6 Breastfeeding Irritations My Partner Will Never Understand

Among the many joys of motherhood, breastfeeding is certainly not one of those that induce happy tears and big smiles. Do not believe those Instagram photos, whatever the captions may say.

Most women have a complicated relationship with breastfeeding. It is certainly a joy when your baby finally latches on to the nipple, or you are producing enough milk to keep the baby happy. But the process itself is quite painful. Literally.

Cracked nipples, cranky babies, breast pumps, 3am feeds…

For many women, breastfeeding is a choice. Some choose to opt out of it for many reasons of their own, but for others, it is an inherent part of motherhood.

From our experience with mothers, we’ve gathered a few annoying things our male partners do when we are breastfeeding:

In This Article

1. No cracked or leaky nipples

It’s 2017, but men still can’t breastfeed their kids. He gets away with cuddles and perhaps just a poop or two on him, but he doesn’t have to breastfeed at all! He is supportive and sympathetic to your pain, but he doesn’t really know how sore your cracked nipple really feels. And what’s worse is when he says: Chill, it will be okay!

2. You snooze, you win

Yes, you can forget about hitting the snooze button for the next 18 months or so, for many, many reasons. When baby wants to feed, baby gets to feed; it doesn’t matter if you fell asleep only 45 seconds ago. But your partner? Maybe he will wake up to change a diaper and stay awake for all of five minutes, but you, sir, are on night and day duty 24×7. Also, have you noticed how he can fall back into a deep sleep immediately?

Oh, and you can also forget about getting a massage or lying down on your stomach because those sore nipples and the new fullness of your breasts are just not going to comply! Take a deep breath every time you look and see your partner comfortably sleeping on his stomach tucked among pillows and inside the comforter without a care in the world.

3. You can whine, but not wine

Well, at least not the entire bottle anyway. There’s the taste of your milk to be concerned about. They may pour you a token drop at events, but your partner can drink as though he were still living in a student dorm. Why don’t they have to give up all this? Their baby, too, right?

4. Forget the sales

You’re stuck in loose, misshapen clothes which open at the front, while your partner still gets to dress up like he did on his first date with you, or buy a tie for work, or fit into clothes from nine months ago. There are many brands trying to make nursing clothes glamorous now, but we are not looking like Gwyneth Paltrow anytime soon.

5. Loves your curves

Primarily because there’s no way they are disappearing for the next year or so. Your appetite for food is probably insatiable, and every time the baby finishes nursing, you are hungry for your next meal. You would think all the fatigue would lead to weight loss, but it doesn’t. And your partner reassuring you that you are still beautiful to him and that he loves your curves will not be helping much.

6. Rollercoaster emotions

Men don’t get the baby blues either. They still get to complain about Mondays, but they don’t tear up or want to throw saucepans around for no rhyme or reason. Blame it on the hormones! And while you are on this rollercoaster, your partner is probably gulping down beer to drum up the courage to face you, which only ends up annoying you even more.

Any or all of these sound familiar? What did your partner do, but didn’t mean to, that got you all worked up? Let us know in the comments below.

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