Monday, April 14, 2008

I guess this is what I deserved....

All of my girls have been addicted to their binkies. I mean TOTALLY addicted. They love them. So it was a bit of a shocker when our new little one didn't like them. She tolerated them at first, but spent more time chomping on them and making nasty faces at them than she did sucking on them. We tried several kinds, but still she wouldn't take them. We didn't know what to do with a fussy baby that didn't like a binkie. Nothing would console her......until one day she found her thumb and she has been in love ever since. At first we tried to discourage her from sucking her thumb by pulling her sleeve over her hand. Then she would just suck on her thumb through her sleeve. Finally we gave in. LET HER HAVE HER THUMB!!! I guess this is what I deserved. You see, I was a thumb sucker too. I was absolutely addicted to my thumb.

I think I finally stopped sucking my thumb when I was 7 or 8. My parents (bless their hearts!) tried to get me to stop too. They got some funny leather thumb harness thing to strap over my thumb. I learned how to unbuckle it with my teeth. They got some NASTY stuff to put on my thumb. I learned that you could just suck it off and then your thumb was back to normal....it was nasty though! I remember watching t.v. and sucking on my thumb. My dad would ask if I was sucking my thumb and I would quickly wipe it off so he wouldn't know......like those wrinkles didn't give me away! Finally I stopped on my own. And I don't think I turned out too bad from having been a thumb sucker.

So my little girl gets her thumb too. She has been much happier ever since we gave up trying to keep her from it, and so have we. She sleeps through the night every night. With my other girls I had to wake up and fish for the binkie and plug them back in so they would go back to sleep. She just finds her thumb and doesn't make a peep. It is heavenly. We do worry about weaning her from it someday, but we will jump that hurdle when we get to it.

The funny thing I have noticed about a lot of thumb suckers is that they have to do something while they are sucking. I had to pick at something. I would pick fuzz off of blankets. And you see that pillow with the green fringe that I am laying on in the picture above. I picked all of that fringe off. I still have that pillow, but now it is naked. Our little H has to do something while she sucks too. She use to just hold a blanket. She loved her afghan the best because she could get her fingers in the holes. Now she has started pulling or scratching. She will pull on my hair or my shirt, or she will scratch her head and tug at her hair. She will pull at her blankets while she is in bed too. It is totally cute. Except the pulling my hair bit. I am about ready to whack it all off because she is driving me nuts grabbing it all the time.

She will often suck on her thumb with her fingers fanned out across her face. It is adorable. Her poor little thumb is all chappy, but it doesn't seem to bother her. So I guess we have a total addict....a thumb sucking addict. There are worse things.

7 comments:

  1. Awe.. she looks so cute sucking her thumb. Funny thing, Ryker didn't like either, Jaxon loved his binky and Scarlet likes her thumb and hates binkies. However, she doesn't suck it very often, just when I lay her down in her crib.

    What a sweet girl... and oh so cute!!!

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  2. She is a cutie. You forgot to mention when mom and dad put TP rolls over your elbows so that you would not bend your elbows at night. That did not last long though. I remember those times. Loves to all.

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  3. I think it's awesome you are all content with the thumb sucking. Doing without fishing for a binky in the night sounds absolutely heavenly to me too!

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  4. Look how sweet H looks! I was a thumb sucker too, but the nasty stuff my mom put on it made me stop really fast. I guess I wasn't as determined as you! :)

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  5. When she gets older, sucking her thumb will be an insecurity thing. right now its just fine to let her do it. But when she gets older don't make a big deal out of it, because she will suck it more because of the insecurity thing. just leave her to it and eventually she will grow out of it.

    I know two grown adults who's parents made such a big fuss about them sucking their thumbs, they tried everything, and they still suck their thumbs now as adults.

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  6. I believe dad actually made the little leather thumb gloves. I wonder what ever happened to those? I remember being impressed that you got them off!

    She does look sweet with her little thumb in her mouth, doesn't she.

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  7. From one former thumb-sucker to another.

    Thumbs
    Oh the thumb suckers thumb
    may look wrinkled and wet
    and withered, and white as the snow,
    But the the taste of a thumb
    is the sweetest taste
    (as only we thumb-suckers Know)

    I sucked my thumb until I was 8 and I turned out fairly normal. Even my teeth are nearly perfect without ever suffering through braces.

    Two of my children were thumbsuckers too and they are great kids.

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