9 and half month old sucks thumb A LOT and drives me mad

[gardenveggies]

my son sucks his thumb a lot. He is a very happy smily and laid back baby and alsyways has been. He isn't crawling yet and sits up or rolls but often has his thumb in his mouth while he does so. He babbles a lot and seems happy but
I worry it's hindering his development - i.e not bothering to crawl or move because his thumb is always in his mouth.

We all try and distract him with toys etc and giving him something to do. Sometimes it works for ages, but he's always back to his thumb.

Should I just accept he has this comfort habit or is there something I should try more than wat we're doing?

We did give dummies but he began to spit out at 4 month and then found thumb

DD was/is a thumb sucker (she's now 4.8 and only sucks her thumb when tired/upset). She was an early crawler and talker, as was DS who has never sucked his thumb. Just the way they are made IMO, nothing to do with thumb sucking.

Your DS isn't particularly late to crawl (in fact, he may just skip that stage altogether) so, in the nicest possible way, I think you are worrying over nothing.

You will get people who are very against thumb sucking from a teeth/jaw development angle. If you chose not to worry from that angle at his young age (as I did) then personally I'd just be glad that he has a method of self soothing. And no dummies to lose!

IMO a thumb is better than a dummy because you can never forget to bring it in the car with you! He might just not be ready to crawl yet all babies are different, i wouldnbt be worrying at 9 months especially if he is happy, if you try and get him to give it up and that upsets him, in many ways that would be worse.

My son is 11months and has had a dummy from around 2 weeks, last week he decided he didnt want it any more, when he has cried i have tried putting it in his mouth but he spits it out and if i put it in his hand he throws it away. When your son is ready to give up his thumb im sure he will :)

He's only 9.5 months! be glad he can self soothe. It's not like he's 7 or anything.

My middle dd sucked her thumb - slept throught the nights at 7 weeks because of it! She wouldn't take a dummy either. I never found it a problem, she was very content.

By about 4 we told her she could suck her thumb at night, and it's never been a problem. Unless you count the hair twiddling that went with it! She used to wake up with her fringe sticking upwards in a twisted mass! Good photo opportunity.

She's 13 now, and hasn't sucked her thumb for years. Probably since she was about 7?

Your son is so young. I'd leave him be.

I think that you are just going to have to accept it and stop letting it bother you - be happy that he is happy. All my 3 were (are) thumb suckers. I used dummies in the early months but they were spat out as soon as they could manage to control their thumbs. DD1's thumb was permanently crammed in her mouth as a baby (we have few pictures of her face!), now she's 6 and almost never seen with thumb in mouth although I think she still sucks it when going to sleep (it drops out of her mouth when she is asleep), dentist has confirmed she has perfect teeth which are not being affected if she is still sucking so I don't worry about it. DD2 now only sucks when tired. DS who is 2 still sucks his thumb quite a lot during the day, but mainly when tired. Rest assured that it will not be slowing your DS's development! Babies love happily observing the world while sucking away (dummy or thumb) that IS their development! They all crawl and walk in their own time. All my constant thumb suckers crawled early and were walking (and causing havoc) well before they were 1. DD2 got the record by walking at 10 months and as she was absolutely teeny weeny for her age with it she looked like some sort of weird wind up doll and got endless funny looks. Believe me, the longer they hold off from the house wrecking stage the happier you should be! Either way the thumb sucking won't make any difference.

Chill!

He's 9.5mths and HAS FOUND A WAY TO SELF SOOTHE! This is the holy grail of early years parenting.

It will not hinder his development.

Little ones need to suck - if not the boob, then the bottle, dummy or thumb. At least the thumb doesn't need sterilised and is easy to find in the dark

DS is nearly 5 and still sucks his thumb. It's fine. His speech is great, quite extrovert a lot of the time and an active little boy. I expect he will do it far less once he's at school next week.

What everyone said! Let him get on with it and be happy he's happy. To be honest, as long as his teeth are ok when he's older, who cares if he's still sucking it when he's 30? (I know several secret adult thumbsuckers and they all wish they could 'come out' about it!)