Thumb sucking

Hello mamas, My LO is 6.5m old and has been sucking his thumb since he’s been 4months. He uses it as a self soothing mechanism but lately he’s just unable to fall asleep without his thumb. If for some reason he doesn’t suck his thumb or it fall as out of his mouth before he’s completely asleep he will cry and no amount of rocking or patting helps him sleep. Is this normal or should I stop his thumb sucking habit? I’ve tried to remove his thumb while he’s try to sleep but he just cries and won’t fall deeply asleep. Again rocking won’t work till his thumb is in his mouth. I’m really worried that this habit might not stop on its own and he’ll be too reliant on his thumb to fall asleep when he’s a toddler.

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Does he like pacifier? I was given the impression it is easier to unlearn pacifier then thumb sucking

🤷🏾‍♀️I don't think it's really a big deal. I sucked my thumb until I was old enough that I remember my mom telling me to stop. My teeth are are still nice and straight and I never had braces if that's a concern for you. I think it's good that he has a way to soothe himself if he ever needs to.

@Brenna I think it’s more about the kids who religiously do it, some kids just don’t stop when they get started I believe so I think it’s about knocking the habit before it starts. There was a girl I grew up with in my year who was still sticking her thumb in year 6 (ages 10-11) and her teeth with awfully misshapen and stuff, obviously everyone’s different

@Alice right. I'm just saying, it's not a big deal at this age. I sucked my thumb to sleep until I must have been around 5.

@Brenna fair enough, like I said everyone is different