Sucking fingers vs pacifier? Which is the less of two evil?

I will definitely go for sucking the finger. Babies generally suck their thumb to soothe themselves, which is good, because they need to learn how to rely on their own resources. The ability to regulate or control one's behavior and emotions is an important developmental challenge. When your child sucks her thumb, she's finding ways to make herself feel better without your help. In general, thumb-sucking is more irritating to parents than it is harmful to kids. Your baby will stop when she's ready and has developed other ways of soothing herself. My firstborn kick off the "bad" habit after she learns to express her needs better for me to understand her.