thumb sucking in a 12 wk old...

[spicecrystal]

DS has just started sucking his thumb in the last week having previously never done it. Can't seem to fathom a pattern to the behaviour- sometimes it's because he's hungry sometimes not. have tried offering boob at those times but mostly he doesn't seem interested.

tried giving him a dummy but he's not liking it and keeps spitting it out!

wondering:

1. why he's started? - just one of those things?
2. what can i do to stop/ limit it? i'd ideally like to get a dummy into him cos atleast i'll be able to take it away in the future!
3. any ideas on how i can get him to use his dummy?

thanks.

A dentist friend stopped her dd from thumbsucking by consistently bfing whenever she saw her doing it. She didn't want to use a dummy as she considered it a risk to tooth and jaw development (although still better than thumbsucking).

I'm sure pulling the thumb out and holding the dummy in instead would also work as long as you can be bothered to persist for a few days. Several of my friends "trained" their dc to take a dummy by doing this.

Or just accept the thumbsucking and hope that your child belongs to the 85% who stop on their own by the age of 3 (why do I think my dd won't). At least they can find their own thumbs in the middle of the night!

I was a thumb-sucker and would prefer my littley to suck his thumb, but we've already had to introduce a dummy (8weeks old) :(

My DD rejected her dummies in favour of her thumbs - having loved them for the first 2-3 months of her life. I don't think you can actually choose this one.

If he likes his thumb, why not let him get on with it?! My DD2 is a thumb-sucker and would never take a dummy! Ds1 has a dummy for bedtime but if he needs it in the night, you have to search for it in the dark etc... Thumb sucking is sooo much easier! And my DM is a dentist and says thumb-sucking doesn't affect speech or teeth alignment so not to worry (I had similar concerns!) tbh, if your DS is happy, let him get on with it! If you BF everytime he sucks his thumb, aren't you teaching him to rely on YOU for soothing, rather than being able to do it himself?