I think we start enculturating babies from the moment they come out of the
womb (or even before!).  The babies in Mali are *never* put down, and they
are carried on mom's back (and sleep there for naps) starting at one week of
age.  So by the time they are old enough to have their own ideas about it,
staying upright and sleeping on mom's back is second nature.  I'm sure
Kate's baby has had many opportunities to be on his stomach, from birth, and
so he is used to that.  Culture is extremely powerful.  We get used to
whatever we experience.

Even in the womb, babies in Mali get used to the rhythmic motions of their
mothers pounding millet, chopping firewood, hauling water, walking for miles
and miles, hoeing the fields, etc.  It is all "familiar" to them when they
are born and on the outside.  Babies in the US might be more used to mom
sitting at a desk for hours at a time.  Babies also learn the rhythms of
their language and the music of their culture before they are born, from
hearing while in the womb.

When I went to Australia, it took me way too long to figure out that
pedestrians are supposed to walk on the LEFT side of pathways, rather than
on the right, as we do in the US.  I kept almost running into people.
Luckily, the locals were very forgiving -- I'm sure they're used to lots of
bumbling tourists trying to walk on the right.  It just seems so NATURAL to
do whatever you are used to.

Kathy Dettwyler
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