Dummy or thumb?!

[MummySetra]

I have a very sucky baby who is EBF. He is 3 months old and i now have to make the decision - dummy or thumb?
Help?? Any advice out there?

Dummy.

Because there's no such thing as a Thumb Fairy.

Definitely dummy.

I have a thumb sucker and a dummy addict. Dummy fairy came and three days later it was forgotten.

Discouraging thumb sucking gets me nowhere!

Dummy.

You can't get rid of a thumb.

Only problem being I have to wake to replace the dummy everytime! However.....agree that it's easier to get rid of!

Dummy. Also helps prevent SIDS.

Thumb.

And this is where I rock the boat and say.. thumb!
My 1st dc had a dummy, it cost a fortune as she was forever loosing them and only likes a particular brand. Although I managed to get it off her by 14months, it was tough, and she's never been good even now at nearly 4. At calming herself down etc.
My 2nd dc on the other hand. He has his thumb and he's far calmer (even when tantruming)
I know people say you can't take a thumb away, that's true. But you can't loose it either!!

Working with a 34 year old thumb sucker who sucks it all bloody day and cannot stop - I would say dummy.

Thumb.

Dummies do reduce SIDs risk up to 6months but by minuscule amount.

It's very clever of your 3 month old baby to have figured out how to self sooth with his thumb, and it's all part of development. Also, dummies can delay speech development.

Only reason I would use a dummy is if I had a colicky or screaming baby, to stop them gulping down air and to help calm them down.

I had one of each, was definitely easier to ditch the dummy but a PITA when they got lost.

We tried a dummy with the other DC but he wasn't having any of it. Found his thumb one day and peace was restored! Persuaded by dentist to stop when he was about 8 but still needed extensive orthodontic work, some of which was a direct consequence of thumb sucking.

My DD sucked her thumb from a few days old. I say sucked. She still does to go to sleep and she's 8. Dentist said it didn't affect her baby teeth and it's not affecting her adult teeth as they come through (so far). We've persuaded her to reduce the sucking year in year since she was about 4. She refused every dummy in favour of her thumb. Hasn't ever been an issue for us.

I have a thumb sucker. Had a dummy til 6 months ish then found his thumb. He doesn't suck his thumb much now - at bedtime & if really tired. Drops out when he falls asleep. He has always been a good sleeper & can self soothe. I got a lot of criticism from people who disagreed with it. I also thumb sucked. No issues with my teeth and I grew out of it. It has a lot going for it imo xx

My ds found his thumb at about eight weeks. I doubt he would have accepted a dummy. He didn't really stop until he was about 12 or so, although if we had taken away his comforter I think he would have stopped earlier. He does have some crooked teeth, but our orthodontist said that was very unlikely to have been an effect of the thumb sucking.

I'll be shot down for this but thumb. It's all myself and my siblings ever had, and it's all my son and any future children I have will have. There's ways and means of stopping it, I did.
My son sucked his thumb when he was younger, but now he's nearly 14 months and hasn't sucked his thumb for goodness knows how long- i can't remember the last time it was so long ago. He just stopped himself.
(He was in hospital for 12 days after he was born, and I specifically requested NO dummy at all. I found him with one from the hospital, so I immediately took it out and binned it, and told the staff he did not have one, ever.)
Sorry, nothing worse than seeing a baby with a piece of plastic in his or her mouth. But that's just my opinion. I know most won't agree. I just hate them with a passion.

Dummy.

My friends' husband is a specialist consultant dentist. He once told me he never had to break a child's jaw to repair the damage caused by a dummy, but that wasn't true of the thumb. The thumb can cause terrible damage that is really hard to fix.

Personally, I'd choose my child's potential health over aesthetics every time.

Thumb. Sucking on plastic is rank. IME EBF babies won't take a dummy anyway

Dummy , you can limit the time they have it and get rid of it when you want . I agree it's not pleasant seeing toddlers with dummies but it's equally IMO ,not pleasant seeing 8/9 year olds sucking their thumbs , which many still are .

Thanks all! He as refusing the dummy until his first tooth came out and now he sucks on it for comfort!
I also have a friend who sucked her thumb at 30!

Dummy, because throwing away thumbs is frowned upon.

Thumb.

Dummy can easily be restricted to bed time only and removed later on

Dummy definitely, just have loads of them

Dummy definitely. I knew several girls at school who still sucked their thumbs at 16+ years old. All had teeth problems caused by it. Dummies don't delay speech development because you only use them for sleeping.