How Dads and Partners Can Support Breastfeeding and Newborn Ideas
How can Dads and Partners Support Breastfeeding and WHAT CAN THEY DO TO HELP?
Breastfeeding, especially the first time, is a new experience and like anything new, it can take a minute to get the hang of!
Below are Tips and Tricks for Dads and Partners in supporting the breastfeeding Mum.
Attend a breastfeeding class with Mum. Chances are, her brain could go to mush after the baby is born. A second set of ears, taking in all the information, reminding Mum that night 2 is normal, or suggesting positions learnt together in class is invaluable. It also helps them to know when to call for help!
Being aware that breastfeeding is an all encompassing process that takes hours out of the day, every day. It is the equivalent of a full time job. And that being trapped under a baby is a beautiful but exhausting job.
BURP THE BABY! Babies are milk drunk after a feed and while breastfed babies don’t necessarily need to be burped, Dads fidget and bounce around, are more hot bodied and while they have the baby up on their shoulders, bouncing and patting away, they will fall asleep up there. Therefore, the baby learns that Dads shoulder is a great place to fall asleep and they then become masters at settling the baby - Anytime Anywhere!
Change and Swaddle the baby - When they wake up for the millionth time that night, that extra 5 mins sleep for Mum while you change (yes even the super stinky ones!) and organise the baby can be unbelievably invaluable. Plus it helps Mum feel less alone in that moment.
Protect the Space - Especially in the early days of feeding when Mum and baby are still getting the hang of the whole process. Mum doesn’t need to be worrying about how many visitors are around or when she is going to get her baby back from someone who wants an hour long snuggle. Mum and Bub are for all purposes, one unit and need as much time together as possible, especially in those first couple of weeks. So be on visitor management! Limit how many and how long they can stay.
Water & Food - Breastfeeding is hungry and thirsty work - Help Mum remember to stay hydrated and bring her lots of yummy snacks! Leave bottles of water refreshed and everywhere around the house.
Walk - If Mum has been cluster feeding the baby non-stop for the past 5 hours, either take the baby and encourage her to go for a quick walk or take the baby out for a quick walk. It doesn’t have to be long. Even 20mins to walk and breathe and stretch or get coffee can make a huge difference.
Shoulder Massages! Holding and feeding a baby can wreck havoc on your back and neck. At the end of the day, a lovely massage can go a long way to relieving the tired muscles.
Take Photos - Mum takes loads of photos with everyone with the baby, but who is taking photos of her. These are moments you don’t want to forget so catch the candid ones as well as all the posed ones.
Think about what Mum needs - A Mum told me that once she re-introduced her morning gym class back into her routine, life became more manageable again. She could handle the whole day ahead if she got that 45min class in the morning to regain herself. Her sense of who she is. So what does Mum need? What’s her thing? Find out and try help her get it back into her life. You go from having endless time to do whatever you want to being on your babies schedule. She try help her bring whatever that special thing is back.
Keep an eye on Mums mental health. Some teary days are expected, however a lack of interest and energy, long term sadness, anger or resentment can be a sign of postnatal depression and you would need to go gently and find a way to seek help with her. Check out the work of the Gidget Foundation for more information and help.
Above all - This is a new skill and Mum and Baby need love, support and encouragement while they work out what they are doing and get on their path to a beautiful journey together.
Tummy Time! Take the baby for a tummy time session, get them looking left and right, make crazy faces at them and enjoy this lovely time.
Bath / Massage / Farts! - Give the baby a fun bath, some lovely massage and if you baby is particularly gassy, bicycle their little legs and help them get their fart on!
Music and Reading - Are you musical? Play them the guitar or whatever instrument you are into. Sing some songs. READ! As a Mum of a kindy kid, trust me the biggest thing you can do to help your child is to read to them. Every single day. Develop a love of books, read in silly voices and get right into this fun time.
There is loads of info out there but here are our fav blogs that we love for Dads and Partners:
https://supportforfathers.com.au – Particularly the 7 Types of Dad / Research
Cope have a great newsletter for Dads & Partners. https://www.cope.org.au/family-community/fathers-partners/
Most of all, be kind to each other. Remember, each of you is going through a huge adjustment in life. You are both sleep deprived. It isn’t a competition. If you find yourself bickering at each other, take a moment to stop, breathe, acknowledge that this is hard and make an extra effort to be super kind to each other for a few days until it becomes habit again.
For these tips and so much more - Join one of our Monthly Antenatal Breastfeeding Workshops - Now available in person in North Curl Curl and by online download to watch in your own time. Find our more at https://www.beachesbaby.com.au/latch-breastfeeding-education
