Baby Scratches Himself While Trying to Suck His Thumb - Advice?

Do you also file them after you cut them? I have found with my daughter that if I just cut them, they are actually sharper than they were before. That could help with the scratching. Also I think that as he gets older, he will be able to find it no problem.

Hey C.! My baby has a lovey (would not take a pacifier) and sucks on that and soothes her!! You can find the animal loveies at most baby stores.

Good luck!

Aside from just clipping your baby's nails, you can also buy some soft emory boards and file them a bit too, that will help with the little sharp points that just clipping them can use. Perhaps it would not hurt for you to help him out a bit by helping him find it at fist too. Just keep in mind tho, I do believe sucking his thumb can have it's own adverse effects too and could be a hard habit to break later on. I have two children, and when my oldest was little, she would suck her thumb/fingers to the point they would bleed, we had to break her of that habit right away.

Do you really want to encourage him to suck his hand or fingers? I just took my son to the orthodontist and this is an expensive habit. I would cover his hands with socks to discourage it or any least prevent the scratches. Then try out other pacifiers. Kids are picky perhaps he'll enjoy another type or shape. Good luck!

I would suggest trying a lot of different pacifiers until you find one he likes before I would encourage the thumb. I have a 6 and a half year old who still sucks his thumb and we have tried everything to make him stop. It is mainly just a habit now and the thumb seems to go in his mouth on auto pilot. He really needs to stop because he has lost his 2 front teeth and the new ones are coming in. He too would not take a pacifier and I wish I had tried harder to get him to take one and not his thumb. It would have been so much easier to get rid of the pacifier!

I agree with the other responses to file and I agree with the little mittens they have for the babies for that reason. Eventually he'll have the coordination to get his hand directly to his mouth and may suck on the mitten, but keep an eye on him and then at that point maybe not use them. I don't know that I'd necessarily encourage sucking his thumb. Neither of my 2 children were thumb suckers. They weren't pacifier users either...my daugther would catapolt them right out of her mouth from day 1. I tried them all---seriously---I had every latex and silicone nipple available and she wouldn't use ANY of them. Some kids use them, some don't...but I wouldn't 'encourage' the thumb sucking. He'll suck on his fist for awhile and that's probably about it until he grows out of that. Try the mittens while he's still little enough and keep the nails filed.
Good Luck! =)

Hi C.,
They have mittens on the market to prevent babies from scratching themselves. Try cutting a tiny hole for his thumb.
Hopefully with only his thumbs exposed there should be less damage done. I hope this helps!

Hey C.,
My name is J., I'm 24 with 2 little ones of my own. A girl who is now 7 and a little boy age 3. When they both were infants they had the same problem. So my Great Grandmother told me to take a small amount of vaseline and rub it in the areas they tend to scratch... This makes the skin slippery enough so they won't scratch up their face. And putting socks on their hands before they went to sleep. I also had to guide my son's thumb to his mouth after applying something sweet to it (Any kind of fruity baby food) That way he remembered where to find his mouth. And of course they got messy but they were quiet!! I hope this works for you too.

Well I will not get into the thumbsucking debate, I will say that there are 2 people in my family (1 20, the other 19) both girls who still suck there thumb, one privately and only in bed, the other openly infront of everyone. But anyway, I had bought my little one some mittens when she was little and they already had a thumb hole in them, I'm not sure what they were called,(this was 3 years ago) but that would probably give you what your looking for with out as many scratches. Hope this helps.

My almost 4 mth old does the same thing. I cut file her nails instead of clipping them. This seems to help them be less sharp and she doesn't have as many scratches. (Sometimes I have to wait for her to be asleep to file).
Hope this helps!

You could put socks on his hands to keep him from scratching himself.

I was a nanny for a couple who's child had the same problem (my children took passy's), what their doctor recommended was do get the little infant mittens and cut a hole big enough for the thumb to fit through and make sure to keep the thumb nail clipped and filed. Hope this helps!

I recently went through the same thing with my 3 1/2 month old twin girls. I found that putting the little mittens on their hands works wonders. You can find them anywhere Walmart, Target etc.

Have you tried filing them instead? If you can get a smooth edge on those then it might help.

Hi C.

I had the same problem with my daughter, she is now 5 months old and she used to scratch her face right under her eye (this freaked me out) trying to get her thumb in her mouth. I asked her doctor what I could do to avoid this happening, and she said that all I can do is keep her nails trimmed, and that she would learn how not to miss her mouth. And she has! Now what she does is she will use her other hand as a guide for her thumb hand to her mouth (no joke, even her doctor saw this), she will put her whole hand in her mouth and take fingers out until she just has her thumb in there, lol. She has it down to a science. It is a sight to watch that. But you are exactly right, it is more soothing to them than a binkie. This is why I do not try and stop her from doing it right now while she is a baby. My mother tells me I should stop her but it is soothing to her (and me), lol. Hope this helps. Jess

My daughter had a similar problem as a child. Our pediatrician told me not to cut her nails ... but to use a file.

M.

Neither of my children got a pacifier and thankfully they did not suck their thumbs. It is a habit you would have to break him from soon anyway. I know that some people say sucking your thumb causes teeth problems later in life. I do not know if that has been proven or not. One benefit of not sucking his thumb is he will be healthier germ wise. If someone approaches you and your baby, touches his precious little hand and says how adorable he is, then he sticks his hand into his mouth.... we have no idea how clean their hands are, if they have the flu or such but are not showing the symptoms yet. You know what is best for your sweet little one. Each child is different and the two of you will work out what is right for him.

Infant mittens seemed to work when my kids were that age. That way he won't keep scratching his face. Or if you can't find the mittens, try a putting his sock on his hand. Regarding the thumb/hand sucking, not sure if that's a habit you would want him to begin.

S.