Thumb or dummy?

[Yorkiegirl]

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Lydialemon ... bless ...

I wish DD would find her thumb ... bloody well hate that dummy ... 4am every morning it needs plugging in ... Aaaaaaaaagggghhhhh ....
Let her suck her thumb Yorkiegirl ... at least she can't lose it and you don't have put it in boiling water ...

I know dummies aren't the most attractive things but I don't view them as something to 'shut them up' as someone said earlier. My kids had dummies pretty much because they were colicky and sucking gave them a huge amount of comfort. It would have been most inconvenient to have them attached to either my breast or little finger all the time! Like I said before, there was no major problem parting with them and talking with their dummy in was a big no-no!
Also, I find it easier to find the reason for the problem and deal with it once they are calm which is a benefit of knowing how quickly sucking a dummy comforts and calms in situations of distress.
Used with care and disgarded at an appropriate time and not used as a tool to keep them quiet, I don't see the problem.
Also the worry of long term thumb/finger sucking and dental problems was a factor in our decision.
I don't mean to jump on anyone - everyone has their own ways of dealing with things which works for them - I just feel that dummies have their place and can be helpful, if used in a careful way and are really not that offensive to look at.
BTW I did actually cry when I first gave one to ds1 as I really didn't want to (I used to be quite anti too), but it really helped him and therefore helped me and we were both less stressed over the colic thing.

I haven't read all the posts so forgive if I say something that has been mentioned, but having a dd who switched from thumb to dummy (and will suck her thumb in absence of a dummy), I don't find dismissing with the dummy that much easier, as I loathe the idea of leaving her to cry when she needs her comfort.

Anyway what I wnated to say is that thumb sucking children tend to do it less as it impaires their play (you still have both hands free with a dummy), and also they tend to take it out when speaking, while I ahve to constantly remind dd that I can't understand her if she speaks with her dummy in her mouth, while I noticed most thumsucking chidren just take it out when thay want to play/talk.

Just a thought...but then again, in many cases they make the decision, and there's nothing you can do about it. Just be happy she has found a way of comforting herself, the aughter of a friend of mind likes to rub her mum's ear when in distress, that's something I'd definitely hate!!!

my dd is 2 weeks old and is very sucky, she cries and gets really worked up if she cant suck on something. I dont know what to do for the best. She tries to suck her hands/fingers but moves her hand and then cries even louder in frustration. Shes happy sucking on my finger but i cant spend all night like that. Ive tried dummies, but she tries to chew them and they fall out which leads to more crying or me spending all day proping it in. Its now got to the stage where the only way to quiet her is to put her on my breast.
Anyone have ant advice, ideally id prefer a dummy over her thumb but how can i get her to suck it, to stop it falling out, also how can i ensure that she doesnt wake in the night looking for it. And which dummies are the best. ive tried the breast feeding ones but they are huge and she gaggs.
sorry fot butting in but hoping some experienced mums may help.

My ds also took a while to find his thumb, and wouldn't take a dummy. By the time he was 2 weeks old I had him in a front-pack sling, as he would only settle if held vertically against my chest, and then it was very easy to give him a pinkie while he was snuggling into me. He found his own fingers by about 6 weeks though, and his thumb shortly after. Was quite glad as by that time I had a permanently wrinkled finger!

I've said it before but whichever you choose, make sure you knock the thumbsucking habit on the head before it affects their teeth, jaw and palate. DS1 (5) has sucked his since he was 4 weeks old and it's shaped his jaw & palate, pulled his upper front teeth forward, pushed the lower ones back and, I guess, basically lined him up for years of othodontal treatment in later life.

Clearly it doesn't happen to every child since I was a thumbsucker until I was ?7 maybe and it's not affected my teeth but it's definitely affected DS1s badly.

BTW, I don't think dummies are much better with regard to shaping the mouth. DS1s dentist asked if he was a dummy or thumb sucker so clearly both can be at fault.

kbaby, I noticed your other threads about your baby feeding little and often - at 2 weeks if your baby is wanting to suck it's probably just a sign that she's thirsty and needs a breast feed, at least until the weather gets cooler.

MY ds1 sucked his thumb until he was 4 and one day announced that he had stopped - and he had. No influence from us. His teeth are fine.

However ds2 is a thumbsucker as well and the denist has warned us that it is pushing his front teeth forward. He's nearly 3 and I'm trying to get him to stop, but it's an uphill battle.

My DD never had a dummy or sucked her thumb until at 2.5 years she started nursery and saw another child sucking their thumb. She came home and showed me what she'd seen and thought it was quite amusing. Not funny now as she soon got into the habit herself and 10mths later she sucks her thumb all the time! Can't believe I got through all the early months with nothing and now have serious contender!

soupdragon

I disagree slightly, thumbs are worse because you tend to push the upper teeth outwrads by force of gravity, since your whole arm is attached to the thumb and its much heavier than the thumb itself.
I think I've read about this or someone told me.

with the dummy there's no pushing at all, even though they will be bad anyway if used for a long time.

I was a thumbsucker until (gasp) 11 (yes eleven!!) and my upper teeth are slightly forward, had to wear braces for a year, but they did not do anything (I was already 14 by then), but in general I've never had any problems with it, not even at school with otehr children as it is no so obvious.

I have three children under 5, first babe had a dummy from birth as she would want to stay latched on and use me as a dummy, hospital advised dummy (great advice I must say for me, saved very sore and bruised nipples ) she slept through the night from 6 weeks and gave up her dummy after 3 months, didn't go on to suck her thumb (though now she chews her hair, nails, and other things more readily than our too smaller babes who have both had dummies for longer - and I often wonder whether it's because she didn't have a dummy to give her mouth stimulation ?) Our two other little ones have both had dummies from birth too, they both slept through the night from 6 / 8 weeks 10hrs Hooray! Our 2 and half yr old will be saying good bye to his dummy at Christmas (near his third birthday) and will be rewarded for every night that he falls asleep without it (he only needs it to go to bed) ditto our smaller one. A dummy is more easily controlled by the parents, I hate seeing older children walking around with dummies in their mouths in the day, when clearly they can't talk properly with it, and don't NEED it they just WANT it (vastly different and parents should take the dummy away) Incidently our 2 and half yr old does not put things in his mouth hardly at all, in comparison to our daughter who didn't have a dummy for long. Dummies are not the end of the world, nor is sucking your thumb - I did when I was little and clearly remember the day (I was around 7yrs old) when I realised that the hard skin on my thumb was from sucking it, and overnight I stopped! So children can have intelligent thought and make good decisions early on! Above all do what you think is right and don't judge others, you never know the full story behind the decisions that people make. Happy Parenting

hi ive tried latching her on encase it was hunger but she suckles with no swallowing so im assuming she wasnt hungry.