>I agree with Nikki re babies needing access to their hands. 

I saw an *interesting* baby a number of winters ago.  After we'd pretty much resolved the initial problem, the mother kept complaining that nursing still wasn't going well at home.  Back the parents and baby would come, they'd all take off their coats and boots and hats and mittens, I'd have her nurse skin-to-skin, and the baby would do fine.  But at home it seemed to be going downhill.  The baby wouldn't nurse reliably, was avoiding eye contact with her, and the mother wondered about autism.  

Finally, I offered a home visit to see if something was different there.  My goodness!  The baby wore *his* mittens full-time!  Since it was winter and they *all* came to my house in mittens, that hadn't even occurred to me.  Without what I think of as a baby's "second sensory window," the first being his mouth, he was shutting down more and more.  With his hands free to explore, especially during nursing, he was a different baby.

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


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