What I like about thumbs

Thumbs are very useful. In fact, some claim, they are so useful that they separate us from, well, anything else that isn't a primate. I like the ability they give me to dial a phone one-handed while trying to fend my children off with the other hand. Thumbs are useful for pressing the space bar when I type. If I didn't have thumbs, I would be very hard-pressed to be able to apply lipstick.

But my favorite feature of thumbs is the wonderful way they fit right into a child's mouth. It is almost as if God created a perfect fit between thumb and curved palate, the fit that provides instant comfort in times of tiredness, distress or hunger.

And that is the fit that my youngest has discovered and exploited. Thanks to his thumb, Edwin can now sleep from when I put him down at 5 pm (with a feeding when I go to bed where he may or may not wake up) until I check to see if he's still breathing around 6:3o or 7. Orthodontia may be somewhat expensive, but as my mother has said before, long-term psychiatric care is very expensive.