Hi al,
A bit late perhaps, but you were discussing this while we were asleep in this
part of the world :-) but I still want to add my thoughts to yours. In Dutch CC
is called either ''premies hold'' or ''adapted craddle'' hold, which points out
that it is seen as a variation of the craddle, thus meant to use instead of it
in particular cases, or especially for premature babies. I do recommend
large-breasted moms to try it and for a premature baby any mom is
large-breasted.
But I don't see CC as a fit for anyone anytime. My concern is the placement of
the mother's hand at babies head, which makes it too easy for her to put
pressure to the head, thus causing a sensible baby to push back, away from the
breast. I do agree with what someone said before, that it isn't the position,
but rather the latch-technique that determines if the nipples get sore, but
surely some position make it easier to get a good latch and others make it more
easy for the baby to slide off or to grab the wrong part of the nipple/areola.
The visual control in the craddle hold can be improved by moving the baby
slightly more to the opposite site (the legs more around moms waist), the nipple
will be pointing to the nose then, rather than the chin.
But regardless of all this, the best position is the one that suits mom and baby
best. It's more important to teach moms what to be attentive to (position of
chin and nose, in-lined bodies, etc) and have her choose a position that fits
her needs. Only when we see a problem arise, we can adjust the position she
chooses (add a pillow, move arm or baby a bit, etc.).
By the way, being large-breasted myself, I used to lift my breast from above, by
placing my full hand on the breast (l hand on r breast in craddle hold) and
moving the skin towards my neck, thus pulling the nipple up for the baby to
latch on. It did turn out well for me, but I do realise that it might have
caused plugged ducts and worse.

Gonneke van Veldhuizen, IBCLC, living in Maaseik, Belgium
http://www.users.skynet.be/eurolac
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