Gloves and the Finger Sucking Miracle

Our finger sucking days are over!!

Annie has sucked her first 2 fingers on her right hand for as long as we can remember.  It happens periodically in the day and is sure to happen the minute she sees, feels or even thinks about her blanket.

Here's a finger sucking trip down memory lane.

3 months old

Probably 10 months old (geez they all look so little)

Probably 15 or 16 months

This is the summer right before she turned two.  Awesome hotel shot!

2 1/2.  Cute pic!

This was during our power outage in November.  Lovin the hat.

 Annie is 3 1/2.  I have been feeling like we needed to work on stopping the finger sucking and had a conversation with my friend Bethany of how she helped her kids stop.  They wore gloves and were rewarded if they had their gloves on with a piece of bubble gum.  She would do glove checks periodically (and frequently) throughout the day and within 2 weeks, her 3 thumb sucking kids had kicked the habit.  Annie is a gum lover so I thought we'd give it a whirl.

We started mid last week.  She and Whit had fun wearing gloves all day (and we hid her blanket in the closet so she wouldn't be tempted to lay with it or drag it downstairs if they were watching a movie).  Night came and we told her that if she still had the gloves on when she woke up there would be bubble gum in the morning.  I didn't think she'd be able to do it.  We had to give her some ideas on what to do with her hands while she was trying to fall asleep.  But when we went to check on her, gloves still on.

She made it day 1 and then stopped even wearing gloves in the day.  We stuck to focusing on night time (and hiding the blanket in the day)

Success on day 2, day 3, day 4.  By day 5 or 6 she didn't even want the gloves at night. 

 She was sick this week and the blanket got pulled out during the day quite a bit.  I was nervous she'd regress but she hasn't had them in her mouth at all.  I don't know where this ability or determination came from.  Those fingers have been in her mouth for 3 1/2 years.  It's been bitter sweet.  So proud she is so big and able to do hard things, so sad seeing her seem so big all at the same time.  My baby is growing up.

Congrats my big Annie girl!  We are so proud of you.

Mary said we should write a book called 'Gloves in the Night'.  I think Bethany had something going with this glove idea.  Maybe we'll become children's book authors now. :)