Parents are an absolute intregal part of the breastfeeding experience.  Although only mom can feed the baby, you can still be a part of the experience by supporting your partner and baby.

 

Ways to support:

 

  - In many cases, you can be the knight in shining armor that keeps the skeptics at bay.  Is their mother not supporting their decision to breastfeed because they didn't do it?  By supporting your family's decision to breastfeed, you show her you are willing to fight battles for her.

 

  - Is your partner eating? Are they taking care of themselves after childbirth?  Those simple gestures of bringing them a snack and a drink while they are nourishing your baby on the couch are always welcome.  Can you do the diaper duty during the night so they can get a few more moments of sleep?  Are you kicking it up a notch with the housework since a large portion of their time is now spent caring for an infant?

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  - Is your partner returning to work?  Preparing and washing pump parts and bottles for your partner to take to work the next day has warmed many a nursing parent's heart.  Pumping at work is a love-hate relationship for many. 

 

  - Keep the romance alive.  Going on dates with an infant can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task.  Leaving the baby or taking them with?  Pumping for sitter or rushing back home?  Think outside the box.  Many of our favorite restaurants have take out.  Netflix/Amazon/Disney have a lot of great movies you may have missed in the theater.  Making a special event at home can keep the romance without all the stress.  However, if your partner really needs that time outside the house, help her make it work!