HI All, When I had my 1st son almost 12 yrs ago, he was taken away from me and 8 hrs later I had to fight to get him back out of the nursery. He was all scrubbed clean , all his poking and pricking and such done. I had no clue. (At least I didn't have him circ'ed, but that is another topic) Baby #2 (Ben, my horrible BFer who caused me to join this field) stayed with me the whole time, but in came the nurse and scrubbed him nice and shiny clean, while he screamed his poor little brains out. He got all the standard pokings and tests. I was not pleased. I had the feeling that things should have been different. 29 mo later (Jan 27) along comes Patrick (PJ). This time I hadd a clue and knew that things would be different. Born at home, no pokings, no tests, no eye stuff, no bath, (just wrapped in warm recieving bankets that were changed about every 10 min until he was dry) just mom. He actually did not have his first in the water bath until (I know some of you will have to pick your jaw up off the floor alnog with your eyeballs!) he was 4 weeks old. Until then, I gently washed his creases, hands and face with a soft warm wet washcloth. All the vernix that was on him got to soak into his skin and boy did he have the softest skin! (Still does!) PJ's first weeks were full of love, warmth, and comfort (except for the PKU test we did do at 1 week old). No baby, IMHO, NEEDS to be scrubbed after birth. It takes away all that wonderful protective vernix that softens the skin and helps it to stay healthy. BTW, PJs first bath didn't even involve soap of any kind! Boy, did I change radically or what? Our families sure thought so! WHo thought up this "Let's scrub the baby 'till he shines" stuff anyway? Jay PS About the horses, all I can say is "IT FIGURES!!" (not shouting, just emphasis) Hey, if human milk is unimportant, then why would any other mammal milk be important? It is only the colostrom that these animals need (humans not included), right? Makes you want to shout out "Hey, People, if it wasn;t important than all these baby mammals (humans, too) would be eating solid foods 3 days after birth. Forget the milk..." Sigh...will anyone ever get it right, permanently? I doubt it... Jay Simpson, CLE Sacramento, CA "No Miracles performed here, just a lot of love and hard work."