Likes to Be Held

Anthropologists like James McKenna at Notre Dame have determined through their work that infants that like to be held represent a survivor trait in evolution.  Infants content to stay by themselves would have been taken by predators, but those who demanded to be kept with mom or dad survived.  This trait survives today, but unfortunately can be stressful or treated as pathological in our modern world.  For parents of infants like these, I suggest enlisting all the help you can get (usually these babies just like someone to hold them, not necessarily mom), and figuring out which carrier or wrap works for you and baby so you can have your hands free in between feeds.  And I remind parents that these are the future movers and shakers of the world – these won’t be kids standing on the sidelines!