I can think of two possibilities. One is that the lower jaw is too small for the tongue to fit there, so the baby habitually keeps it on the roof of the mouth. If the tongue is just resting there, that would be my first guess. I sometimes have success with fingerfeeding these little "peanut butter tongue" (thanks Pat Gima for this evocative description) kids for a feeding or a day, to help them learn that food goes above the tongue! The other possibility is that the baby has a respiratory instability and is fixing the tongue to the roof of the mouth to maintain airway patency. If this is the case, there will be significant muscle activation in the underside of the tongue (you will be able to see the difference, in a baby who rests the tongue up, the tongue is relaxed and smooth, in the baby who fixes it, the tongue looks like it's composed of concentric semicircles or ovals at different levels. The trying not to be on the back can be a sign of airway issues, laryngomalacia or tracheomalacia are more severe if the baby is supine or if the head is not extended. Perhaps the baby is trying to extend her head, and if she is still very small, this movement may be enough to flip her onto her side. (Fetuses use a whipping around of their head to turn their body in utero, that's why some newborns are able to turn onto their side, they are using their neck muscles, and their body is light enough to go along. When they deliberately roll at 3-5 mos or so, they are using muscles in their trunk, hips and limbs as well.) If there is an airway anomaly or instability, the baby will usually have some stridor (high pitched squeaky breathing during feeding, crying, or when stressed), will suck in very short bursts (3-5 sucks and then a long breathing pause) and may refuse to eat. Breastfeeding works best when these babies have their head well extended, mom is reclining so they are prone or semi-prone, and they are allowed to pace the feeding themselves (they often do well with short, frequent feedings). Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC NYC *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET email list is powered by LISTSERV (R). There is only one LISTSERV. To learn more, visit: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html