A Supportive Husband Makes All the Difference

My husband was integral in supporting breastfeeding after the births of each of my daughters. I am so fortunate that he watched his younger brother nurse well into toddlerhood. He got an excellent and lasting lesson in the importance of breastfeeding!

My husband was instrumental in helping me establish a successful nursing relationship with my first-born. He helped position her at the breast, and he “oohed and aahed” over the sight of her nursing. He even took pictures of those first nursing sessions! He praised both me and the baby and delighted in our success. At home, he supported us by bringing her to me when she needed to nurse, by setting us up with pillows, and by bringing me water or food or the television remote! During the night, he supported us by taking over the diapering duties. He encouraged me and cared for me during my repeated bouts of engorgement, plugged ducts and mastitis. I can’t imagine not having his support during those times.

My husband has supported me in other ways – by being comfortable with my nursing in public, for example. In spite of my mother-in-law’s extended breastfeeding of her children, my father-in-law was not comfortable with my breastfeeding in public. Fortunately, he agreed that my husband makes the rules for our family, and if it was alright with my husband it was alright with him (good thing, because I also make the rules for our family and nothing was going to stop me from nursing in public!)

My husband encouraged me to continue nursing as one by one all of my playgroup friends weaned their babies (at anywhere from 6 to 18 months). He encouraged me as I faced medical conditions for which the doctors recommended I wean. He even encouraged me to continue nursing when my own resolve to continue wavered!

Not only is my husband wonderfully supportive of me, he is also an amazing parent. One of my greatest joys has been watching him act as a father to our two children. He shares a unique bond with each of them. He has a special way of comforting, teaching, and playing that adds another dimension to their development.

Every mother and child should have such a supportive person in their lives. Certainly there are other people who can also offer support – other relatives, friends and special people – but the mother-child pair who have a supportive husband/father in their lives are lucky indeed.