thread: Feeling a little overwhelmed, is it possible to BF and have my DH help?

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  1. #1
    Registered User

    Oct 2007
    Middle Victoria
    8,924

    There are plenty of jobs that can be Dad-specific. My DH has a jiggly knee which came in handy for burping and settling bub. He also took bub for walks around the block in a carrier tring to get her to sleep. Baths were his speciality in the early days, and are still his area when he is home.

  2. #2
    Life Subscriber

    Jul 2006
    Brisbane
    6,683

    There is a lovely saying that Dad's job is to show that love can come without food. I think most couples start out with the plan that they will share feeding, even if it's just one bottle feed at night so mum can sleep. And this does work for some, but most of us seem to find that the plan and reality a little different. For one thing, in the early weeks, you can't really miss a feed without feeling so full and uncomfortable that you would need to get up and express anyway. Plus at night breastfeeding settles the baby so much quicker, and the lovely hormones that you release while feeding help both you and baby to go back to sleep during, or straight after the feed. In fact studies have shown that mums get more sleep when baby is exclusively breastfed - surprising, isn't it! Even during the day, babies often prefer the breast so the lovely idea of dad helping with a bottle feed goes out the window as baby gets frustrated followed by the parents.

    My suggestion would be just to see how things go. Plan that dad's special time with baby might be bathing, or going for a walk, or even just settling baby while you have a shower or rest. There are lots of special things that dads can do - in fact unsettled babies often sleep best on dad's chest. And feeding can be your special time. Breastfeeding is really the only thing that dad can't actually do - anything else can be shared. And if things are going really well with breastfeeding and the situation arises for dad to try a feed you can go with the flow. Things rarely go to plan with a new baby, so being flexible works really well.

    All the best with it all. I'd love to hear how you're going once bub arrives.

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Oct 2010
    Brisbane
    711

    Both my parents helped me out with it all.

    One night we had nibblies while I was feeding bubs, for a couple of hours.

    I wish I'd taken my Mum to the ABA class, rather than my ex though.