The need to knead

by Kasia80 Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:04 am

http://web.archive.org/web/20000919174254/http://www.kjsl.com/~boynews/needtoknead.html

One of the most common nursing complaints I have heard from women is that their children like to knead, pinch, pat, squeeze or hold their breasts while nursing.� The all time favorite of children is to play with or �twiddle� the opposite nipple. Women also have different reactions to these touches from liking them to outright revulsion.

Why are these touches so common?� Why is it so difficult to stop children from doing these things?� Playing with the breasts while nursing is so common in children throughout different cultures that it must fill some sort of need or instinct.� I have heard the following theories:

Kneading at the breast and playing with the nipple helps with the let down of the milk.� In other words, children instinctively work at the breasts while nursing in order to increase the mother�s milk supply and the speed at which the milk is delivered.� I consider this to be the most likely explanation, especially since my own four-year-old endorses it.

The child is making a proprietary claim on the mother�s breasts.� She wishes to possess them, even the one that is not in use.� This can be seen when a child likes to hold onto the nipple with her hand even when not nursing.

The rhythmic motion is comforting to the child, especially when the child is tired and trying to fall asleep.�

It increases the soothing nature of the nursing experience.� Now the child not only tastes the sweet warm milk, smells the mother�s comforting scent, hears the mother�s rhythmic heartbeat and sees the mother�s face, he can also extend his sense of touch beyond just his lips to include his hands against the mother�s skin.� The whole experience becomes more encompassing.

Regardless of the cause of the touching, it is clear that this behavior is deeply ingrained and instinctive.� This is what makes it so difficult to stop.� What can women do to prevent uncomfortable touching? The advice for dealing with these problems usually ranges from never allowing the child to touch the breasts under any circumstances, to simply allowing him to do whatever he wants.� Often women will allow some forms of touching and forbid others.� Some women will give the child a special cloth or string of beads to manipulate while nursing, rather than the mother�s breast.� In most cases, mothers and children can eventually come to a mutually acceptable compromise.

by Kasia80 Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:06 am

http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tpweaning/0,,75x6,00.html

by Guest Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:30 pm

bailey tends to do this, except he squeezes the boob hes feeding from.. :pml:

by Kasia80 Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:56 pm

yeah, Fiona, Maya is doing this too...I really believe it is instinct, like kittens when nurse from cat...LOL, she even has claws today, will not let me cut them! Rolling Eyes