Here Goes

Today is the day we say goodbye to thumb-sucking. Well, at least we take the first step and hope it works a miracle and we can really say goodbye to thumb-sucking without having to figure out what further action may be necessary. I just painted A's thumb with yucky clear polish marketed to help folks stop biting their nails.

First I said a little speech, "Thank you, thumb, for your years of service providing comfort and well-being. You have been a good friend. But, A is 4 now, and it is time to say goodbye to baby ways. It makes us a little bit sad to grow up, but we're also excited to see what will come next." We told her she could get pretty pink polish once we knew she was all done sucking her thumb. As the yucky polish went on, she cried and said, "I don't want pink polish." Then we took turns blowing as hard as we could on her nail to dry the polish. That turned pretty silly, so we ended on a good note.

She's already had one run-in with the bitter polish in the last half hour and it did produce some tears. But mainly she just wanted some juice stat to wash away the flavor. I told her that I used to suck on my fingers when I was little girl and my parents put the yucky polish on my nails, too. I distinctly remember waking up screaming in the middle of the night when my usual habit betrayed me. I hope I will be able to summon my compassion tonight if the same thing happens to my daughter.

We have no plans for today, so we'll hang out at home and see what kind of progress is made. Here goes...