! some people really!!!
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