Thumbelina

My cousin Denise took her daughter Stella to a pediatric dentist a few months ago. The dentist just happens to live around the corner, is a good friend of ours and I babysit for his daughter on Thursdays. It's a small town.

Stella was a big thumb sucker. Emily is also a thumb sucker, but usually this habit creeps up only when she is tired. Dr. Brown recommended a nail polish called Mavala Stop for Stella. Now I know everyone has tried stuff like this, but this stuff is really powerful. Denise snuck into Stella's room every other night and painted her nails. It worked!

Emily is starting Kindergarten in August and I know this will mean a lot of tired days. She's going from 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours to 5 days a week for over 7 hours each day. I know she will be tired and I know she will suck her thumb more. I also know kids can be mean and she will get teased. Not to mention the nightmare she is causing on her teeth and palette. I thought we needed to do something now.

I knew painting Emily's nails in the middle of the night would never work. She is the lightest sleeper ever (with the exception of me). One night when I couldn't sleep, I came up with an idea.

Thumbelina, the Thumb Sucking Fairy.

She's been eyeing this Thumbelina doll for months. She doesn't want the movie and has no idea what Thumbelina is actually about. So, I told her all about my made up version of Thumbelina one day. She's a special fairy who comes to visit when she thinks a little girl is a big girl and she leaves nail polish and a doll. She also promises to come back in a month if all is going well. Emily was so excited. She asked for weeks when Thumbelina would come. I told her soon. What I really meant was 5-7 days for Amazon shipping.

Thumbelina came one night this past weekend. She left her doll, some pretty blue nail polish, the nasty tasting nail polish and a note. Emily was so excited. We painted her nails blue and then put the other polish on. She couldn't wait. She did so good that day and never once sucked her thumb. She said she was thinking about it and that was helping her not to suck her thumb.

David tried the polish. He was at the sink spitting up and washing his mouth out in a matter of seconds. I was curious how the night would go with Emily when instinct would take over.

She did really well the first night. In the morning, she said she tasted the yucky stuff a few times. Since then, she hasn't even gone to stick her finger in her mouth. I'm applying a fresh coat of yuck stuff every few nights. I'm hoping this also helps with her nail biting habit, another thing she gets from her father. I haven't trimmed her nails in years.

So far it's a huge success. It's been 4 nights. I think if I stay on top of it for at least a month, it will be enough to change this habit. I'm so proud of her for giving up something that she has done since she was 3 months old. It seemed rather painless and the only concern she has is when will Thumbelina come back with another present?