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Since Esther Bick described “the experience of the skin in early object relations,” the skin has had an important role as a proximity sense organ in the psychoanalytic theory of psychic development. Skin sensitivity is the first thing to develop in the fetus. Ultrasound observations show that, very early on, the fetus grasps the umbilical cord, then lets go of it. The author hypothesizes that touching and letting go of it is for the fetus the first way of experiencing the presence and absence of the object. Step by step, after birth, the care rhythms, the presence and absence of the caregiver, and attunement within the dyad take over the pure sensation and lead to symbolization. That way, the narcissistic envelope of the Self is built from primitive sensorial experiences, this envelop giving limits to the infant’s internal world, his/her territory, distinct from the external world.