Keeping Up Your Milk Supply

Now that we have a freezer full of expressed milk, my husband constantly suggests that I “just give the baby a bottle” instead of breastfeeding when we’re at home. Should I?

Your husband may not understand the role that nursing plays in maintaining milk production and may not fully appreciate the closeness and sense of security that breastfeeding promotes in your child. He may even be acting out of unacknowledged jealousy of the baby’s central role in your life right now.

Be supportive, but also remind him why you prefer to breastfeed, that expressed milk fed with a bottle is a welcome but less desirable substitute for the real thing, and that without frequent nursing your milk supply will soon disappear.

Remind him how effectively nursing soothes your baby to sleep. Then spend some time and effort making him feel appreciated, so he feels like part of the family too.