Thumb Sucking in Infants
Posted by Ellie Ears on
Some babies are born thumbsuckers. Our youngest was seen sucking her thumb in an ultrasound photo, and had it happily stuck in her mouth within hours of birth. In many babies, the need to suck is not satisfied by bottle-feeding or breastfeeding alone, and they learn to suck on the ever- present thumb for comfort.
"The seemingly insatiable desire to suck is there for a reason. Sucking mellows the fussy baby, helping to organize the otherwise disorganized bio-rhythms of a newborn. Some babies need more mellowing than others. A child who has gotten attached to her thumb will tell you she needs it to help her relax." - Dr. Sears
As our little thumb sucker grew it became increasingly obvious that she was a very tactile baby. Beyond soothing herself by sucking her thumb, she would rub her face against our bare skin when she was tired over over stimulated. As she grew this continued - even at 3 she would sit on the floor in the kitchen while I made dinner and rub her cheek against my bare leg. Or sit and rub my bare arm. Along with sucking her thumb whenever she was tired or upset.
As babies grow into toddlers there are potential negative impacts to thimbsucking but you can cross that bridge when you come to it. At 4 our family dentist started to see shifting in Morgan's bite and we began the journey of helping her to stop sucking her thumb. We met with a dental hygienst, here in Calgary who specializes in helping children stop. Afterwards Morgan was able to verbally express that she wanted to stop sucking her thumb. We gave her a ton of positive reinforcement, and a special sock to wear on the hand that she favored for sucking. It took about 2 weeks with the sock at bedtime and on car rides (when she tended to suck), and she did it!
If you would like a post on how we helped our daughter stop sucking her thumb please let me know!
HI Jesse! It is hard to replace the thumb with a soother, because their thumb is always there! Even once he gets teeth you have a little while before it is a problem. Just have his teeth checked regularly by a dentist. Our daughter was 4, and her bite was starting to shift. She was needed to be old enough to understand what we were asking of her, and at 4 she was. We saw a dental hygienist who specialised in thumb sucking. She wore a sock, with a face on it, during the times she tended to suck her thumb (bedtime and in the car). It took a couple weeks and lots of positive reinforcement but it was much easier that I anticipated. And the good news is her bite is so much better already! Try not to worry about it for now, but keep trying with the soother if that feels right!
My little guy sucks his thumb like no other!! My first never did so I’m totally unfamiliar. I am trying to replace his thumb with a soother but anytime that soother falls out, in goes the thumb! He is 5 months old now so I know it’s not a concern now but will be something hard to break later. Any advice of what I can do now or how to break the habit when it becomes a problem with his teeth?
Thanks in advance. Also, we love our ellie ears and they are a staple in this household.