Giving newborn a finger to suck - hygiene horror?

[Kif]

How 'ick' is it to gve a newborn your finger to suck?

I've given him my index finger occasionally to calm him down if - say - I need him to be calm for a second to hear what older Dcs are saying to me, or if he gets in a paddy when he needs to burp. Now my Dd (4) has picked up on it , and I've seen her give him a finger to suck when she was cuddling him and he fussed, and then again when he cried in the car.

I'm trying to avoid dummy at this stage so as not to confuse breast feeding,

Now, I know my hands aren't 'sterile' - and 4 y.o. hands certainly aren't sterile. Is this finger business beyond the pale/going to make the baby ill/going to make people faint in shoc at the sight of it? There's a part of me that's feeling 'germs help build immunity' - and that i should let Dd do it if she has clean hands - because it's nice bonding for the kids - and genuinely helpful in the car.

Cant see the problem. DS liked chewing on people's fingers when he was little too.

Your Dd is only copying her mum - you must give her a bit of credit for that. She thinks she is helping calming her brother down when perhaps you are busy?

Babies have been sucking on fingers since time immemorial. If your hands are clean and the baby isn't particularly vulnerable or immunosuppressed, I don't see a problem. Although thinking about where my 3.5 year old's hands have generally been I might want to hose him down first. I'm sure your DD has far better habits, though.

We used to do it in SCBU with prem babies if they were undergoing a procedure. Obviously with clean hands, but I would say they are among the most vulnerable babies, and it was standard practice. Sucking has been shown to release endorphins, so helping with pain relief.

my two sucked our fingers when newborn

when ds was born even the doctor stick his little finger in his mouth to shut him up

I fugured that I didn't sterilise my nipples, so I didn't need to sterilise my hands. But as I didn't change nappies with my nipples, I did wash my hands well.

it was wonderful for all of ours - and they are the healthiest kids I know - never been to the doctor.

I would just suck my finger (little one and shove it in to get some peace in the early days and dh could do to

I was told by my midwife to do it when he had his heel prick test (4 days old?) and have used it as a good method of calming since.

Ah - fantastic - very glad to hear that. Thanks for the responses - I'll stop worrying about it!

It's actually rather cute - because obv in the car the baby is in rear facing seat so can't see me - but he gazes up at Dd adoringly esp when she settled him with giving him a finger to suck.

i always thought that's what my pinky finger was for...

We did it and DS is still alive and kicking.

The only thing that ever freaked me out was when SOMEONE else did it (i.e. not DH or myself or my mum or MIL etc) like friends who had asked to hold the baby etc.

I know it isn't rational and that their fingers are not likely to be any grubbier than ours but still.

The WORST thing we ever experienced with people crossing the line was when DS was about 8 months old and dropped a spoon he had been chewing on/banging on the table on the floor. The mother of a friend we were with, LICKED her coffee spoon to remove the coffee and gave it to DS. Managed to intervene before it got into his mouth, but yuck, this was the first time I had met this person!

immediate family (me and hubby but would include siblings if there were any) can "lick and go" ie lick finger clean and let baby suck it.

close family (ie grandparents and the aunties and uncle he sees every few days) can "wash and go" ie - can let bubs suck on washed clean finger.

everyone else can suck their own fingers as I don't want their germs near my LOs mouth

It wouldn't bother if DS was sucking MY finger but anyone else other than me and DH nope. YUK!

Hiya, when my ds was a baby (still is at 16 months) my HV said the only reason to sterilise bottles (I breastfed) was because of the bacteria in milk can make them ill...its NOT to kill all germs, otherwise we would have to live in a bubble! I mean hell they soon crawl and lick the floor!.....sucking fingers is no bad thing!