John and I went off to the dentist on Friday morning. I was getting a cleaning and I wanted John to just visit the dentist before his first appointment. He was very excited to go! He sat in my lap the whole time and loved watching them clean my teeth.. Then the dentist came in and Dr. Sam saw John sucking his thumb. Dr. Sam said "John, sucking your thumb hurts your teeth. You can't do that anymore." John hung his head and looked so sad. He didn't even want to pick out of the treasure chest.

On the way home, I could tell he was sad. It was like he had lost his best friend. I asked him if there was a present he would like if he stopped sucking his thumb. He said "I like a track." So we made a deal...no sucking thumb and he would get a track for his Chuck truck. He was still sad when we got home. He laid on the floor face down for a while but we got a picture of the track he wanted and he seemed a little better.

I believe from that moment on John decided that he wasn't going to suck his thumb. He taught himself to put his hands behind his head when he goes to sleep so he doesn't suck his thumb. When he would first try to suck his thumb, he would put his hand on his cheek. Night time was hard at the beginning. The first night he asked for pickles as his night time snack. He stated "Pickles help your teeth. Sucking your thumb hurts your teeth."

It has been 4 days since the day at the dentist. I think we have had to tell him "don't suck your thumb" 6 times in those 4 days. Today, we didn't have to say it once. I have even checked on him at night time to make sure and he sleeps with those hands behind his head. It looks like a track is on its way to our house.

I am amazed as a parent at how this little 2 1/2 year old had the will power to give something that was security to him. It was like he had a goal and he went for it. It made me so proud of him. You could tell his little mind was working so hard to stop this habit. I was dreading the day that I would have to get him to stop sucking his thumb...and he totally took care of it on his own. He is an amazing little guy and I am so proud to call him my son.

John...I love you.