Ick!

Melanie says to me this morning, "Mommy, I want to stop biting my nails."
That was music to my ears!

So Kylie and I headed to CVS and while there she decided she too would try to give up sucking her thumb at the same time Melanie is trying to give up biting her nails. All for the sake of a Webkinz as a prize if they are successful. I bought the nasty tasting "Bite It" which smells like regular ole fingernail polish but must taste much worse.

So how did day one go? Well, Kylie cried about 10 times and scrubbed her thumb with toothpaste to get the taste off - which I think worked because after that the grimace went away when the thumb went in the mouth. She also put her blankie away with Melanie's old blankie, kissed it goodbye, but after her biggest meltdown regarding the thumb, the blankie had mysteriously resurfaced. It will be a long road. But one positive note, after dinner I caught her trying to put her thumb in her mouth and she giggled and ran to me and said, "everytime I want to suck my thumb, I'll hug you instead." It was a great hug.

Melanie tends to bite her nails when I'm not around or I don't notice, but I sure noticed everytime today. Major theatrics and drama occured with spitting and screaming. At first I couldn't figure out what was the matter, then I realized she had tasted the stuff. Having sensitive taste buds may serve her well in this case.

I'll keep you posted how the week goes. Hopefully the nasty tasting stuff will serve as a reminder and they will both slowly stop sticking their fingers in their mouths out of habit.