Wow Janet this comment is really out of line. If you had ever had a collicky baby for whom the 5 Ss was a godsend, you wouldn’t be calling it disgusting. My second son came out of the womb mad about being alive and spent literally every waking moment screaming. Not crying or fussing, screaming like a banshee. After 2 weeks, my mother husband and I were all about to lose our minds, when we found karp’s videos and we’re able to use his techniques to calm our baby more effectively. I love my baby deeply and generally consider myself and attachment parent and this was a deeply offending comment. You’ve just lost me as a subscriber.

I need your help. Ive searched your website and I cant seem to find what im looking for. My son has used a lovey ever since he was an infant; he’s also a thumb sucker since we did sleep training at 3 months. I thought introducing a lovey was a good thing and encouraged to help with self soothing at sleep. I stumbled upon the aware parenting article on thumb sucking and how its a way to numb feelings and not have release… so this has led me to be a little concerned and wonder how we can work with this (or if its something to be concerned about). My 2.5 year old son sucks his thumb and has a lovey hes attached to. He uses it all the time. He cant sleep without his lovey, he takes it everywhere with him and uses it around the house. He also will suck his thumb throughout the day, in the car, in public places. If he’s upset, he calls for his lovey and it helps calm him down. What do I do? Is this an issue? Is he suppressing feelings by using his lovey and sucking his thumb all the time? I didnt think it was a problem until i realized I may be giving him his lovey for comfort and security instead of feeling the emotions and having the release so he can move on and work through the uncomfortable feelings.
Id love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Katie

I love your work. I can’t thank you enough for all you do for families. You have been a huge help to get me through my first year with my little one. Anyways I do have a few questions about this article.

My little one has never been a good sleeper, so since about 3 months we started bed-sharing simply because I needed more rest. I will be honest when we was in the bassinet the first little peep he made I would wake up and grab him. NOW I see how that could of caused some issues. Wish I would of waited and observed before rushing in. To bad I didn’t read this article 10 months ago lol.

He is now 14 months and still wakes quite frequently. I of course have gravitated to groups and articles saying that it is biologically normal. Which I think is doing me a disservice. Any tips to get him to sleep longer stretches at night without me nursing him back to sleep? I definitely want to be respectful of him and not go cold turkey. Also have I screwed things up royally?

I try my hardest to be respectful at all times, but I find myself lacking when it comes to boundaries. I am working on being better about being ok with his uncomfortable feelings. Anyways thank you again for everything you do.

Thank you, Tirzah! I needed that encouragement today. <3

however, it is always good to be aware of one more possible tool in a box.

Hi Ashley- Here’s a perspective that I find very, very interesting and tend to agree with: http://www.marionrose.net/thumb-sucking-from-an-aware-parenting-perspective/ It’s Aletha Solter’s approach to thumb or finger sucking as a “control pattern” that we can help children avoid by encouraging them to express their feelings, even (or perhaps especially) in infancy.