Thumb Sucking

Samara has recently (and inconsistently) found her thumbs. She mostly sucks them in the morning before she actually wakes up, but she seems to be looking for them for a good portion of the day.

My first reaction, "Fabulous! She can self-soothe! I can sleep!" (plus she looks so damn cute when she's sucking them!).

Then I called the former employer of a helper that we interviewed to use her as a reference. She said, "I really liked X because my daughter sucked her thumb, and X was very firm and made her stop as a baby." Hmm...it's not GOOD to have your child suck her thumb? This is news.

Then we go to the pediatrician for Sam's shots, and she asked about sleeping. I say, "well, she has been sleeping in six to seven hour clumps recently, and sometimes longer, and when I go in I find her furiously sucking her thumb! It's so cute." She did not think it was so cute. "When are you going to get her to stop? She should not be sucking her thumb later, and you will not be able to reason with her when she's older and attached. I would like you to think long-term about this."

Well, I sucked my thumb forever, and I turned out okay. My teeth aren't messed up, and I don't think it messed me up emotionally. I have other friends who also sucked their thumbs. I also have other friends whose kids suck their thumbs. They don't seem to think it's a big deal. Now, I feel very conflicted. I think we will not stop her. It really seems to make her so happy, and it really makes us all sleep so much more, but I feel guilty...

In other news we have NOT found a helper. We have been interviewing so many people (at least 25, I believe). The one that we liked the best seemed to have lied up and down her application. Um, been there, done that. No thanks. It's getting really stressful, since I have one more month before I go back to work.

In yet other news, we have been having a good time with Uncle Jeremy. He has read to Sam, played with her and we have taken her all over Singapore together. We have visited Tekka Market, eaten idlis and dosas, gone for great Thai, cooked good Indian, eaten east coast laksa and otah, visited Ben the coffee man (photo to come) and Mustafa's...it's been busy and nice.

I also had a great birthday. I don't usually have good birthdays. Matt organised a bunch of my friends to meet us at Lau Pa Sat, a big hawker market downtown. So Jer, Sam and I went downtown to meet Matt, and one by one, friends started showing up. He also got me flowers (we really don't do birthdays), which was super nice. Then we met our friends Rusty and Emily for a fantastic Thai dinner. Rusty was the one who I met up with from high school. They are leaving Singapore this weekend for good, which stinks. All in all, it was a super nice day.