I see the most and can assist the best when I am near the baby's feet, looking
up along the baby's body toward the baby's chin.  It doesn't matter whether
you're right or left handed; you have to be able to help with either hand.

The relationship of the baby's chin, lower lip, and tongue to the breast is
the main thing you need to assess.  And how can you see that if you're looking
down over the top of the baby's head?  The breast and the baby's head hide the
area you need to see.

What I'm still working on is WHEN to take my hands out of my pockets and reach
in to "help."  I appreciate recent comments about letting babies find their
own way onto the breast.  I know that I tend to be impatient and think *I* can
do it "better."  In my days as a hospital LC this led to too many moms saying,
"Can I take you home with me?"  On the other hand, my reasoning was that once
the baby had felt a good latch once or twice with me helping, he'd be more
likely to help himself into a good latch later on.

The "help" that I most often do is to support the baby's shoulders in my
"outside" hand (the one toward the baby's back) and, with mom's permission,
help "steer" the breast from the "12:00" position with my "inside" hand.
Again, this technique has its pros and cons.  It is quite effective for
getting a baby on well, but it is hard for moms to reproduce, since their
breast-holding hand can't reach in at "12:00."  Also, the LC's hand blocks the
mother from seeing how the baby's mouth looks as he comes to the breast.  So
I'm eager to learn from others.

Tell us not only where your body is but what your eyes are seeing and what
your hands are doing.

Peace.   Chris.
Swarthmore, south of Philadelphia, where we have an inch of snow.  Our
neighbor's house had a huge fire on Christmas night---no one was hurt, but we
had three hours of fire trucks, emergency lights, a burst fire hose on the icy
street, neighbors standing, watching, and talking.  Sad and shocking but also
a time to feel good about people working together.  We usually see each other
for a July 4 block party---this was a change!