I think it was Kay Hoover who suggested thinking of your thumb (if you're
using your same-side hand) or finger (if you're using your opposite hand) as
a "moustache" for the baby.  For the baby in a football hold, your hand thus
makes a C; for the baby who is truly sideways, your hand makes a U.  For the
baby somewhere in between, the tilt of the "sandwich" is somewhere in
between.  Most babies in a cradle hold are somewhere in between, and a
scissor hold with the opposite hand makes a good moustache (provided the
middle and other fingers are *well* out of the chin's way).  The idea is to
support and narrow the breast to create a sandwich that makes sense from the
baby's perspective.

I have a fake Big Mac, and I've taken to holding not my breast but the Big
Mac *at* my breast when I first demonstrate positioning.  Then I move both
my doll and the Big Mac, as a unit, into an adult upright position.  Baby
was totally sideways and Big Mac was held in a C hold?  Then when I move
them both together, my upright baby is trying to take a big bite out of a
sandwich whose long axis goes floor to ceiling.  *We'd* sure never try to
eat that way!  It makes much more sense, in that position, to hold the
breast in a U, assuming baby's head was truly sideways.

It takes a while for some new mothers to think from their baby's
perspective.  Once they *can*, they can see what kind of breast
shaping/support make sense in any particular position.  It's fun to watch
them lie down, think for a moment, then move their breast in a way that
makes sense when both mother and baby lie on their sides.

--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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