So proud!!

I think we officially have a recovering thumb sucker in the house! Kaitlyn has religiously sucked her thumb since she was 3 months old (and she is almost 8 years old). Recently, it was mainly when she was tired, but also if she was upset, angry, frustrated, or feeling cozy. She spent many hours of the day with her thumb in her mouth.
Needless to say, this habit was not kind to her teeth - poor girl. A friend of hers got a mouthpiece cemented into the front of her mouth to stop her from thumb-sucking. It was not attractive. Plus uncomfortable and difficult to eat with. We have talked about it with Kaitlyn for months now and finally made the appointment with the Orthodontist.
So on Monday, February 2, Tim & I toted our darling oldest daughter to a local orthodontist (Dr. Pfund) and anxiously awaited his assessment. He gave Kaitlyn two options. And he was very stern about it. He told her she has to stop sucking her thumb. And that once she has broken the habit completely, she can get a pretty retainer to start moving her teeth into the correct position. They make the retainers in rainbow colors with sparkles - hit the spot for Kaitlyn! So her options were:
1. Get that obnoxious mouthpiece cemented into her mouth to make her stop or
2. She could stop on her own.
We decided to give her one month to try and stop on her own and if she couldn't do it, we would get the mouthpiece put in at her next visit (March 2). The doctor asked if we had tried all the 'tricks' to get her to stop. Of course we thought we had. However, he had a great suggestion for us. He said to buy an ace bandage and wrap her elbow in it, so she cant bend her arm as easily to get the thumb in. What a great idea!! Luckily she has only ever sucked her left thumb, so it was an easy target! Plus he said to put a sock over her left hand at bedtime just in case she unconsciously sucks her thumb in the middle of the night.
So starting that night, we followed his suggestions and VOILA! As a reward, for each night she goes without sucking her thumb, she gets to chew a piece of gum the next day (which you all know I despise gum). But it is enough of a reward for her.
I am excited to say, she has gone more than 2 straight weeks without putting her thumb in her mouth for even a minute!
Of course we know that many times kids revert and go back to their habit sometimes, so we are not blind to that. But we have a few other tricks up our sleeve in case that happens and I have faith that she wants this badly enough to stick with it.
So when we go back to the Ortho in a week and a half, she will probably get fitted for her brand new sparkly retainer!! :)

And now, follow me through Kaitlyn's journey of her strongly-engrained habit!

My little cutie pie at 3 months old(2001)...
Started with her left thumb and never switched:



One year old princess (2002):


Sleepy girl :)


One happy three-year old (2004)!













Four years old (2005):

Daddy's little girl:

And she taught Megan to suck her thumb...ugh:

Our snuggly five-year old (2006):

Still happily sucking thumb at six years old (2007):


Almost 8 years old (2008) - we gotta do something about this!

Now that I am welling up with tears, looking back through these photos, I try to stay strong knowing this is for the best. Kaitlyn, I'm so proud of you baby girl!!