Does anyone have a baby who will suck his thumb/fist/fingers, but will NOT take the binky unless you hold it in his mouth?? My oldest son took to the binky fine, and loved it, and my 2nd son even would suck one-although had to have a little help since he had some problems, but Rance, who's 4 months, just seems like he's not going to like the binky, but he will suck his hand/fist/fingers/thumb whatever he gets in his mouth. Even sometimes my arm or finger, or even his burp rag or bib. I just knew eventually he'd start taking a binky....what do you think?
thanks for your reply Stephanie! and thanks for saying you like Rance's name-my dh knew a boy in college by that name and we were having trouble agreeing on a name, and it grew on me after a while, so that's what we named him....I'm not really trying to force the paci, just that there are times when he's fussy and isn't hungry, or wet or anything, but mainly tired, and if you can get him to take the binky or he'll even sometimes suck his hand/thumb and will go to sleep....sometimes he'll even suck on the nipple of the empty bottle, which I don't do because of swallowing air unless there is no other option and I can't get him to calm down, and he'll go to sleep. so I figure he'll figure he'll probably suck his thumb eventually too.
oh and it was sooooo hard losing my son Joshua, and I deal with it daily still....especially having a new baby, makes me think of him even more, but I know I have to go on and live as happy of a life that I can for Noah's sake and now Rance's. I think if I hadn't had Noah to take care of and to know that I had be there for him, I'd probably have fallen into a deep depression-not that I didn't have a few rough months of course, but then I had to tell myself to never forget Joshua and to love Noah and take care of him.
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no i'm not trying to force the binky, just trying to find a way for him to self soothe when he's not hungry and nothing is really wrong besides him just being cranky or tired....and if he'd start really sucking his thumb and knowing how and when to put it in his mouth that'd be fine too, i was just wanting to hear if anyone else had a baby who did these things. thanks so much for all your replies! it helps to know there are others out there with babies who act differently than there other kids did. sometimes i forget that every baby is different! lol
oh and to whoever asked, i have tried lots of different binkies and we had to try lots of different bottles/nipples before we found one he would really take very good. he doesn't have that powerful suck/latch that some babies have and that is what, i think, cause the bfing not to work for us-we only did it for about 7-8 wks. but i've taken him to a speech therapist bc the pedi thought it would be preventative to just be sure, and he says Rance is fine, just different! :) thanks everyone for reading and responding!
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nope not tongue tied, my Joshua was and had to have his frenulum cut, so i know what that looks like....he'll be fine and we do sing, bounce and rock. We did swaddle with the swaddling blankets, but he's gotten so big now, that he fights them, so we don't do it much anymore. he did like it for a while. thanks!
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M.C.
answers from
Houston
on
I have the same exact problem. My son is 4 mos old and he too will suck on anything, mainly his thumb and fingers, but not a pacifier unless it is held in his mouth. But my daughter took the paci right off and loved it. And at 1 yr when it came time to break it she gave it up herself. No fight, no fuss. I just imagined that my son would be the same. Boy was I dead wrong.
But then again I expected it because we have an ultrasound pic of him sucking his thumb. LoL. Right now since he is so young I don't find it a problem. It comforts him and gets him to stop crying so I can't complain. However, I know it is going to be the biggest problem when it's time to break him of it. I guess we'll cross that bridge when it gets here though.
But it is good to know that I am not the only with this same problem.
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G.A.
answers from
Tyler
on
My son takes his paci but my sister in laws twins only sucked their thumbs. As much as she tried to get them to take the pacifier they refused. My advice: just go with what works. Whatever soothes him at the time I say use.
I am so sorry to hear about Joshua. My husband and I had triplets that only lived a short time due to prematurity. Two years later our hearts still ache to have them back, so I understand what you feel. Email me anytime if you ever need to talk.
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H.B.
answers from
Houston
on
J.,
Please do not try to force a pacifier on your son, mine is 20 months old now and when I try to take the pacifier away he starts those horrible tantrums.. I guess he'll outgrow the thumb sucking, my mom used this substance she bought from the pharmacy with my younger brother and it makes the taste of his thumb bitter, after few attempts he'll just stop doing it..
I am so sorry for your loss, I hope that one day you'll be able to get over the pain..
Good luck
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S.C.
answers from
College Station
on
Sorry, can't really help you here but I will share that my first, my son, didn't breastfeed, although we tried and he loooved his binky. The 2nd one, my daughter, was breastfeeding from moment she came out and never did like a binky. And believe me during those sleepless nights I TRIED alot, and all the different kinds. But have you tried several styles? My daughter would, however, take a bottle and have no trouble switching back to BFing. But the nipple on the bottle had to be a very natural kind , where the nipple will "pull" like a real nipple. All the binkies were "fixed" and she just didn't like that feeling I guess. My kids never did put their hands in their mouths much...so I don't know about that.
I know your frustration.( Sorry about your "angel" baby.)
Best wishes.
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M.B.
answers from
Houston
on
We decided when my little boy was born in November that we would not use a binky. Well, we changed our minds...only to find that he would not take one! I tried and tried for months and he just was not interested. He would rather suck his fingers. Finally, at about 4 or 5 months (I can't remember exactly), I started trying to give it to him only at nap/night time. My persistance paid off. He now will take it at those times and no longer sucks his fingers. He does not want the binky any other time than when he is sleepy. Hope this helps.
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S.
answers from
Houston
on
My son was a thumb sucker just a few days after he was born, my daughter took the pacifier, they were 2 different children!
I would not force the pacifier..........it took forever to get my daughter off of that ! My son he still sucks his thumb
"only" when he is tired!.........i bet eventually your son will be a thumb sucker ! How terrible you lost your other son, how in the world did you deal with that ?.............
I like your name rance! Very different!....good luck!
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T.M.
answers from
Houston
on
My son refused the pacifier also. But I thought it was great, he learned to deal in other ways. Is he tongue-tied? That was the reason I couldn not BF my son and he wouldn't take the Paci. My son preferred to chew on blankets or stuffed animals. Maybe there is something soothing to him that is not oral? Maybe a toy with a lullaby or you could sing or talk quietly to him? Also, wrapping them tight in a swaddle soothes them, too. I hope some of my suggestions help. :)
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A.L.
answers from
Beaumont
on
I have a 18 month old daughter who did the same. I didn't have any success with my 5 year old taking the pacifier, she got attached to the bottle. So when I had my youngest Kate I tried so hard to make her take a pacifier as her comfort. Nope didn't work, she will use her own fingers, the corner of a blanket or burp rag, or a toy laying around. I think as long as they have some sort of comfort item then they are fine. Kate will take a pacifier now (she found one one day and well the rest is...) but she just chews on it since she has 8 teeth now. I wouldn't worry to much about it. Good luck :-)
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T.S.
answers from
Longview
on
Hi
I had 3 thumb suckers! Oldest would never take binky, and was not too fond of bottles either. Second took it when she was teething to have something to chew on. LOL Third one took it easily when I found one he liked (yes we tried a few) but as soon as I got rid of it at 2 yr, he was right back on the thumb! So I say whatever works, the thumbsuckers refuse to be thwarted. LOL
btw so sorry to hear of your loss on your little one. My niece has had 4 babies that started out in NICU and just from that I have seen a glimpse of how hard it is.
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T.M.
answers from
Houston
on
Neither one of my kids took to a binky. Daughter sucked her thumb when she was upset or tired, and rarely does anymore, she's 26 months. Son sucks on 2 of his fingers when he's sleepy, he's almost 10 months.
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S.O.
answers from
Houston
on
My first 2 loved a binky but my son was born sucking that thumb. He would not take the passy. Kinda disappointed me, but then he only sucked his thumb till he was 6 months old and just stopped. So unfortunately you just never know. My first I had a time getting it from her but her pedi dr. told me not to worry if I'm giving her the ortho pass because it actually helps their teeth come in straight....so she finally gave it up at 2 1/2 and has beautiful straight teeth. My other daughter sucked a passy till she was like 8 months and then whe she decided she wanted to pull up on things and try to walk she quit. The thing is babies have so much sucking they need to get done to help them with development. So good luck with whatever happens.
