Syifaa at 5 months

My baby girl is 5 months already.... alhamdulillah her sleeping pattern has improved a lot although once in a while i still have to review the book again to check if im doing it alright.

Syifaa loves sucking her thumb now, i have been thinking if i should stop her from doing that but most online reading i did says that thumb sucking is good at this age as it is a sign that the child can calm herself and it is also not a major concern until the permanent teeth comes out.

So baby girl, ill let you suck your thumb and if the need arises we will put braces on your teeth : ).

Most Infants Self-Pacify

Most experts agree that a thumb-sucker younger than 5 shouldn't be pressured to stop. Most children will give up the habit on their own before they enter kindergarten.

"Thumb-sucking is an appropriate and useful behavior for very young children," says Linda Goldstein, MD, a Washington pediatrician. "It allows them to comfort and entertain themselves."

In fact, more than three-quarters of infants suck their thumbs or fingers through the first year of life. A child usually turns to the thumb when bored, tired, or upset. It is not uncommon to see a thumb-sucker simultaneously engage in other behaviors, such as twirling a strand of hair, holding onto an ear, or rubbing a blankie.

"Even when the habit lingers past infancy, thumb-sucking is rarely something to be concerned about. It doesn't indicate that a child has emotional problems or that he will still be sucking his finger when he's a teenager," says Sabine Hack, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine.

-taken from http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/breaking-thumb-sucking-habit