Thumb Sucker at 3.5 Months Old

As you are finding out, we mothers cannot control everything. You can't make her take a pacifier and if she wants to suck on her hand or thumb, you can't take her hand away from her. So,enjoy her and don't worry.

By the way, this is normal for babies and does not necessarily mean she will suck her thumb as she gets older.

I wouldn't worry about it, this is very normal for infants and I don't think it will become a habit at 3.5 months. Infants need to suck to have a soothing feeling. My daughter did this and does not suck her thumb. I did replace it with her pacifier and we had the hardest time getting rid of that.

To me there is nothing more precious than a baby that sucks thier thumb. I have 3 kids and each one did something different.
My oldest sucked his thumb. Once school started it dwindled down to just after school and at night. Then it just quit.
My middle child took a pacifier which he called his "boo". That lasted until he was 3.
My youngest did it all. She took a pacifier until 7 mths, then went to her thumb then at 9 mths quit it all.
I never pressured any of them to quit. The less attention you put on it the more they are inclined to quit on their own.
At 3 1/2 mths, I would not worry at all! It could be a phase and you are fretting for nothing.
Try as much as you can to enjoy this time. The first year is so amazing with everything they are learning to do.
Blessings!!
D.

Don't try to change it, it's just a natural way for a child to self-soothe. Both my boys sucked their first two fingers or thumbs constantly from 2-5 months of age and never after that. No pacifiers were used after 6 months for either because they just didn't want it. Don't worry, just enjoy the cuteness of it.

My third child sucked her thumb and switched to her two fingers a few months later. She was able to self soothe and it was wonderful. The nice about the thumb/fingers is she will take them out of her mouth to play and talk unlike the pacifier. At night? Always available so she was able to fall back to sleep on her own. She stopped on her own at age 3.

It's fine -and if she's a thumbsucker that will be fine too!

Too early to even worry about that. Let them do what comes natural.

No:) Babies are born to suck. My first child took a paci for exactly 3 months and that was all before he discovered his little lap blanket and decided sucking on that was so much better. My second, LOVED her paci from day one. My third, she wanted so bad to suck on whatever came near her mouth, didn't matter what it was. She loved the paci but struggled keeping it in her mouth so she too, found she loved chewing her blanket (she's 3 and still does, it's gross but it comforts her so I deal with it). Babies know what they like and I'm one to just let them have whatver satisfies them, I think they sleep better:)

Not really. My youngest was a thumb sucker and we discussed it with our dentist. He told us to let it go until she was older, she would need to stop by the time she was four to prevent orthodontic issues. He said he used to encourage parents to prevent thumb sucking until his sister, who is a child psychiatrist, told him that was actually harmful to children. Thumb (finger or fist) sucking is a way for a baby to self sooth themselves.
At about three we started working with her to stop and she did by the time she was four. Her high arch and thumb sucker baby teeth were replaced with normal looking adult teeth. Yes, she will need braces, but so did her sister who did not suck her thumb or a pacifier.
Really, I wouldn't sweat it just yet.

lots of babies suck on whatever happens to be near their mouth at that moment. does not mean she will suck her thumb at all.

however, if she does, it's no big deal either. most kids stop on their own before adult teeth come in (it really doesn't matter if it impacts their baby teeth as those fall out - don't let anyone tell you any different.) my whole family sucked their thumbs. my son found his at 5 weeks old and slept through the night ever since. i never regretted it. at 5 1/2 he can't remember the last time he sucked his thumb, in fact he'd forgotten he ever did. he thinks it's funny. i think he was probably around 3 or maybe closer to 4? when he quit. no big deal. and it WAS precious :)

Not that I know of. I wouldn't worry though as most babies suck on their hands, fists, etc. They just do and yet if she does find the thumb that's another story. I sucked my index and middle finger as a baby, some do thumbs, etc. It is harder to break than the pacifier but if she won't take the pacifier don't worry and she will not suck the thumb forever. I had some that did pacifier, some did thumb, some did neither, one did both as when I took the pacifier he went to his thumb. Just don't worry about it and maybe she won't suck the thumb and may take a pacifier later on.

Let her suck her thumb, fingers, fist - whatever. It's natural for babies to want 'something' (pacifier, fingers) to pacify themselves. My daughter sucked her two fingers for years and I didn't have to deal with a pacifer and it was heaven! She would soothe herself to sleep and slept great because of it. I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck! :)

At this age, it's not a habit, it's an age appropriate behavior. Babies have a sucking reflex. Let it go. My son never became a thumb sucker and he sucked on his hands, fingers, etc., as a child. It's the luck of a draw whether it will be a habit or not. And she won't be sucking her thumb when she graduates, so relax :)

My daughter is over 5 and still sucks. We have an ultrasound pic of her sucking her thumb. The dentist is not happy with me.

Now is the perfect time to try and adjust this. I would have her wear mittens for a few days. Long sleeve outfits with finger covers.
I wouldn't even introduce a paci if I could help it.

You can encourage the paci more...if she spits it out put it back in...try different ones...I basically kept putting the paci in and moving it around to get my boys to suck on them.

Please don't try to stop her! Babies her age need some form of comfort action and hers is sucking her fist. Same for many other small infants who suck fists or fingers. It does not necessarily mean she will be a thumb-sucker later; there is a long distance between 3.5 months and what's to come. She is self-soothing which actually is what you want to happen. Try to break her of it and she will quickly become frustrated and fussy because you will be reversing her natural and desirable (for her and for you too) self-soothing.