Two of our three suck their thumbs (Paul and Olivine), My sister and I both sucked our thumbs.

The dentist has mentioned before that Paul’s mouth has changed shape as a result. But I see him as sucking his thumb only at night, and even though he is seven, it will stop at some point. Right?

Then with Olivine, I have noticed she does it a lot. During the day, while walking around, and sometimes she even tries to talk to us with her thumb in her mouth. Recently the pediatrician pointed out that this is not helping her with all the infections she has had and health issues. The doctor also suggested a nail polish from Australia to help. The packaging says it is for nail biting but it also helps with thumb sucking.

Last week we started: Paul, as oldest, went first (of course, Joe was the guinea pig and can vouch it tastes gross). The first night was heart ache. He cried and he wanted to know when it would go off his thumb. He complained he wasn’t ready and he needed his thumb to go to sleep. It was hard to hear. I held him and eventually he fell asleep.

This week, I sat Olivine down and explained it. She saw Paul’s reactions and had been asking. As soon as I put it on, she cried. We talked for awhile about the options she has to comfort herself, I gave her hugs, and when she calmed down it was over. Sure, she came out a couple times to show me and tell me how bad it tasted. But it was surprisingly not terrible. I am learning that I fear these sorts of changes more than my own children.

They are flexible, resilient, and strong.