The Petersen Family: Thumb Sucking

Hailey started sucking her thumb when she was very small, around a few months old, if I remember right. We even have an ultrasound picture with her doing it. We always thought it was so cute, plus, as a baby, she used it to sooth herself to sleep and started sleeping so good for us. Of course, as she got older, it wasn't as cute...haha! We knew she would stop eventually, so at first it wasn't that big a deal to us. My main concern was all of the germs she was putting in her mouth...ewww! Her dentist said it wasn't really affecting her teeth much, but around six or seven, she definitely needed to stop, or it would start pushing her palette out. She wasn't sucking it at school, mostly just when she was tired, or watching TV. I would feel bad for her when a relative (well meaning, I'm sure) would ask her when she was going to stop doing it, and I could just tell how embarrassed she felt by the question. Poor girl, I'm sure it must've been tough to stop, seeing as she had been doing it her entire life! So we tried the bitter nail polish, and rewarding her, and neither really worked for long. On her second trip to the dentist, the dentist told her if she stopped sucking her thumb for thirty days, she would send her something in the mail. That didn't work! I love that her dentist never made her feel bad about sucking her thumb, she is really cute and understanding with her. She told her how it must be really hard to stop, but she knows she can do it! Then, on her third trip to the dentist, she told her the same thing about the prize. Something clicked, and Hailey stopped sucking her thumb cold turkey! Go Hailey!!! We are so proud of her! At the same time, she also stopped wanting her two little blankets that she has carried around since she was a baby. What?! I wanted this time to come, but when it did, I almost felt like she grew up a little too fast...haha. So many nights before bed when she just HAD to have her blankets, and we had to search the whole house, car, outside, everywhere for them. Now, she could care less. When she goes to bed, I'll find them later, on the ground around the house somewhere. I guess she's growing up!