Something momentous has happened at our house.

I didn't even realize it had happened.

2 weeks ago, we had dentists appointments. 

 I dread these.  Not because it's the dentist; because I am reminded that Sam needs to stop sucking his thumb.

He has been a thumbsucker since he was 2 months old.  I vividly remember the first time he really sucked his thumb.  I was relieved.  He could now comfort himself and put himself back to sleep.  He was our first thumbsucker.  Anna sucked two fingers for a while, but none of the others even took a pacifier past 6 months.

I had no idea how to even begin to get him to stop doing it.  Last time at the dentist, they gave me some suggestions.

I was a bad mom and didn't do them.

I wouldn't even give it a second thought, but it has affected his teeth, and he has started getting in his adult teeth.

So I braced myself to be lectured by the dentist after Sam's appointment. 

He came bounding out after his appointment. "How did it go?" I asked. "Great" he said.  "Did they tell you to stop sucking your thumb"  "Nah.  I don't suck my thumb anymore".

Hmmm.  I had heard that before, when he decided to stop and didn't suck it for, say, 5 minutes.  I wasn't convinced.  "Sam.  When did you stop sucking your thumb?"

"A while ago mom.  The lady asked me to put my thumb in my mouth in the dentists office and I did and it felt weird.  I haven't sucked my thumb in a long time."

I stopped to think about this and realized, I hadn't seen him sucking his thumb, in a while.

I got home and told Paul and he realized the same thing.

He stopped doing it all by himself, when he was ready.  No bad tasting liquid on the thumb, no safety pinning socks to his pajama shirt, none of that.

Wow.  What a relief!

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