Breastfeeding doesn’t have to be a “moms only” job. There are plenty of ways your husband can help with breastfeeding, even with his useless nipples. It took 2 of you to make that baby, so it’s time to work together to feed and raise it!
I see it all the time in mom groups. “I’m up in the middle of the night and I stare at my husband and his useless nipples. He can’t help me breastfeed and I hate it!” Oh but girl, YES HE CAN AND HE SHOULD. It is so important for your husband to help you out because while breastfeeding may be “free,” You don’t have to be the only one to do it.
Ways your husband can help with breastfeeding
- Get up with the baby: When that baby cries, your husband can get up and get the baby for you. He can change their diaper and bring you the baby to feed. Then he can go back to sleep until you’re done, hand off baby and you go back to sleep. See? You just did an entire feeding without getting your ass off the bed.
- Water supply: When you’re breastfeeding, it’s super important to remember to stay hydrated. Enter husband. He can make sure your water cup is full and ready to go all day. If you sit down, he should check your water supply!
- Tell him to get to work: Hand over “chores” you were doing before and can’t get to now that baby is here. Tell him that you need him to do these things so you can focus on feeding the baby.
- Give bottles: Once the time is right and you are ready to pump (6-8 weeks at minimum), teach him how to give a bottle correctly (research “pace feeding”)
- Educate him: Make sure he is armed with the same information you are. Have him take a breastfeeding class with you so you are both on the same page.
- Communicate: Most women don’t feel like themselves in bed while breastfeeding, if ya know what I mean. Tell him if you are or not ready to get back to business.
- Burp: Hand over the baby after feeding so he can do the burping. When my babies were tiny, I never burped them if dad was home.
- Make sure your area is stocked: Do you have a nursing station? Remind him to keep it stocked for you and make sure your pillow and phone are ready to go when it’s time to feed.
Bottom line, like everything in marriage, communicate to him what you need. He cannot read minds. Make sure you’re both on the same page as far as formula feeding, bottle feeding and when it all gets to be too much for you. Tell him when you need a nap and when you need an extra hand. This stage of life is so hard! It’s important for you to communicate together.
