Ways that David supported his wife and child in breastfeeding:
I just tried to be there and be supportive and keep things light. Also, she had a bit of trouble at first, I remember our daughter’s latch-on needed some “adjusting.” If it really hurt Alysia or didn’t feel right to her, I’d say “okie dokie, pop her off and let’s start again, I’m staying awake here with you, we gotta get that latch, you can do it sweetheart, you’re doing great.”
PS – I gotta admit I was jealous there for a while, I mean when would it be ME playing with those boobs again? Hang in there, partners, you’ll be fumbling with a bra and feeling like a teenager in the back seat of a car again soon enough.
One specific thing I did was go out of my way to bring the baby to her Momma to breastfeed, no matter where Momma was, anything just to keep that bond going. Instead of giving a bottle, I brought the baby to Alysia while she was filming a prime time TV show in Brooklyn one day, then to Soho while she met a director at Balthazar the next day (all French pastries are better with milk).
David's advice to new dads who are on the fence about breastfeeding:
Well you have to respect everyone’s feelings, so I wouldn’t want to come off sounding preachy about it, but I probably will anyway, so screw it: I believe that if a woman can breastfeed her baby it’s the absolute best thing for that kid and will make them smarter, stronger, and healthier.
To a spouse or partner I’d say learn about it, read about it, see a couple boobalicious videos (not THOSE kind!) to really get a sense of the awesomeness. Then just support your girl and bask in the divine miracle of it all. And hey, after some major effort if it turns out that for whatever reason they CAN’T breastfeed, then you have to support that too, you have to just be there, no judgement, just acceptance.
Great advice David- Mamas everywhere thank you for your support!
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