https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:04:57 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers/page/2#post-2610799 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 13:28:21 +0000 Mrsbells 2610799@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Sucking fingers is harder to break than a pacifier. You can control when the child gets the pacifier and can ultimately just take it away but cant take away their finger. We broke LO's pacifier addiction at 10 months, it was hard for her but i really wanted to get it done before it started impacting her teeth. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers/page/2#post-2610769 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 13:02:31 +0000 Cherrybee 2610769@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: My three year old still needs it to fall asleep, bless her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610704 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:10:27 +0000 Mrs D 2610704@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: gotcha...perhaps thats why none of us had this...</p> <p>Thankfully - we took DDs paci when she turned one for everything except nightime - she uses it to fall asleep then it falls out...so I am not feeling too worried about 1 hour or so a day! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610699 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:04:44 +0000 avivoca 2610699@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: I know, it is horrible. My friend had that for awhile but couldn't handle the awful headaches. My parents ended up waiting a couple of years before putting braces on me anyway and while I did wear them for four years, my mouth is in excellent shape. I had a fairly significant 10 mm overbite and probably wore rubber bands in different configurations for two years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610697 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:04:40 +0000 looch 2610697@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: From what I understand, there are differing degrees of severity. If you're predisposed to having a mouth shaped that way, the use of a pacifier will aggravate it. But some kids don't need any kind of adjustments, I just happened to have a whole lot of problems going on (I had an overbite, and underbite and a cross bite). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610694 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:02:48 +0000 looch 2610694@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: I wish my parents would have done that, it was horrible, and no kid should have to go through that, you know? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610693 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:02:46 +0000 Mrs D 2610693@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Interesting...my sisters and I used paci's for a while and none of us had to have anything like that? I had head gear bit I think thats different?</p> <p>So its not a guarantee they will need it? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610686 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:59:06 +0000 avivoca 2610686@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: They thought I would need that too, but my parents got a second opinion and they were able to manipulate my mouth with rubber bands and the chains on my braces. My friend ended up having to have her jaw broken and moved forward. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610679 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:54:34 +0000 erinbaderin 2610679@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Cherrybee: We got lucky because once W falls asleep he stops sucking and it falls out of his mouth. So we use it to get him to sleep but not having it doesn't wake him up. I guess eventually he's still going to need to learn to fall asleep without it, though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610676 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:51:32 +0000 looch 2610676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: I had a medieval torture device, it was basically a metal plate that spanned the roof of my mouth and attached to molars. My parents had a little key that they had to crank a few times a day, it basically expands the plate, which expands the roof of the mouth.</p> <p>My son's speech therapist and I will discuss an alternative solution for my son, I don't think he will be able to handle that kind of device, and frankly, I don't want to put him through that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610620 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:23:09 +0000 snowjewelz 2610620@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't intorudce a paci for a while, nor bottles since we were having latching issues while breastfeeding and I wanted to make sure we were good on that front first.</p> <p>So DD didn't really take to a pacifier till like 4-5 months; but I desperately wanted her to, to help with self soothe! </p> <p>Now at 20 months we still haven't gotten rid of the pacifier. I think she has picked up finger sucking too either on her own or from daycare; so I actually feel like pacifier is a "better" option than finger sucking! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610588 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:54:42 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2610588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: I haven't tried it myself, but that is something quite a few moms have said in different threads. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610580 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:50:45 +0000 Mrs D 2610580@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: how does it get fixed? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610577 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:48:46 +0000 Mrs D 2610577@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Cherrybee: Agreed...I am up once a night at least to re-insert the paci. However, if I remember with K correctly around 6/7 mos she was able to find it herself in her crib - but we did put quite a few in to be safe... :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610575 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:45:24 +0000 Mrs D 2610575@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We push the paci to avoid finger sucking. I can take a paci away - I cant take a finger away...so I've always preferred the paci.</p> <p>Both my girls have been comfort suckers from day 1... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610573 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:43:46 +0000 erinbaderin 2610573@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Does the animal come off? I just threw the whole thing in the wash on cold. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610570 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:41:57 +0000 kiddosc 2610570@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I purposely kept pushing the paci to avoid having a finger sucker. Sucking on anything is going to have consequences, teeth out of line, impact on mouth shape, delayed speech. I wanted something that I can limit and eventually take away. A was three months before she really took to a paci. But I prefer it this way because I can limit it to when she's very upset, or sleeping. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610535 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:20:14 +0000 Beehive 2610535@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS used a pacifier as a baby but switched to his thumb around 4/5 months on his own. He's nearly 4 and still sucks his thumb in a few situations - when he's falling asleep or when he's relaxing (like watching TV before bed, on a long stroller ride, or when I'm reading him a book). Our dentist has just started encouraging him to stop, but I do feel a little bad about stopping, as he finds it comforting! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610527 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:11:04 +0000 looch 2610527@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ShootingStar: It pushes around the roof of the mouth, all that soft tissue and could cause (in children that are predisposed to it, as my son is) to have a pointed roof that will require flattening/widening later in life. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610519 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:05:02 +0000 ShootingStar 2610519@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: What kind of damage do they do? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610474 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 09:07:05 +0000 youboots 2610474@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD occasionally took a paci but preferred sucking her ring and middle finger on her left hand. We took away pacis at about 4 months. I don't mind the finger sucking she only does it when she's tired- so that's a good indicator of when it's bedtime or naptime. </p> <p>Ultimately you can push one or the other all you want but it's your child who chooses. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610471 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 09:06:24 +0000 cascademom 2610471@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My first took to the paci right away. He had it until about 2 years old and slowly gave it up. Our second hasn't been interested in them other than for biting purposes with teething. He chews on his loveys a lot. My niece has been a thumb sucker since birth and still does a bit at 5 years old. It's noticeable in her teeth. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610468 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 09:02:17 +0000 looch 2610468@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JenGirl: agreed! Sometimes, the child's preference is so strong you just have to go with it, no matter what your plan was.</p> <p>My son was a pacifier addict. He got it in the hospital and it was love at first sight. The thing with pacifiers, though, is that they do damage the soft palate, so it's best to wean a child from them well before they turn 1. After that, the damage does get done, no matter how well designed they are. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610461 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:58:43 +0000 kodybear 2610461@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We pushed the paci because I didn't want a thumb sucker. Dh was a thumb sucker for way too long. It's a lot harder of a habit to break in my opinion because you can't just take it away. And even if you try to talk them out of it, they can always do it without you looking (dh would hide his thumb sucking under a blanket and thought his mom couldn't see... :silly: ). So you'd have to use forms such as band aids, sour sprays etc to quit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610450 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:40:04 +0000 avivoca 2610450@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: If mine need a wash, I hand wash them in the sink. So that's an option too, especially if the paci is still attached. Now that it isn't, I put them in a mesh bag and wash them with her clothes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610449 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:39:24 +0000 bakingdoodle 2610449@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DS just took a paci right away. He got a paci in the first few days because he needed to get blood drawn. My friend who's a dentist said I had to wean him off at 18 months... By 18months, he actually was. We started slowly at 16 months probably and only gave it to him at night if he cried. Done at 18 months... and I am glad because when I see kids at 4/5 y/o with a paci, I am grateful.<br /> For DD, my husband was against the paci. They can get dirty (can grow mold) unless we used a one piece one like the rubber one or the soother. So he was against even starting that trend. She soothed with her hands/thumbs a bit until it was out of control. We started putting mittens (i.e socks on her hands) and my mom relentlessly offered a paci during the day. My mom left after 3 months and thought it would never work... but she did give up her thumb sucking habit. She now takes a paci without problem. we use ... the avent pacifier... which is not a one-piece and some rubber pacifier (which seems to give her a rash if she drools too much) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610445 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:33:29 +0000 JenGirl 2610445@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: ce la vie! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610441 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:31:27 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2610441@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JenGirl: ha ha, it's totally the baby's personal preference. I envisioned cute pacifier clips to stick on his shirt, but nope. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610436 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:26:43 +0000 JenGirl 2610436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We really tried to get my son to take a paci but failed. He sucked fingers briefly, but never really took to it. So he doesn't suck anything (except my boob). </p> <p>My reason for trying to get him to take a paci was that it's easier to break the habit of a paci than fingers. My best friend's daughter really struggled to stop sucking her fingers. As she got older (around age 3-4) her fingers/hand would get super red/chapped/raw where she still sucked and she tried to stop but she wasn't even aware she was doing it, it was such an ingrained habit. </p> <p>To me, that benefit outweighed the benefit of always having your hands with you, which is the major benefit of fingers over paci. </p> <p>But it's totally personal preference. I don't think either is "right" or "wrong" and a lot of the time the kid is going to do what they want no matter what you do anyway. and, my kid wouldn't take either, so oh well! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pacifiers-vs-fingers#post-2610423 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 08:09:05 +0000 arosebyany 2610423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS would never take a paci, I tried multiple times over the course of 6 months before I finally gave up! He chews on his fingers, but I think that's just teething. For comfort he actually prefers to suck on fabric. I usually just give him his "lamp chop" one of those blanket, with the animal head thing lol. </p>