Dummy vs thumb

[Lulu90]

Hi ladies,

Luca had a dummy from day 1. He discovered his thumb at around 3 months old, he pulls his mussie over his face, or rubs his hair and sucks his thumb as he's falling asleep. I didn't mind it to begin with, but the more I thought about it, the more I'd rather he didn't do it. I was a thumb sucker, I had to have braces at 14, the braces came off an I went straight back to thumb sucking. Awful habit!!! I tried introducing his dummy again (when he's sleepy) and he wasn't having any of it. I try every day and today, he's taken it. Am I stupid for trying this? Be as blunt as you like, I won't take offence. I just feel like it will be easier to wean him off a dummy than his thumb. I know he doesn't understand, he's only 7 months, I wouldn't want to upset him. He doesn't get upset with the dummy he just spits it out and pops the thumb in xx

 

[mrs_b_x]

I agree! You can eventually take the dummy away but you can never take his thumb! My friends little girl sucked her middle and ring finger at the same time rather than her thumb and she did it do chronically that her fingernails went all soft and fell off! Gross!

 

[Lulu90]

Oh my gosh are you serious!! My oh keeps telling me his thumb will be shorter than the other, but he must be joking surely lol. I'm praying he'll take the dummy again xx

 

[Rooster30]

My daughter is a thumb sucker and not too worried about it just yet. She more or less only does it when she goes to sleep or when she wants mummy comfort. My HV wasn't concerned. If she is doing it when she's much older then I'll start to worry. I've never offered her a dummy and not planning on introducing one. My sister sucked her thumb until she was 6 or maybe slightly older. I never saw any thumb suckers during secondary school...

 

[Melissa Sian]

Ok confession time... I am 30 years old and still suck my thumb when tired! (Don't even know I'm doing it). I can safely say sucking my thumb as a child caused me know harm! Both my thumbs are the same length and I've had no problems with my teeth. I wouldn't see it as the end of the world personally ! Lol. X

 

[Lolie14]

My little one has a dummy because she started to suck her thumb. She has tried to suck her thumb a few times since but more due to teething than comfort. As soon as she is a year old I will take the dummy away so fx she doesn't go back to the thumb!

I went to high school with a girl who thumb sucked and the skin on her thumb was awful and she did have "buck" teeth. I don't think there's any right or wrong way but this is how I'm tackling it

 

[flexilexi394]

My daughter is 5 and a major thumb sucker, but luckily its only when shes tired and or asleep, I tried her with a dummy just to settle her at night and if i was out and about and couldn't feed straight away but about 4 months old she just dismissed the dummy completely. So of course she found her thumb and that is where we are at 5 years later!

I take her to the dentist regularly and he tells her she must stop, she listens and makes a conscious effort to stop for a few days, then she starts again.

Its a really tough one, I don't know how to get them to stop thumb sucking apart from the cruel ways like put nasty tastes on their thumbs which I just think is mean!

 

[heatheror12]

I was also a thumb sucker. My mum used to tell me it would ruin my teeth ect when I was yonger. I didn't listen but soon as I got into my 20s I had a overbite and it really bothered me. So paid private for braces and even still my teeth arnt perfect. Both my boys have a dummy and I'd personally rather that than thumb xx

 

[Colleen1988]

Isaac refuses to have a dummy and sucks hair thumb occasionally, there's nothing I can do about it so im not worrying. If he has buck teeth I'll pay for braces for him lol. xxx

 

[russellmuscle]

I would rather a dummy over thumb.

I watched this programme once of this thumb sucker and the teeth were actually coming out the mouth where the thumb was. Obviously thts probably a very extreme case but I always had that in my head. J never sucked his thumb or took a dummy but there has been times I tried to introduce it when he had reflux ..

So no judging. But yes eventually dummies go to the dummy fairies, you cant hack off his thumb and send that

xxxx

 

[lizziimayy]

I was a thumb sucker as a child and had to have jaw surgery. The dentist things that my thumb sucking pushed my bottom jaw back causing a severe underbite. Not sure if it's completely true though!

 

[Lulu90]

Thanks for your stories ladies. It's hard work trying to get him to stop! I'm going to carry on trying with the dummy. When I've said it to family they were like "oh but thumb sucking is so cute" yeah thanks for your support guys. I used to get really distraught when my mum put that nasty tasting stuff on my thumb, I don't want to get to that point with Luca xx