I know I’m risking turning this into a personal blog, but I think an observation I made the week that my wife was in hospital is worth sharing. That week I had to take over all tasks that my wife normally did (together with my mother in law), including feeding our baby. Our baby still got breast-milk, thanks in part to other generous mothers who donated some of their breast-milk
Still, there was such a contrast between me feeding our little one, and my wife. Here’s what happened when our baby woke up hungry in the middle of the night, and I had to feed her:
- I get up and carry a hungry baby to the kitchen
- I add water to the kettle and start it … while holding a hungry baby (who’ll scream if I put her down because she’s very hungry)
- Get a bottle of breast-milk out of the fridge … while holding a hungry baby
- Wait for the kettle to finish heating water … while holding a hungry baby and reassuring her that milk was coming soon
- Pour some boiling water into a bowl, and use it to warm up the milk … while holding a hungry baby and reassuring her that milk was coming soon
- Wait for the milk to be warm enough … while holding a hungry baby, reassuring her that milk was coming soon and doing my best to keep her calm
- Take the milk bottle, sit down, and feed the hungry baby
By contrast, this is how the baby’s mother does it:
- Pick the baby up, and move her to lie next to her
- The baby latches onto the breast and starts feeding
The end.
So much simpler, eh? It makes me feel rather clumsy. To be fair, feeding a baby doesn’t play to my natural masculine strengths, and my wife was pretty much made for the job. Now that she’s back, I’m letting the naturally gifted expert take over…
Cover photo credit: Image by Ben Kerckx.
