Thumbsucking

Molly had been a thumb sucker ever since she was about 3 1/2 months old! We were so thankful that she found her thumb when she did because it totally soothed and calmed her and we loved it! I remember taking her to the doctor for a checkup shortly after she found her thumb and when I told the doctor about it, she was less than thrilled! Her thoughts were that it will be hard to break later on. That kind of annoyed me because at the time when she was just 3 1/2 months old I did not care at all about years later! All I cared about is that she found something to soothe her when she was upset! 

Molly has sucked her thumb ever since and each time we go to the dentist we've been asked about this. The dentist didn't seem too concerned and even told us not to really worry about it, that she would probably just stop sucking it on her own. 

This past year for school she had to wear a mask all day long and I thought that might help her to stop sucking her thumb, but that backfired! Instead, I feel like she sucked it more when she got home from school to make up for lost time! 

Well, we went to the dentist earlier this month and the dentist asked about it again. I told her we hadn't really done much to try to get her to stop, so the dentist gave us a little help. She painted some polish on Molly's thumb that tasted really bad (like ear wax) and would last for a couple of days. When we left Molly tried sucking her thumb and did not like it at all! And guess what?! It worked! Molly has stopped sucking her thumb! The yucky polish has more than worn off and we didn't even have to buy more to put on. She just decided to stop sucking it and we are so proud of her! I'm kind of sad for her because it was such a comfort to her and she said it felt so good on her tongue, but I guess all good things must come to an end!