Oomis- you forgot the most important part, WHEN THE BABY WAKES UP, WAKE THE HUSBAND!!
Yeah – THAT works really well when the baby has to nurse! 🙁
JK, actually, hubby can bring the baby to the mom, or hold the baby after a feeding, if the baby doesn’t fall asleep quickly, or if the mom is nursing, she can express milk for a night feeding and let dad give it to the baby. It gives her a little more rest, and give the baby a chance to bond with the dad and vice versa.
This brings me to another IMPORTANT bit of advice. Men – you can skip the next paragraph.
If nursing the baby, ALWAYS, ALWAYS get the baby used to feeding from a bottle also, and let others, as well as yourself give that bottle. I strongly prefer that the mom express her own milk and freeze it in prepared bottles or packets for just that purpose, but it’s not a bad idea to get the baby used to the taste of formula in case of an emergency where the mom OR baby for some medical reason is temporarily unable to nurse. It happened to someone I know, and the baby was refusing to drink from a bottle or take formula, and it caused a lot of agita and scare, almost resulting in hospitalization for the baby, until she finally took a bottle.
The baby will go back to nursing, even after a bottle feeding. Mom’s just have to be patient. This is just as new to the baby as it is to the mom. May everything go b’shalom.