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Yes, breastfeeding! Often spoken as an emotional and mental connection only between a mother and a new born.
But, is breastfeeding all about a mother and a child? What about you fathers?
All the new “daddies” on the block! You have a big role to play too, when your wife is breastfeeding your new little munchkin.
You can be that all required support in your wife’s journey towards breastfeeding your child.
So, from bathing your baby to cuddling the little one to sleep, know, how you can help your wife, while she is breastfeeding.
Learn About Breastfeeding For Your Wife
Breastfeeding may not always be quick, easy and comfortable for your wife. Many a times during the early days and weeks, your wife might question her decision to breastfeed, especially when she is struggling or feeling deprived of sleep. This is when you need to step in. Tell her that she is doing a beautiful job. And remind her that, by breastfeeding she is giving the ultimate gift of health and immunity to the baby.
Take Care of Your Wife
For new and first-time moms, breastfeeding sessions may be strenuous as it may last longer than 10 minutes to an hour and she might have to give 8 to 10 feeds a day. Feeding the baby so many times in a day will make her feel hungry, very thirsty and exhausted. So, one of the best ways you can ensure that your baby is getting all that he needs, is to see to the needs of the mom.
Why not take charge of the waking baby while she is getting ready to breastfeed again? Bring her a pillow or a footstool and help her settle in her favourite nursing position.
Energise her with lots of fruits and vegetables. Give her plenty of drinking water to quench her thirst. You may not be a master chef, but if possible, cook for her now and give her that much needed break from some of the daily household chaos.
Take care of her. With your help, your wife will be able to focus on breastfeeding your child without any worries.
Make Your wife’s Night-feeds Happy
It may be the dead of the night, and the baby has shown signs of hunger by crying really loud. Let your wife not move an inch! You wake up! Take this opportunity to bring the baby to your wife on the bed so that she can breastfeed. Once she has fed the child, make him burp, change his nappies, and caress him back to sleep. This is surely going to melt her heart, while you might just get a chance to connect with your baby.
Change The Baby Diapers
You have often observed that, your baby falls asleep while nursing. If you are around, choose to change the nappies or diapers of the baby before another round of breastfeeding takes place so that, your baby is clean to suck and sleep peacefully.
Bathe the Baby
Once your baby has nursed his fill, let your wife take rest and you can take over. Give your baby a warm bath. Unlike his mother, you may not have that umbilical cord connection with your baby, but this “skin-to-skin” moment can be extremely soothing for both of you. Remember that, a powerful cocktail of “love hormone” or “cuddle chemical” is released during this touch, helping to build that eternal bond with your little one.
Mom Needs that Extra Nutrition
The new mommy will need to eat something extra – around 500 calories more per day* or add some extra vitamins to her food. Therefore, always remember to take extra care of her daily nutrition intake which will contribute towards her health and well-being as well as that of your child’s.
Keep Supporting and Bonding
In this era, where there is no gender-specification in any field, baby-rearing should not also be one parent’s responsibility. Remember, the best gift that you can ever give to your family, is your love, care and time.
Keep Supporting! Keep Caring! Keep Bonding!