Hi all,
A mom responded privately to my post on restless babies and said I didn't
answer her question, which was essentially "why do some babies need
constant touching in order to sleep?" Her post suggested this was a big
problem in her family. More thoughts on this:

Some babies have very high "touch hunger."  Ashley Montagu describes the
first 9-12 months postbirth as the time of "external gestation." I've had
one of these children, who literally cannot or do not sleep unless they are
touching another human body. You can either (1) cope with it, (2) rejoice
in your ability to meet this child's unique needs, or (3) resent the
situation and fight it. #3 is the worst choice for the baby, of course. As
Kathy Dettwyler will remind us, in other places in the world continuous
contact is the norm. Expecting otherwise is actually quite unrealistic, but
a problem nevertheless where velcro babies are not the "cultural norm."

A wise LLL Leader in my area suggested I make the best of my
high-touch-need baby learn the fine art of baby-wearing. (Thanks, Peggy
Loyd.) Years later, I'm convinced that this type of child is probably very
allergic and/or very intelligent. Mine was both. She attended a "magnet"
school for gifted children in late elementary school, and I met dozens of
parents of very bright kids who described similar patterns in their babies.
 Does the smart child insist on all the skin contact they need to thrive?
Or does the high-need child demand a lot of contact, which pushes their
intelligence to extra-high levels?

I think I see this more often in girls than boys. I also see an
exceptionally high need for oral experiences in these children - years of
breastfeeding, nursing all night, chewing on buttons and clothing, etc.  I
have no idea if this is connected in any way.

Hope this strikes a chord for some.

Linda Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Dayton Ohio USA