Dad seeks advice for ‘dry nursing’ his baby – “Do other dads do this?”
A new dad has turned to the internet for advice (and a little reassurance) about how he soothes his new baby.
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Taking to Reddit, the dad revealed he sometimes resorts to ‘dry nursing’ his daughter when it’s his turn to settle her.
“Sometimes when my baby is crying in the night and it’s my turn to quiet and soothe her, in desperation I’ll try to get her to suckle at my nipples,” he wrote.
“Usually she doesn’t want them (too hairy?), but sometimes she latches on, and I find myself experiencing a confusing mixture of joy at the connection between father and daughter, and horror at what I’ve become.”
Am I the only one who does this?
He then wanted to know if he was alone in this, or if any other dads out there were using this method too?
“Do other dads do this? Any tips for getting her to latch on if she doesn’t want a pacifier?”
Adding, “BTW, I don’t think I want to lactate – that’s just too weird for me.”
While the dad said the experience was a little “confusing” for him, the responses he received were mostly positive, with many admitting they (or their partners) had done it too.
Whatever works
“I don’t think it’s very common, but really, whatever works, right?” wrote one user. “If it soothes her and you don’t mind, I’m not going to judge.”
“My husband was curious about it and let our two-week-old latch onto his nipple, and immediately yelped in pain hahaha. I don’t think its that weird, kind of cute!” replied another.
“My SO has tried to do this but I just yell at him and tell him not to,” added another. “I just think it’s weird to do since the baby isn’t getting milk from the father… Plus hairy nipples can’t be fun to suck on.”
A few also offered some helpful tips for soothing a crying baby.
“My little finger used to work – she’s too old to fall for that now (10 months),” shared one.
“Stick the tip of your pinky in the kid’s mouth,” added another. “It should be a size equal to mum’s lactating nipple. By the time the kid realises it isn’t mum, they’re calm.”
It’s totally fine!
Comfort feeding can be a controversial topic. But as we’ve written before: “The experts say that babies ‘comfort feeding’ from their dads is honestly … no big deal!”
“I actually don’t think there’s anything about it that’s that different from a baby comfort nursing on mom,” paediatrician Edith Bracho-Sanchez told ABC News.
“Should dads go out of their way to start doing this? That’s up to every dad of course. Some dads are going to leave this up to Mum and comfort with a pacifier or a bottle, and that’s OK.”
