Terry and Louise: I haven't seen one black tongue sucker, but then again, I'm in a virutally all white/Asian/Hispanic pop. Anyway, most of these babies sucked their tongues in utero, as can be seen by our all too frequent use of ultrasound (IMHO). It sounds as though you are doing lots of positive things. Have you tried "walking the tongue" with your finger? I've also found that the football/clutch hold works better for these babies as they are forced to keep their chins down. Another "trick" is to very gently feel the underside of the baby's lower jaw in between the bone. It is possible to feel when the baby lifts his tongue up to suck it or thrust (try it on yourself). If you exert ever so gentle finger pressure (be very careful) it is impossible for the baby to do this. I caution using this technique because it takes practice and can injure or at the least frustrat the baby if wrongly applied. Of course, I'm assuming that no bottles are being used. 'Hope this helps. : )Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC email: [log in to unmask] : ) : )HSR & Health Educational Consultant voice/fax: 541 753 7340 : ) : )LLLLLLLLLLLLL**CHANGE THE WORLD, NURTURE A CHILD!**LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL : )