The Breastfeeding Father

It is essential that fathers be involved in parenting their child. If mom does it all, and dad never learns to know his baby or doesn't bond with his baby, everyone loses. Not only will baby greatly miss out if his dad doesn't build a loving relationship with him, but many moms in this situation will get exhausted, start feeling resentful, and become a candidate for mother burnout. Also, dad may begin to feel left out, and even become jealous of the all the time baby and mom spend together and the special relationship they are creating. He and his wife may begin to drift apart.

There are many things a dad can do to be involved in nurturing his child. It's important to remember that when he nurtures his wife, he is nurturing his baby. Showing love and support for his wife is crucial. Especially in the beginning, mom will need to nurse her baby often. He can be involved by bringing his wife water or juice when she sits down to nurse. He can make sure mom eats! Mom may forget about taking care of herself--or may not have the energy--so the dad should help in any way he can. It's wonderful if he can take off from work for a few weeks after the baby is born.

Breastfeeding is the ONLY thing a father can't do. There are many ways a father can get to know his baby. He can burp the baby when mom switches sides or at the end of a feeding. He can wear his baby, massage his baby, sing to his baby, sleep with his baby (the family bed), give his baby a bath. Changing diapers can be a great time of interaction (by the way, a brestfed baby's poop doesn't stink, so that's a definite selling point). When baby wakes at night to nurse, Dad can bring baby to mom if baby sleeps in a different bed. Fathers often excel at playing with their babies. Besides, he will be able to feed his baby when baby has started eating solid foods--sometimes babies will even accept solid food better from daddy than mommy.

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