Baby: pacifier or thumb?

[Rosie_0801]

I prefer neither. My kids used the paci-b@@b.

 

Yep, my kids knew from the word go that anything else was a cheap imitation. :rolleyes: I never gave them a dummy, but they both sucked their fingers for a while as babies. I was fine with that. If I had to get up at night to feed them, I wasn't going to get up to find lost dummies. Even a very small baby can take responsibility for putting its own fingers in its own mouth. :tongue_smilie:

 

Rosie

[MorganClassicalPrep]

DD never took to either, but I offered the paci. I didn't want her to be a thumb-sucker. Hands are just so.... germy. :tongue_smilie:Plus, as others have said- the paci can be taken away.

 

The only time DD actually wanted a paci was to chew on the hard part when her top two teeth were coming in. And that was just because it was there- and she was chewing on everything, no real preference for a pacifier.

[Peela]

neither?

My first showed no signs of needing either.

My 2nd was a very fussy baby- I bought a pacifier for him- and then joined an attachment parenting group who were against pacifiers. Whether I would listen to them now, I don't know- but I did listen at the time and ditched the pacifier. He didn't appear to miss it nor did he revert to his thumb, but he hadn't had the pacifier (we call them dummies here) long and he was still only 4 months old.

I was a kind of obsessive attachment tandem breastfeeder :) I think I spent a LOT of time with them attached to me :) I am sure that a fair amount of oral fixation was satisfied with breastfeeding on demand- which was a LOT in my son's case. They both weaned themselves at ages 3.5 and 5, together- I suspect that much access to breast kept them from needing a substitute.

(of course, it could be just coincidence).

[Rosy]

I had 3 that used a pacifier (DS seemed like he wanted to go the thumb route for a while, I would actually take his thumb out and put the binky in)--of those, 2 quit around when they stopped nursing, 1 went until she was about 2 and then we started cutting the tips off. For all three, giving up the binky was relatively painless.

 

DD6 was a thumbsucker, and that was a hard habit to break. We never pushed hard, but we talked to her about it from time to time. We would tell her why she should stop, how at some point she would need to stop, etc. She was finally ready to quit at 5 1/2. It was a hard habit to break, so we made an incentive chart for her and put band-aids on her thumbs. We prayed about it, too. Once *she* was ready to quit, it took less than a week.

 

My kids all had sucking needs that went beyond their food needs, and I have been bitten *many* times by babies who are trying to nurse when they're not hungry. I always encourage a pacifier over a thumb--I don't know of any side effects to using a clean binky.

[amy g.]

Neither.

[lovinmyboys]

I wish I had a choice. My two little boy (3 and 1) are both adament thumb suckers. I would love to get them to stop, but it isn't so easy. They are still pretty cute while they do it though!

[Gailmegan]

I couldn't vote. I have three very different kids. And each one needed somthing different. I exclusively breastfed - on demand - and well into toddler years, yet my oldest was only happy if he was sucking something 24/7. He took to a paci right away and we got rid of it when he was two. Middle child wouldn't take anything except my breast and he was a content baby from the very beginning. Interestingly, he is the one with the awful teeth. The dentist is already recommending an orthodontist and the poor kid is only 7. Number three wouldn't take a paci - just his thumb. He only sucks it when he's really tired. I am hoping he kicks the habit soon, but only time will tell. Each situation has its advantages and disadvantages, but I think you just have to do what works for each child. I mean seriously how do you stop a newborn from sucking his thumb? You give him the breast but the other 12 hours of the day, if he spits out the paci and puts his thumb in his mouth, what are you going to do?

[HS Mom in NC]

My kids never used pacifiers, thumbs, or fingers. I nursed my biological kids (22mos. apart) exclusively until 12-15 mos. and then mostly on demand where they nursed various amounts as toddlers and young preschoolers. They younger of the two always nursed first. My youngest was adopted. She arrived at 7 mos., we used bottles and when she was done with bottles around age 2 we used nothing else.

[Laura Corin]

I had one serious thumb sucker and one who didn't suck his thumb. I didn't offer a pacifier to either. Thumbs are convenient and always available when the child needs it. My thumb sucker had a hard time stopping (didn't stop until he was six) but it wasn't the end of the world.

 

Laura

[EthiopianFood]

:iagree: Both of my boys did not take pacifiers, but my youngest is a thumb sucker. I have no idea how I'm going to get him to stop since the "pacifier fairy" cannot come. :D

 

Although there is always the "evil thumb clown..." :lol:

[StaceyinLA]

and I'm all for using the breast as a pacifier. I have had 2 that did pacifiers, one that nursed only til 2 then started sucking her thumb til about 4 (occasionally she would after that too). My youngest started sucking his thumb early (like 6-8 weeks), even though he nursed often. He stopped before 3.

 

None of mine have any teeth problems; all 4 have straight, beautiful teeth.

 

I'd pick the thumb any day. I cannot stand pacifiers. In addition, I think many kids still have a need/desire for that soothing long after it's taken away. I liked that my kids that sucked their thumbs did so until the need, for them, was gone.

[SilverMoonlight]

oldest preferred thumb

middle preferred me

youngest preferred pacifier

[HLDoll]

I don't know. I tried to get all four of mine to take pacifiers, but I couldn't see that it helped me any when I had to sit there and hold the pacifier in with my finger! I ended up with 4 thumb-suckers.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I've had 2 passy babies, 1 thumb sucker, and one that did neither.

 

The passy and the thumb were never a problem for my children to stop. The thumb sucker stopped by 12 months when she got a cold and could not breathe. The sucking thumb caused more problems so she stopped. The passy babies were weaned off the passy slowly. At one they were told the passy could only be used in bed. They were allowed access to it any time they wanted but they had to be in the bed to suck it. When they turned two they had a choice...keep the passy and use the crib or move to a big boy bed. They both choose the big boy bed.

[creekland]

Pacifier!

 

My oldest was a thumb sucker and it took forever to break him of the habit (into elementary ages at night). He's the only one of mine who's needed braces too.

 

The younger two we made certain had pacifiers. In the beginning it was tougher due to their losing the pacifiers and not being able to get them back themselves, but I prefer that to the thumb sucking issues oldest had! Weaning from the pacifier was easier than I expected, but even if it hadn't been it wouldn't change my mind.

 

There's no longer any debate for me if I had it to do over again.

[Matryoshka]

Thumbs just aren't getting the love!

 

DH and I were both thumb-suckers. My brother had a pacifier, and I think I was emotionally scarred by when it was taken away. :tongue_smilie: He'd chewed off the sucking part and had to go cold turkey and he cried for a week.

 

My twins both sucked their thumbs. One only till 7 months when she got her first tooth - that's also when she stopped sleeping through the night - I kept trying to get her to put it back in! Her sister sucked her thumb till she was 6. I probably could've gotten her to give it up a year earlier, but my dad, trying to "help", said "don't be like your mom and keep sucking that thing till you're 6!" - which of course made her think that was a fine age to continue until. :glare:

 

My youngest never sucked anything - I wouldn't give her a pacifier, but she never went for her thumb, either.

[mazakaal]

I voted thumb-sucker, but I had a pretty easy thumb-sucker child. He only sucked his thumb when he was going to sleep. Before he turned 5 we suggested that he was probably too old to be sucking his thumb. After his birthday, he gave us his blankie. Without the blankie, he didn't have any urge to suck his thumb. Habit broken.

 

My pacifier baby, on the other hand, woke us up every night at least once because he'd lost the pacifier in his crib. This went on for over a year and a half before I finally decided that I'd had enough and had to break him of the pacifier habit. I don't remember details of the experience, but I do remember that it was not easy. He was very young, of course, and couldn't be reasoned with in the same way as thumb-sucker, but there was no way that I was going to be getting up every night for 5 years to help him find his pacy either.

 

Now my easiest kids were the ones who sucked their tongues. Weird, but very convenient.

[nono]

Indications are that he will work with us to change the habit.

 

Hey, I have one like that! Since he turned 4, he's working on sucking his thumb less. His idea! It's great watching him self-teach discipline.

 

He definitely uses it as a soothing mechanism, esp. on the way to sleep, but once he's asleep, his thumb is out of his mouth. Since he isn't a constant "user," I've not been bothered by it. I have suggested to him more than once (that's the step before nagging :tongue_smilie:), that it is something he needs to be done with before his adult teeth come in.

[happypamama]

None of mine have had a pacifier; I just don't care for them. The only times I've ever wished for one were a couple of times in the car when the baby wasn't hungry but wasn't being soothed by sucking on a pinky, and when stopping wasn't possible. But none of mine so far have hated the car, and those were very rare occurrences.

 

My older two both sucked their thumbs a handful of times, kind of as a "huh, look at that" sort of thing, but other than that, they just comfort nursed a lot, which I prefer over thumbs or pacifiers. My younger son would be fed and changed and sleepy; I'd tuck him against my chest in a sling, and he'd find his thumb and fall asleep. It was very sweet. That only lasted until 4 or 5 months, though, and then he stopped doing it. We've had long-term nursers but no long-term thumb suckers.

[BlsdMama]

I sure hope this isn't too controversial a topic. :w00t::001_unsure:

 

I honestly don't mean it to be, if it is. :)

 

I'm just curious what you'd prefer to have- a thumb sucker or a pacifier baby? If you've had both, which is easier to stop in the end?

 

I haven't ever had either but I've always wanted to get this pacifier:

 

 

:lol:

 

It's adorable.

 

Oldest - Pacifier baby turned thumbsucker when we took it away.

DS - Same

DD - Neither

DD - Neither

DS - Thumbsucker (Extreme)

DD - Thumbsucker

DD - Thumbsucker (Only at bedtime)

DD - Thumbsucker

 

Two of them we saw sucking thumbs en utero. :lol: We suspect that's what we saw on one of the current baby's US too.

 

DH & I suspect the high suck need is inherited - both of us were thumbsuckers as well.

 

Thumbsucking is just as "breakable" of a habit as a pacifier. None of my children have had less than perfectly shaped teeth so far, DH actually has an underbite, but I DO have an overbite.

 

I will say this - when Sarah Elaine was born and she was a fussy baby I prayed and prayed that she'd find that thumb. A huge sigh of relief over beginning to suck her thumb. Thumbsuckers DO make for happy, peaceful, sweet babies. :D

[Pretty in Pink]

Pacifier. When you take it away, it's gone! My babies have all used one for the first few months.

[fairfarmhand]

I prefer neither. My kids used the paci-b@@b. .

 

 

so would mine.

 

 

And he spit up like Mt. St. Helens.

 

It got so bad people in the church nursery would warn one another if someone started to pick him up.

 

How I wished he would've taken a paci.

[Jenny in Atl]

I prefer neither. My kids used the paci-b@@b.

 

:iagree:

 

I was their pacifier!

[jentancalann]

i have one of each at the moment, and though the thumb sucker was cute as a baby, its getting very, very, uncute at 4 years old. and i know it will go on for much longer still. the paci sucker is 2 and knows to leave the paci in the bed after he wakes up. it will be much easier to break him of the habit, i'm sure.

 

eta: they both have problems with their teeth that are obviously sucking related.