Not sure which is best???

[Taler]

My 17 wk old DD is used to napping/night time sleeping with the help of her dummy. I also cover over her hands with either the flaps on her sleep suit or scratch mittens as she can ofte remove her dummy unknowingly.

For the last month or so she has, at every opportunity, got her fingers/thumb/fist in her mouth. Sometimes this is a teething thing but other times its just for comfort.

She seems very close to settling on a thumb or a few fingers but if I leave her hands uncovered when I put her in her Moses basket she inevitably ends up getting really frustrated because she'll either bite too hard, either can't quite get the thumb/finger she wants or simply wants her dummy.

Any suggestions?

Let her suck on whatever she likes. I think the fact she spits out the dummy is meant to be a good thing - she's used it for as long as she needed then discarded it.

Personally I'd encourage the use of slurping on her own hand, because she will always be able to get at it. Don't bother covering them up. What harm does it do? Who cares if she reaches the age of fifty still chewing a finger for comfort? By then she'll have the social skills not to do so in public.

My DC2 is nearly three. At 17w he was never seen without fingers in his mouth. I even have a formal photo above my head with half his fist wedged in. But before his first birthday he had given it up. It was just what he needed at that time.

Disclaimer: am busy with three DC and fairly lazy so do tend to go for the path of least resistance when it doesn't really matter.

I wouldn't stress about it at this age - too young to form a habit. Just use scratch mitts etc if she's actually scratching.

Let her suck her fingers and be incredibly grateful she's learning to self-soothe!