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Originally Posted by osker  Does anyone understand my frustrations? Is there anyone who induced and is now loving nursing their co-mothered baby? When do you nurse? Do you find it to be a positive experience? Are you pumping every three hours with a newborn???
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The new job thing sounds VERY frustrating, especially the day that you can't pump. Any way you could run out to the car and pump during the potty break? Even if it is just 5 minutes, it is still something. It was hard when DW was pumping around the clock with no baby yet because it does feel like no one is benefitting, but now that DD is ten weeks old she is really VERY glad that she is able to nurse her, and I am too! A few things to keep in mind:
---You will most likely be able to nurse before 6 weeks... really! After two weeks your partner's milk supply will mostly likely be good to go, assuming that she's got a good latch. (That being said, if the latch seems off, DO see a LC sooner rather than later...)
---Once you are able to nurse, the stimulation from an actual baby is likely to improve your milk supply.
---Even if you are only able to produce a small amount of milk, baby can benefit from nursing from you! Nursing is so much more than just an exchange of milk. It provides comfort and I think you'll find that being able to comfort your baby in this way will be a wonderful experience.
I know that for me, having my partner be able to nurse, even just for comfort, made me a lot calmer about things in the beginning. We started letting Grace nurse with her when she was one week old, just once a day. (My milk supply had come in nice and strong so we weren't too worried.) Much easier to bathe postpartum when you don't have to worry that your baby might need you at a moment's notice- her needs were taken care of, at least for a bit. Also, it's nice now that she's a little older because I can go to the gym by myself. DW's milk does not always provide a whole feed, but it does provide lots of comfort, holds her over until I am available, and she is happy to suck and suck and suck which in turn makes more milk!
And to answer the other questions:
DW typically lets me sleep in in the mornings, and she pretty much nurses DD nonstop between 7am and 10am. She sometimes nurses for 1-2 short comfort sessions during the rest of the day.
DW says she has found it to be a very positive experience in that she gets a very intense physical connection with a baby who is hers but she didn't physically carry during pregnancy. She feels a lot of bonding with our daughter and likes to be able to comfort her by nursing.
When DD was a newborn, she did pump every three hours. She went down to every four hours at night after a while and these days she gets up once per night to pump. She still pumps every three hours during the day.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful! I hope you hang in there for a while at least. I think it will probably be worth it once your baby is here and in your arms. It is SO difficult to imagine what things will be like before you actually meet your babe.
Luckily I think we've found an awesome mama to donate some of it to!
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