Softing

In my family, many of us like to do something we call "softing." Softing describes a soothing activity that involves rubbing something between your fingers, and it often is accompanied by thumb sucking.  Sometimes it's a scarf, or a hankercheif, and often for us girls (actually my dad too), it was our hair. 
It has been really fascinating for me to see both of my children inherit the need for softing.  With Sapphie it wasn't totally obvious; when she was a newborn and crying, she always calmed down if I shoved a silk scarf into her hands (when we went running, we always brought the silk scarf in case she had a screaming fit).  As she got older, she liked to rub the skin of her neck between her fingers and I still catch her doing it sometimes.  But I've never seen her show much interest in hair, or blankets.   
With Teo, it was clear from the start that he was a passionate softer.  He has always rubbed my hair between his fingers while he's nursing.  If I turn to look at him, he angrily pushes my face away so that he can reach my hair.  It's really funny and so cute.   

 

He has also become extremely attached to two blankets made for he and Sapphie - both of which he has now claimed -by Lauren's mother.  If we try to put him to bed with anything else, he cries until we bring his blankets out of the laundry! As soon as he sees them, he calms down and starts quickly rubbing them between his fingers.  The other day, I was desperate to wash them and so I gave him cashmere.  Would you believe he looked at it, touched it, then growled and hit the blanket?! I could not believe a child of mine would turn down cashmere! Here he is sleeping on one of his blankets:   

 He also loves to ride on my shoulders or in the ergo on my back, because there he can easily reach my hair and rub it between his fingers.  He also likes to lean in and give a hug every now and then.  

What a little lover.