Since she was born she took a picifier. Now she doesnt want it, but she sucks on her hand as if she's trying to suck her thumb but she cant find it or get the hang of it. I know it isnt a good habit for her to acquire but it helps calm her and put her to sleep. What can I do to help her learn how to suck her thumb not her hand?
2007-12-05 02:52:40 · 11 answers · asked by glad 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
She's only two months old, I don't think she has enough cognitive function to learn how to stop sucking her hand. I think you should let her do it, because right now she doesn't even have the coordination to successfully suck on her finger. Keep trying to put a pacifier in her mouth - you might have better luck with a larger pacifier (6 mo+) if she prefers something bigger to suckle on. My baby didn't want a pacifier or ANYTHING until 6 weeks, she just screamed endlessly, so in a sense you are lucky your little one can at least comfort herself. Worry about breaking the habit if it goes on for more than a year, but right now I don't think it'll be a problem.
2007-12-05 02:57:09 · answer #1 · answered by Maggie 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
She will eventually find it herself. At this age babies are not ready to open their hands just yet. Wait a few weeks and she will figure it out on her own. My son didn't take a pacifier and tried sucking his hand as well. He never got upset while he was trying and eventually discovered he could open his hands. Then he discovered he didn't want his thumb but the two fingers next to it.
It is actually a good thing if she doesn't learn to suck her fingers and finds another way to soothe herself. I left my boy alone to figure things out for himself and he doesn't have a finger sucking problem... he didn't get addicted.... The only time I helped out was when I knew he was hurt or hungry.
Good luck.
2007-12-05 02:59:05 · answer #2 · answered by mlcg2001 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its just as soothing. she doesnt know shes not getting the hang of it because she doesnt know what sucking her thumb is. a pacifier is bad a habit as thumb sucking... but at this age its not the habit you should be concerned with because its a form of soothing. it just needs to be used right, not pushed in a babies mouth everytime it cries or is sleepy... there are more solutions...
2007-12-05 03:13:11 · answer #3 · answered by throughthebackyards 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the only thing you could possibly do is to let her take the time to try herself and then after awhile bring her hand to her mouth for her, my daughter does not at all like her pacifier during the day, I don't even offer it to her now, but at night, after her very last bottle, she likes it for the first few minutes, and then she will literally take it out and go to sleep, its so cute how they have these little habits and likes already. she is 4 mths old, and was sucking on her hands at 2mths, we really thought she would end up being a thumb sucker, but now she can get her hands to her mouth on her own and...no thumb sucking, she just likes to chew on her hands and fingers. its basically just a soothing mechenism for them, and it doesn't necessarily mean she is trying to suck her thumb, so what I would do is let her try on her own and then after awhile lift her hand to her mouth for her, and eventually she'll get it there on her own.
2007-12-05 03:27:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
She will eventually learn on her own. My son started doing that as well, and then moved onto his pointer finger, and now he uses his thumb sometimes. He's 6 months old and moving onto his feet next. Don't worry about it. She's comforted by having something to suck and will learn on her own how "handy" her thumb can be.
2007-12-05 02:57:23 · answer #5 · answered by Astragalo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What difference does it make? She might just want to suck her hand, theres no reason to make her suck her thumb instead.
2007-12-05 03:01:05 · answer #6 · answered by amosunknown 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
if she doesnt want the pacifier, dont push it on her.. sometimes its hard to get rid of the habbit when they get older. As far as the thumb.. she will most likely find it on her own...
2007-12-05 02:57:25 · answer #7 · answered by Steph 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They all find their thumbs on their own. You can't force them to speed this process along.
It's quite cute when they suck their fists.
2007-12-05 06:01:19 · answer #8 · answered by gc525 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
And what difference will it make, if hand sucking does the trick?
2007-12-05 02:56:56 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
She will figure it out on her own in time. Same as rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking or anything!! Practice makes perfect, and you can't rush it.
2007-12-05 02:56:29 · answer #10 · answered by Therapist 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋