So, this meany IBCLC doesn’t want daddies to feed their babies? How small minded and unfeminist of me! Don’t you realize that lots of women work?!
Whoa. Let me assure you, I am a big fan of bottles when breasts aren’t available! Rule number one of parenting is this: FEED THE BABY. Bottles can be helpful for a parent who is returning to work, and should be introduced at some point between 4-6 weeks by someone other than the mother, but that isn’t what we are talking about today.
The problem with the whole, “pump so daddy can feed” thing, is:
- If you aren’t removing milk from your breast at every feed you are decreasing your supply. Period. So if you plan on sleeping through that feeding the daddy is taking over, don’t, you best get up and pump! And if you are up anyway, why not just feed the baby and save your sweetie all those dishes to wash?
- Pumping is a lot less fun than holding a cute, cuddly, big eyed, sweetly smelling baby.
- When you get in a cycle of pumping and bottle feeding, you breastfeed less and less, which ultimately decreases your supply and YOUR ability to bond with the baby.
- You will most likely, want to slap the bottle out of your dear loved one’s hands. Hormones make us protective of our little ones and of our milk supply. It is why our breasts let down when we hear a kitten meow sometimes, we want to feed the WORLD! This doesn’t go away just because you pledged your life to this guy with the bottle, your gut will rebel against someone else feeding your baby.
- Pumps just aren’t as efficient as babies, and sometimes, you won’t be able to pump at all. This has NOTHING to do with your supply, simply with the intelligence of your breasts. They know this droid is not the baby they are looking for! However, the sight of two bottles with drips of milk in the bottom after 30 minutes of not bonding with your baby can be really disheartening.
Enjoy your only job for the next few weeks being to feed and enjoy your baby!