Thumb-Sucking Cessation Device...

…also known as a knit sock.

When she was about five months old, Baby B started sucking her thumb.  She quickly became a very passionate thumb-sucker, at times taking it out only to eat or drink. 

She continued this pattern until she was nine or ten months old, I think, and then at some point it gradually tapered off.  Since the time she was maybe a year old, she’s only sucked her thumb while she sleeps…but without fail, I might add.

The moment I put her in her bed, she puts her thumb into her mouth and snuggles down for sleep.  It’s truly the cutest thing.  And if she’s really super tired, she might put her thumb in her mouth as I’m carrying her to bed.  She’s just so squishy when she does that.  It makes me want to snuggle down with her!

B’s thumb-sucking never really bothered me.  She literally only did it in bed, so I thought it was mostly benign.

But…her poor right thumb was suffering, encased in a nasty callous.  And…I knew we’d be racking up dollar signs in orthodontic work if we didn’t break the habit.

We’d been casually talking with B about her thumb for a few months.  “Why don’t you try not to put it in your mouth?” we’d ask before bedtime.  “OK!  I’ll try!” she’d lightheartedly agree.  The next morning…”How did it go with your thumb last night?”  “Um, not so well.  I’ll try again tomorrow,” in her sing-song voice.

We never pushed the issue, but she seemed open to this line of conversation.  She knew one of her thumbs was “smooth”, and her daddy deemed her other thumb “famous”.  She’d joke, “Maybe I’ll stop [sucking my thumb] on Tuesday.” 

I knew that her thumb-sucking was such an ingrained habit…one she did in her sleep, too…that she wasn’t really conscious of what she was doing.

Last week I had an idea that I thought might help her.  I asked her if she’d like to wear a sock on her hand overnight, to remind her not to suck her thumb.

She got a huge grin on her face.  “YEAH!!!”

We talked it up during the day.  And I told her that if her sock fell off overnight, it was OK, we’d try again the next night.

When it came time for bed, B was all giggles.  She let me put the sock on her hand, and I encouraged her to tuck it under her chin (like the little bunny does in “Bunny’s Noisy Book” when he gets ready for sleep).

I’ll add that the girls were exceptionally tired that day.  I was so thankful that everyone went right to sleep.

The girls slept like rocks all night, and I was SO INCREDIBLY PROUD that B woke up with her sock on her hand the next morning!!!

We told her that was cause for a celebration.  She asked to go with Daddy to pick up bagels for breakfast.  Done!

Before every nap and every bedtime, B gleefully allows me to put on her sock.  She is so cute every morning when she waves to me with her socked hand. 

We keep telling B how proud we are of her, and she has added, “I’m proud of myself, too!”

We’ve been praising her for how healthy her thumb looks, telling her it will soon be “smooth” like her other thumb…and it won’t be “famous” for much longer.

We’re one week in, and she hasn’t sucked her thumb at all.  I’ve told B we’ll keep using her sock until her thumb is fully healed.  I figure that will take about a month…by which time I hope the habit should be broken.

The only downside?  She’s waking up EARLY.  That’s definitely unlike her – she’s usually my better sleeper.  I’m guessing to date when she’s woken up, she’d put her thumb in her mouth and soothe herself back to sleep.  And I’m guessing the sock-tucked-under-her-chin doesn’t have the same appeal.

I hope her sleeping will “smooth” itself out over the next few weeks, too.

Fingers (and thumbs!) crossed for continued progress!  Woo hoo!!!