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My daughter is almost four months old. Few weeks ago she discovered and started having a lot of fun with her little hands: she keeps putting them in her mouth, she loves playing with the toys, etc.

However, recently we have noticed that she also sucks a lot on her fists. Especially from 3-4 hours before her bed time, she will start getting anxious and placing the fist in her mouth.

I did read some articles about the pain they may start having by this time, since teeth are starting to develop and this hurts them. However, and if this is the case, I wonder how can sucking their fist soothe them.

Is there any other possible explanation? Could it have to be with stomach ache?

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Infants discover the world largely by their mouth. They put virtually everything in mouth, and whatever they can't fit there, they suck or lick.

Fists are convenient. They are always close, they are large enough to fill the entire mouth, they are warm... And it's funny that when she puts them in her mouth, she feels something else, a tickling of sorts, on a different part of body... ;)

In other words, she's discovering the world and her body. Completely normal.

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  • Nice to read this! So this is not even a way to soothe from the teething?
    – fedorqui
    Nov 8, 2015 at 18:53
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    Possibly, yes. But I'd guess tgat using fists to soothe the teething pain would make her bite, not suck, her hands (or, likely, fingers) too strongly and cause pain, which, in turn, would make her stop doing it.
    – Dariusz
    Nov 8, 2015 at 20:28
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    Sucking is also a comfort issue, and a baby's hands are always available to be sucked on.
    – Francine DeGrood Taylor
    Nov 9, 2015 at 22:18

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