my son loves to suck on his hand, what should i do?

[burntbread]

Hi everyone,

My son is 3 months old and for the past week, he's been sucking on his hand hard.  Even after feeding, after a few minutes, he will start sucking on his hand.  I don't think it's because he's hungry since I breastfeed, and i always wait until he's finish.  If you try to remove his hand, he throws a fit and starts crying.  I'm wondering if I should get a pacifier but I'm afraid of it interfering with his breastfeeding.  Would appreciate any advice.

[simplykristine08]

hi sis! ganyan din baby ko at 4months. before, super love nya ang pacifier, pero ngayon, mas gusto na nya yung kamay nya and finger. niluluwa na yung pacifier. may nagsabi sakin mas madali daw iwean ang baby from pacifiers than hand/finger sucking. not so sure lang talaga if it's true.

[jdu23]

hi sis, ganyan din si baby ko. pure breastfed baby sya, 7 months na sya ngayon. when he was younger (3-5 months) super grabe sya mag handsuck. at first, i didnt want to give him pacifier din kasi baka masanay sya. but my hubby insists, kaya [textspeak!] na nga para hindi na magalit si hubby, turned out ok naman. pero i seldom gave it to him, hindi rin kasi inaadvise ng pedia nya. sabi ng pedia nya, pinaka magandang teether daw ang hands ni baby, wipe or wash it often nalang,. babies love to suck kasi [textspeak!].

i suggest you breastfeed longer nalang, hanggang makasleep sya. when he's really asleep, or if hindi na sya nagssuck, then remove na. hindi na rin naman nya hahanapin pag full na sya.

[CitizenoftheWorld]

I just pull my daughter's fingers away from her mouth. Definitely she's not hungry, she's jus using her mouth to explore. My daugther is now 7 months old and now that she's able to sit and play, she doesn't suck her fingers that much anymore.

I dont give pacifiers because according to my mom, nakakakabag. Plus it will cause nipple confusion.

[thansher01]

sis, natural lang sa mga babies na mag finger sucking. lahat talaga dumadaan sa ganyang stage. exploring stage as they say. with my son never ko tinolerate talaga. kahit palaging sinasabi ni MIL na pabayaan lang kasi yung hands/fingers lang ang toy nila. hello! i cannot  imagine my son thumbsucking in public. such a no no for me. panget kasing tignan. tapos boy pa. pacifier? uhm, hindi nagustuhan ng son ko. tinry ko syang bigyan kahit newborn pa lang pero ayaw nyang i-suck.. siguro naisip nya there's no milk why will i suck it hehe

what i did lang, everytime na isusuck nya yung finger nya talagang nireremove ko. kahit umiyak pa sya. repetition lang. and tyagaan lang talaga. for sure magiging happy ka sa result.

[simplykristine08]

same here sis, tinatanggal ko yung hand and fingers nya sa mouth nya. masasanay daw si baby na tinatanggal natin and eventually hindi na sya magsusuck ng hand/fingers nya. pero ako nilalagay ko nalang yung pacifier kapag tinanggal ko yung kamay nya, then pag nakasleep na sya, niluluwa na nya yun.

[switlass]

Sis ako I let her be.

Here's a link http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/baby/baby_development/thumb_sucking.asp. I guess iba iba talaga.

[jmeangeL]

sucking is a baby's way of comforting themselves... personally, mahirap pareho i-wean from thumb sucking and pacifier

80% of it will all depend sa baby mo at 20% lang sa'yo

i had a friend before, na-susuck sya ng thumb kahit nasa elementary na kami (comfort zone nya para makatulog)

ang 2 anak ko naman pacifier.  haaaaaaaaaay na ko, gulo kapag wala sa tabi nila at gusto nila ng quiet time

kapag naglalaro naman, they give it back to me kasi madudumihan lang

[delisyus]

i just let my son be... i even found it cute when he started thumbsucking kasi parang bittersweet moment, nakahanap sya on his own how to pacify himself...

and his habit only lasted for days

if it's not interfering with his feeding and playing, i suggest you let him be lang din... or, don't actively remove his hands from his mouth but keep offering him toys so sya mismo magre-remove ng hands from his mouth...

kasi pag ikaw nag-aalis, parang nire-reinforce mo lang yung habit... same principle with nail biting, nose picking, etc  

[anjelicabarte]

Ah, this is my issue with my 1yr and 8 month old daughter. Nagstart siyang magsuck nung 6 months until now ganun pa din. Pero mas less na yung sucking niya ngayon kasi pag natutulog na lang. But I really hope it would stop soon kasi dati pa naming inaawat ayaw talaga tigilan.

Naisip ko nga lagyan ng ginger thumb niya...
what would you advise mga sis?

[kaycee0307]

Im an adult and sometimes I still unconsciously suck my hands or thumbs or fingers haha

[maui_chie]

i think, its normal naman on babies na mag thumb suck. I ask din to sa pedia ni baby when he reaches 3-4months, mahilig siya magsuck. sabi naman ni pedia, mawawala din yun. just make sure wag pahawakan ang hands ni baby. True nga, kasi kusa nawala sa baby ko ang pag thumb suck.

[twelvth_goddess]

When I was kid (from toddler to around 5 years old), I had a habit of sucking my index and middle fingers. My mom rubbed chili yata on my fingers kaya nag-stop ako at napagalitan naman sya ng daddy ko hehe.

[mommy gwen]

problem ko din ito sa baby girl ko...she cries pag tinantanggal ko...kaso nagkakakalyo na index and middle fingers niya on both hands and sabi ng sister kong dentist masusungki pag hindi naagapan...

[[-c-h-a-]]

my cousin used to do this when we were younger.. talagang she would suck on her thumb until siguro mga 7-8 sya? I dunno what made her stop but I remember nilalagyan ng tabasco yun thumb nya noon, hindi pa rin sya tumitigil! Grabe! And yes nagkakalyo yun thumb nyang yun

[Dacian]

my baby loves to thumbsuck and nose picking.  nabasa ko sa babycenter na dapat hayaan lang daw talaga and keep hands occupied with toys.  pero nakakahiya kapag may ibang tao tapos nagno-nose picking!

[momentum]

nako, my daughter luuuvsss doing this too
so much so that yung front teeth niya eh mejo umusog ng konti paharap, and yung 2 front lower teeth niya ngmove narin na parang pa-V shape..hays..according to her pedia, ok lang for now na magthumbsuck siya, just as long as she doesn't do it na when permanent teeth na yung lalabas.

hirap kaya iwasan ito, lalo na after niya magcry..it keeps her calm and quiet. si mama nga 12yrs old bago daw niya na-stop ito ako mga 9yrs old naman    nagmana ata samin. ang ginawa ng mama ko para tumigil ako is rub labuyo sa thumb ko! hahaha para di ako ma-tempt..also, she used to put gloves on me..what mama suggested (which I have not tried) is to rub ampalaya, oh yes!, AMPALAYA, sa thumb ni daughter para pagsinubo niya eh mapapaitan siya and won't suck it anymore :p at least di harmful, healthy pa hahaha

[ladykristinn]

naku ganito din si baby girl namin. 6 mos. pa lang sya now siguro nag start ito mga 4 mos. sya. buti sana kung thumbsuck pero hand talaga. iyong back ng palm nya tapos kahit nakasubo na is naka backup pa iyong thumb nya. minsan nag thumbsuck din pero more on hand. tinatanggal namin kapag nakikita namin ni hubby at okay lang naman sa kanya. parang past time nya lang hindi naman frequently kapag wala lang siguro siyang malaro. wala kasi syang masyadong toys. hehe