Thumb Sucking Infants

I'm afraid the more you try to fight it, the more it will be a problem. Kids NEED to self-soothe and, if we won't take a pacifier instead, he's going to do it no matter what. I was a little trepidatious when my daughter started sucking her fingers, since I sucked mine ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT until I was in 3rd grade, but I didn't do anything to try to stop her as I knew it would be pointless and it was what she had found to comfort herself. Next thing I knew, she got teeth and stopped sucking her fingers. I wouldn't worry about it at this young age and deal with it with your doctor's help if it's still a constant thing in a few years. Good luck!

My daughter was a thumb sucker and people always told me it was a blessing! And she stopped shortly after getting teeth and never started again, so he may just quit on his own.

Many pediatricians recommend that you allow babies to use this natural pacifier through at least their first year. Many children will outgrow it when the need is gone. The desire to suck is much stronger in babies, and depriving your little guy of this comfort might make him more irritable or distressed.

mine is 2 and still sucks his thumb but he is slowly weaning himself off of it just like he is slowly weaning himself off of the blankie and replacing the blankie with toys. some kids prefer thumbs over pacifiers. it is soothing so I don't worry about it. besides you can always look at it this way his thumb will always be clean cause it is always in his mouth :)

Good luck!!!! I have two girls, 4yrs and 21 mos. Both still suck their fingers/thumb. I learned after the fact, most parents encourage a pacifier because you can take that away later, you can't take their fingers away. I know lots of parents who've had success with that. Don't take away their ability to suck as it's an important growth/coping mechanism that shouldn't be denied, especially at this young of an age. Children learn what you teach them so don't consider it a bad habit if you go with the replacement. You just need to be gently persistent. Again, good luck;)

It's totally normal for your infant to have his thumb or any other parts in his mouth. It's not a bad habit, it part of normal development and self discovery. If he's going for it in times of stress, then that's your signal to remove him from the stressful situation (loud noise, bright lights, cold winds, hunger, etc.). You know its a habit when he's nursing that thumb to fall asleep. Some folks use a "soother" when they don't know what their baby wants. The only way you're going to know what he wants is to try various things until you find the right one (diaper, food or sleep typically). Then the noises and need for "soothing" will take care of itself and you won't have to worry about habits. Until your baby starts to talk you'll have to learn their way of communicating to you what they want. Or, you can teach baby sign language to help remove some of the communication problems. I know several families that have done this and not only does it relieve stress on the parents part to have some clue as to what their baby wants, but it relieves frustration on the baby's part because they know you know what they want.
So don't worry about hands, fingers, feet and toes in the mouth. Take some pictures, then when he's older you can look back and realize your worries were for nothing.
K.

while I agree that its good to self soothe and if the thumb is all he takes then you can hope he gets over it before he's too old, I will also say that its easier to get rid of pacifiers because you can cut and 'lose' them in your chosen method to have them stop whereas you can't get rid of his thumbs... but if he won't take a paci then its not an option anyway.