Thumb sucking!!!

I have a 6 month old baby girl who is a thumb sucker.  This isn't a problem until it comes to feeding time!

She's is on solids now (well, pureed) as well as milk, but when it comes to feeding her the solids, she sucks her thumb in between EVERY monthful, and often goes from one thumb to the next.

I am not concerned by this, it makes a lot of mess because she usually still has a mouthful of food when she proceeds to suck her thumb, but it makes twice as much work feeding her because I have to tease her thumb out of her mouth everytime to get another spoon of food in, she takes it fine off the spoon though.

I just wondered if anyone else had dealt with this and if it is something she will grow out of eventually?  Or maybe there could be a reason why she is doing it?

Any feedback would be great.

Voice of experience here!  None of mine were still sucking their thumb when they went to school!!

My sister is 22 years old and still sucks her thumb....no joke. Altho that is not the norm it does happen...

I was totally against thumb-sucking with my daughter. We'd give her a pacifier and find ourselves getting up in the middle of the night to replace the lost plug. The only benefit to having her use a pacifier instead of her thumb was our ability to take them away when it was time to give them up.

My 5-month-old son is a different story. We are so thankful he sucks his thumbs/fingers/toes (yes, toes!) because he puts himself back to sleep at night. I, too, was worried about having to stop him from sucking his thumb but have been reassured by other parents, the doctor and my daughter's dentist that he will most likely give it up easily.

Maybe she's teething...

My little boys is 2 1/2 and still an avid thumb sucker. I can't see him showing any signs of stopping. We gently remove it, but it goes straight back in. His twin brother had a pacifier and we 'lost' it at about 8 months because it was more trouble than it was worth. Despite the problems with the pacifier in the early months, I'd much rather not have the thumb problem now!

Tumbsucking is not a problem at her age, and besides making it take longer to feed her, thumbsucking between spoonfuls isn't really an issue either, unless she's swallowing a lot of air and getting an upset tummy.

Age-wise, this is just the beginning of messy baby eating, you'll be wiping her down after every meal for the next 2 years! Try to think of it as cute.

Try giving her something really fun to hold onto.  Give her something else to do during meal time to try and keep her thumb away.  Is it at a real tired time.  Is she sucking so much during meal time because she is tired if so you can try to move around the times you feed solids (purees). 

I have 2 yo twins.  My son started sucking his thumb around 4 months (until then neither liked a paci) and around 8 months my daughter found a paci and was attached to it.  At 18 months we took the paci away during all waking hours and she was fine for 3 months and then saw her brother was sucking his thumb and now she is a thumb sucker too.  Just all over a weird situation.

Mine usually have reasons (now) why they suck.  1. wanted a bottle/bf (when little)  2. Hungry in general  3. sad (something happened like a toy was taken away)  4.  Tired (just woke up or wants to sleep)  5. Bored

If you can avoid these while feeding it might help. 

My last ? is does she need to suck to swallow the food or can she swallow without sucking?

I think no matter what in the next few munths she will stop sucking so much during meal time because she will be using her hands to feed herself.  Try giving her an infant spoon to pretend with it might keep her thumb(s) buisy!

Original Post by raeannq:

Tumbsucking is not a problem at her age, and besides making it take longer to feed her, thumbsucking between spoonfuls isn't really an issue either, unless she's swallowing a lot of air and getting an upset tummy.

Age-wise, this is just the beginning of messy baby eating, you'll be wiping her down after every meal for the next 2 years! Try to think of it as cute.

 

Thumb sucking is a natural thing for some kids. I agree with the person who said to give your child something really cool to hold during meal times. I always use "forbidden things" like the remote, when I need my baby to pay attention to her bottle. Works like a charm.

The only problem I have with the thumb sucking is that when they get a little older, I have a five year old thumb sucker who only sucks his thumb when he is nervous or tired, and a three year old thumb sucker, same reasons. I think the thumb sucking is the reason that we have been more sick this winter. They stick their thumbs in their mouths before washing their hands and wahlaa....sick again. But there isn't much you can do about the thumbsucking. They will stop when thier friends tease them. Thats what my docotor said!

Original Post by lulufit:

I think the thumb sucking is the reason that we have been more sick this winter. They stick their thumbs in their mouths before washing their hands and wahlaa....sick again. But there isn't much you can do about the thumbsucking. They will stop when thier friends tease them. Thats what my docotor said!

 My daughter (non-thumb-sucker) has a friend at daycare that sucks her fingers at nap time. My daughter naps right next to her and watches her do this. I occasionally catch my daughter with her fingers in her mouth because she thinks it's the norm since her friend does it. I guarantee this is why my daughter has had back-to-back colds since September that have resulted in multiple sinus infections and ear infections. I've scolded her enough (and explained why it's okay for baby brother to suck his fingers but not her) that she has since stopped and she's been illness-free for almost 6 weeks now!