Soothing

I was a wee bebe when I started sucking my thumb along with a blanket to accompany the joy and I remember both bringing such comfort.  The familiar smell of the fabric, the soft worn edges with a strip of satin, the caress of my finger beneath my nose.  I continued this much-loved habit until I was in fourth grade and I only quit then because I was getting braces.  Who knows if I'd still be sucking my thumb to this day had it not been for my orthodontic needs.

Bryan was a long-term thumb sucker too, so we had our suspicions that Theo would be as well.  I was THRILLED when he found his thumb at a few months old.  He took a pacifier as a newborn but quickly lost interest in it after a month or two and honestly, I was glad because it was a PAIN replacing it for him every time it launched out of his mouth.  I was praying for him to suck his thumb because hey, it's always right there!  No parental involvement required!  Because you know nothing says Mother Of The Year like a hands off approach to newborn soothing techniques.

At first he'd dance back and forth between his right and his left but eventually settled on his left thumb and he's been going strong ever since.  Theo also has a blanket, The Blanket, with a specific satin tag in one corner that gets his undivided attention.  I absolutely love that he has something that can bring him comfort when he's tired, upset or not feeling well.  The look of contentment that falls across his face when he first pops his thumb in his mouth and rubs his tag is amazing to see.

So you can imagine the heartbreak that befell him last night when his thumb was sore to the touch last night, causing him to cry.  He had a hangnail at daycare that tore down to the quick that was red but didn't look infected.  Every time he wanted to suck his thumb to go to sleep he'd cry and not know what to do with his hand.  I called our pediatrician to see if I could put Neosporin on it to ease the pain.  Didn't want to poison him or anything, obviously.  (Oh! As an aside!  I first called the pharmacist thinking "Hey, is Neosporin poisonous?" would be a quick and easy question.  Instead I got: "Well WHY would you do that? It's not going to HELP anything.  Just put a band-aid on it."  To which I replied "Uh, well, I thought that would help prevent infection.  And I didn't want to put a band-aid on it since he'd probably chew it off."  "Band-aids don't TASTE like anything, why would he chew it off?"  "Oh, well, uh, because that's the thumb he puts in his mouth and he just wouldn't like the feeling of it."  "Oh, well I guess there's no telling what people will do these days."  /end call.  HELLO ASSHOLE!)  We got the go ahead but one application didn't cure it instantly, of course.  He finally fell asleep after much singing and rocking (his new favorite night time song?  Happy Birthday.  I gotta say, it's really odd to sing that over and over again in the dark.)  Bryan and I thought we were in the clear until he woke up SCREAMING around 3:30.  He settled for a little while and then hysterical sobbing ensued until 5:00 when we just decided "Okay! We're up!  Elmo on DVD it is!"

After another application he's able to suck again, so I fully expect him to take a marathon nap and sleep like a champ tonight.  So please, take it from me:

1).  Careful with hangnails if you have a thumb-sucker.

2).  Never call your older-male-with-no-kids Osco pharmacist to ask about Neosporin application to an appendage that goes in the mouth.

3).  Just take the day off work for the love because keeping your eyes open at Workplace is going to make you want to curl up under your desk and suck YOUR thumb.

4).  Maybe pacifiers aren't so bad after all?

Comments

[Laura]

Do you think something like that is genetic? I never thought of it that way before.

My son has no "loveys"... he's has zero sentimentality. This poor mother's heart has no idea what to do with that. I'm more attached to his stuffed animals than he is.

[AndreAnna]

My kids aren't thumbsuckers but my daughter took a pacifier until she was almost three.

Expressly, at the first sign of nasal congestion in our then-five-month-old baby boy, we threw away all bippies, hoping to not end up down the same road. He couldn't suck them anyway and spit them out. We took it as a sign.

Guess you can't toss a thumb, huh?

[Andrea (@shutterbitch)]

I too sucked my thumb for longer than most. Until I was in 3rd grade & needed a retainer. I can remember going on camping trips and making sure to hide my thumb in my fist when getting sprayed w/ bug spray so that it would be 'clean' to suck when it was time to go to sleep.

Weirdly, neither of my kids are binky OR thumb suckers. They have their blankies but that's it. Also in a strangely coincidental detail to your story, my daughter has a teddy bear she loves that when you press its hand sings a hipper version of the Happy Birthday song. And so I hear fifteen or twenty times through her monitor the "Taiyah" song, which is what she calls her teddy. She also calls the song the "To You" song, which coincidentally sounds like Taiyah, so who knows. Kids are weird.

You know what might work for the hang nail? Have you seen that bandage glue? It's like clear paste that goes over cuts to keep them from being exposed to bacteria, but there are no bandaids. I wonder if it would be okay and not taste funny to him. You know, in case there's any thumb damage in the future.

[Maggie]

I was a thumbsucker and get this? I remember my mom putting sugar on it for me! Hence, my weight problem. I blame her! ha ha Neither of our twins were/are thumb suckers and paci takers. Believe me, we TRIED! Anything to soothe them! To no avail, alas.
Ainsley has her bunny (aka bunny head on little blankie) that goes with her everywhere! I even bought a replacement one on ebay (at 3 times the cost) to make sure we had a back up "just in case." This helps when having to wash one bunny too! :)

[Korinna]

Poor little man. I feel your (Theo's? Bryan's?) pain on not being able to use the one thing that helps him feel better.

Stuffed noses and a split lip have kept Ezra from his beloved paci and the sleepless night that ensued was HORRENDOUS.

That is why we have eight pacifiers in his crib. Always one within arm's reach; always able to have just a little bit more quiet time.

[melissa]

We have seven pacifiers, although only five are locateable - is that a word - right now. I was annoyed the first several months of having to keep putting them back in the crib, but now she knows where they all are and can find them herself now. She gets to keep them until she's 4 or gives them up herself, her sister didn't have trouble giving them up, but she's a different kid, so I'm sure it'll be hell getting rid of it.

[Jen]

First of all: that pharmacist? Needs a kick in the groin. WTH?

I was a thumb-sucker until age 8 or 9, and I have to say, I was glad Maggie never started it. As annoying as it was to replace the pacifier every 2 minutes when she was a baby, at least you can take away the pacifier. The thumb is ALWAYS there.

I remember getting a blister on my thumb-knuckle from my bottom teeth rubbing against it. THAT hurt. Hope he's all healed up soon and you guys can get some rest!

[Lisa G.]

What was up with that pharmacist?! You did tell him that you were referring to a 2-year-old, right? Has the guy never heard of thumb-sucking? That's just bizarre.

Aaaanyway, yeah. I was a champion thumb-sucker myself until I turned about 7 or 8, I'm pretty sure, after which point I started wearing a retainer that may or may not have had to do with all the years of thumb-sucking. And here's a weird quirk: I would also grab a stray hair from my head (or pull one out myself) and drag it across my face while sucking my thumb. I guess I just liked the sensation. Weirdo. Also, I got a callous on my thumb from all the thumb-sucking. So you know, I was the coolest kid ever is all I'm saying.

[Sara @ Belle Plaine]

I like all the closet thumb suckers coming out. I also sucked my thumb until an age I will not admit and now Noah has a love affair with his left fore finger. I see the teeth already coming in crooked and the thousands of dollars we will be spending in orthodontics in ten years. This is when a pacifier, with all of it's "can be taken away" properties, seems mighty fine.

[Papa Bradstein]

Oh, we've had that. Yeah, why doesn't anyone warn about that. It seriously is a trip to Suckville, population: you.

But, it does pass. Hopefully quickly in your case.

[bessie.viola]

He has the sweetest little face! Poor guy, I can't imagine if Maddie couldn't have her binky at night. I'm glad he's healing up.

Oh, and the Happy Birthday thing is a HUGE current favorite in our house, too! I agree that it's weird/creepy to sing in the dark. I am SO TIRED of that song - there are only 5 words!

[Sarah]

Like you, I was a long term thumb sucker, and actually hoped my kids would be too because of exactly what you said- so much less fuss than the in out rinse and back in routine of the stupid pacifier. Which, sadly, was what Addy always wanted. Eli however is a FIRM thumb sucker. He wouldn't even take bottles, ever- he is all about sucking on real flesh! :)
However there is one MAJOR drawback of thumb sucking- it's harder to wean from because, duh, it's not like you can just take it away and say something magical like, "Now we're giving all the binkies to the babies!" And when you're, say, five, and have a horrendous cold and cannot possibly breathe with a thumb in your mouth, but also feel like crap and can't possibly sleep WITHOUT a thumb in your mouth?
Hell on earth.

[Kelsey]

Me too - I sucked my thumb! Harper didn't (pacis that we took away at age two instead) but I was thrilled when Michael found his thumb. Hope the hang nail is completely healed by now!