Fathers

"Ladies, your Man could smell like me" suave and sophisticated advertising break here on this YouTube channel.  What the Flex guy can be with his chest is amazing, but he can't exclusively feed a baby for six months!

Real Men don't reach for the Bottle!

Men (in general **) don't breastfeed, but it is lovely when they "get it" - and come to an understanding about how important it is, this short time in your child's life.  Lovely piece here on a blog by a guy who definitely has his tongue in his cheek.

Whilst we are there:
"Men: To prepare for paternity, go to the local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet on the counter, and tell the pharmacist to help himself. Then go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
Go home. Pick up the paper. Read it for the last time."


Similarly for women:
"Women: To prepare for maternity, put on a dressing gown and stick a pillowcase filled with beans down the front. Leave it there for nine months. After nine months, take out 10% of the beans."

So - here are some articles with some seriously useful advice on becoming the father of a breastfed baby. Thanks to KellyMom - though several links on her page were failing this week, so I've redone them here.

• Dianne Wiessinger, "What about Dad?"
• Fathers Supporting Breastfeeding (from the USA)
• Dr Sears' advice for fathers
• Collection of La Leche League articles
• Australian BF Association
• Some great advice here (from Analytical Armadillo) on how to be the father of a Breastfed Baby.
• Advice here from the Northern Ireland Health Promotion pages.
• A free printable leaflet about becoming a great Dad, from iBreastfeeding.com
   
• Fatherwork has a variety of interesting stories from real fathers.
• My favourite line in the Leaky B@@b page on Fathers - "so you won't be a schmuck"! 
• New for 2011 - Wake UP!!! - advice from a work-at-home Dad.
• And specially for Father's Day 2011 - Cartoon by Amber Dusick, Why my husband deserves Father's Day

"The most important...work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes." ... Harold B. Lee

Our own words
Last Father's Day, Peer Supporters here shared their own thoughts on the impact of fathers on Breastfeeding:

My midwife told my hubby, "For a while, everything you do will be wrong. Just get used to it & smile."

My husband used to take A out for a walk in the late afternoon (on his days off work). It gave me a chance to recharge my batteries and have a bit of time to myself (most of the time I had a nap) Just doing this a couple of times a week really helped. He also used to (and still does) give him a nightlly bath so again I get a bit of a rest (I now use this time to go on the computer!)

I use to struggle with feeding, especially in the afternoon & evening as I was so tired so doing these couple of things really helped me & boosted my ability to feed him before bed.

Its also the little things that help - making sure you are comfy, can reach the tv remote, have enough to drink & replenishing it.

My hubby says:-

General support & encouragement, lots of hugs, let her know how much he appreciates what she is doing to give their child the best. Be understanding that her breasts are off limits for a while, there is enough pressure to give up breast feeding without him joining in too! (find something else to play with instead!) 

Agree that it's the little things that help. Advice for new fathers 1) make sure 'mummy' has plenty of drinks and 2) find something that daddy and newborn can do that is their thing, bath time, cuddles in bed....gives them bonding time and mummy some free time!! 

'Baby Blues'

** OK, so it is possible in the right circumstances for a man to breastfeed. (Read more here, or here, or here. And a particularly wierd case: here.

In the wider mammalian world, it's been found that some bats exhibit male lactation, and upside-down, too!)  But it's very rare! Why not let Mum stick to what she does best, and you can do so many other fun things like bathing your baby, or snuggling with a sling during a walk. (Not a great sling-shot, actually - Cam's baby could be held higher up - like this her airway is restricted.)