March 20, 2000 - Monday
Harry has been sucking his hands and fingers quite vigorously lately and his mother reports that yesterday she found blood in his month, apparently the result of chapped and cracked fingers. She has set to work on administering appropriate lotions.

I can't say that I'm much a fan of the finger sucking. It does not visually support the baby as genius theory if he can't realized that, as much as he try, his entire hand will not fit in his mouth. I often try to distract him, though it's a losing battle. Apparently this hand or finger sucking is a natural instinct - it can even begin in utero - and it gives babies some kind of satisfaction. So, I'll try to let Harry induldge himself without getting to aware of it myself.

Harry's mother and I are suspicious that he's starting to teethe, but that's based on more than just aggressive finger sucking. For a couple weeks now, perhaps beginning with his initial 'worst-day' meltdown, Harry has been more finicky or fidgety about nursing. His mother has often decided he's just not hungry; however, I find that if I persist with a bottle past his initial negative reaction, he'll eat quite solidly. His mother has a harder time with this given her serving methodology. Apparently, when babies do start to teethe, suckling can cause some degree of pain and they will jerk away. Somehow, we have to figure him out and find a method so he continues to eat enough.


Comments, opinions?