three thumb-suckers

Over the past two months, both Estella and Cordelia have become quite proficient at sucking their thumbs. Despite secret fears that they will still be sucking their thumbs when they are teenagers, I'm really quite happy that they are able to soothe themselves with their thumbs. They've never taken pacifiers so we won't be hunting for pacifiers when they are upset, or getting up repeatedly in the middle of the night to replace pacifiers that have fallen out of their mouths.

Cordelia sucks her right thumb, and she sucks vigorously! She usually holds her right hand with her left hand, as if she has to hold her thumb in place to suck it.


Estella sucks her left thumb while using her right hand to twirl or stroke her hair. She sucks rhythmically and calmly and almost always calms down as soon as she gets her thumb in her mouth.


Two years ago, Adelaida was a thumb-sucker as well. She sucked her left thumb and placed her hand such that the fingers of her left hand covered her face while she sucked her thumb. We were lucky with Adelaida -- she started sucking her thumb when she was six weeks old, was very comforted by it, and quit naturally when she was about nine months old. I hope we are as lucky with Cordelia and Estella!