Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Suckie baby






Calleigh has been sucking her fingers since she was only a couple days old. We tried to give her a soother, OK Carl tried to give her a soother I thought the finger sucking was cute, but she wouldn't take it. Now almost a year later she is a full blown addict. I estimate she has her fingers in her mouth about 20 hours per day. At this point in her addiction she thinks she can't swallow without her fingers. If I give her a bite of food then hold her hand down so she can't suck she will sit there and let all the food fall out of her mouth and cry until I let go. I asked our Dr and he said it was just a habit not a problem but now today I noticed she is starting to suck the skin right off her finger. *gag* All the skin around her 2 middle fingers is so gross looking from being wet all the time. According to my research it can be really emotionally damaging to make them stop sucking before they are ready so what is a mom to do?? Tape mittens on her hands and hope in 20years she's not standing in a bell tower somewhere trying to scream to the world with her fingers in her mouth and gun in hand that she will suck her fingers? Or do I wait it out and watch her slowly suck through her pudgy little fingers?
Is it possible we used all our perfect baby genes on the first four?? The finger sucking isn't the only issue we're dealing with either. Calleigh has her 2 bottom teeth and for a while I thought she was working in her top ones. At one point yesterday I glanced in her mouth and saw the tooth beside the space where her front teeth should be is growing in. Ahhhh!!! Is she ever going to get front teeth?? Maybe she sucks her fingers so much she's lost all hope of ever getting front teeth!!
All kidding aside Calleigh brings an unbelievable amount of joy to my life quirks and all! She is the most loving, cuddly baby we have ever made and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

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