The Hand

Yesterday Milo did something he's never done before and I'm so proud of him.

I was wandering around the house, pointing out things and chatting to him, just trying to keep him amused and stave off the fussy times for a few more minutes before his nap. He started to squawk (squawk, in parent terms, is that inarticulate noise that's almost, but not quite, a cry) and suddenly, as the clouds opened and the sunshine broke through, he calmly and apparently purposefully brought his hand to his mouth and shoved it in.

Amazing! Astounding! It made me weepy. Does it mean that the new soothers I bought (3-6 month size) are redundant? Does it mean he has kicked the dreaded binky habit? Is parenting going to be a snap from here on out because he can now soothe himself, thus making us parents obsolete? Are we setting him up for a lifetime of teeth and jaw problems by substituting one fix (soother) for another (thumb)?

All I know is that I've seen four and five year olds absolutely freak out when parents tried to take their soothers away and I don't want that to happen to Milo. Even so, the perils of thumbsucking for too long are real as well. Decisions, decisions. It's a fine line here and I suppose we'll just have to leave it up to Milo. It's in his hands. Or rather, it's in his hands, which happen to be shoved wrist-deep in his mouth...