Someone fell asleep while she was playing today. This has been happening often, lately... the whole "I'll do it myself" business. About an hour before this photo was taken, P was a real crab. I tried everything to soothe her: nursing, rocking, walking around, diaper change, even the paci. Nothing worked. So I put her down on the ground, on a blanket, under her wooden mobile toy thing. She rolled around, chewed on her strawberry rattle, "talked"to herself and within five minutes she was asleep. I noticed she was sucking her thumb. This has been a new thing. She sucks her thumb when she's upset and it usually puts her right to sleep. I'm not sure how I feel about the thumb-sucking. I sucked my thumb for way too long and ended up with teeth issues. We've tried to give P a paci but there are very few that she likes and now that's she's discovered her thumb, and that it's always attached to her and instantly accessible, I'm not sure if she'll choose the paci over her thumb. Some people seem really anti-pacifier. I don't really get that. Babies need to suckle...beyond the nipple (boob or bottle). I figure if not the thumb, it's the pacifier or vice versa. I'm just not sure which is worse...as far as eventually getting baby to stop.
That's a hard one. I'm more or less of the opinion that it's easier to break a binky habit vs a thumb habit, because you can get rid of the pacifier but you can't really detach their thumb.
ReplyDeleteBut really... I'm not sure there's a lot you can to do influence what they use as a comfort object. I never sucked my thumb and was off the pacifier at 6mos, but sucked my lower lip until I was... 13? Way longer than I should have, at any rate. I just had to grow out of it.
Wesley is crazy about his binky. He's even started saying "beep-bee" when he wants it! Ack. We've mostly adopted a "binkies are for naptime and bedtime" rule to get around the perpetual binkyface problem, because I don't like when it's a permanent fixture on their face.
Little P is so adorable. She has the best cheeks!
Personally, I wish my girls had sucked their thumbs. You can't loose those! ;0) Besides I find it adorable. I know my brother was a thumb sucker and eventually my parents restricted him to the "just when you'r in bed" rule. He's never had teeth problems from it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that strawberry rattle is adorable! Did someone make it or did you find it somewhere? Too cute.
Meggan - "perpetual binkyface" made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteStacie - we found the rattle at a store here in portland...the person who makes them is local and there are a bunch of different ones: carrots, corn...so cute!