One of the most frustrating aspects of having a baby is what happens to our partner's boobs. One of the thoughts when finding out you're going to be a dad is "cool, my partner's boobs are going to get bigger and I get to play". Unfortunately for many dads that joy only lasts a few weeks (or days) as when the boobs get bigger they also tend to get (more) sore. At that point you might think "life's not fair" ... well wait until the baby is here.

After birth many new moms experience "cracked nipples" or some other feeding pain ... so again probably not a great time to play with the big breasts. Apart from putting on Lanolin (to help with cracked nipples) there's not much you can do to ease the pain (other than stopping with nursing altogether). So back to square 1 - no access to boobs for dad.

At some point your little person will of course start teething with often results in even more pain during breastfeeding. Again you can try "nipple guards" or some stop-motion feeding technique but that may or may not help with your partner feeling comfortable with having her boobs touched. And if your partner happens to get mastitis there'll be more pain.

Eventually of course this is all a thing of the past and your partner and baby have either settled into a comfortable breastfeeding routine or have stopped breastfeeding altogether. However at that point baby #2 might be on its way (go back to start of the article) or the idea of playing with post-baby boobs has sort of lost its appeal (after seeing your little one suck the life out of the boobs). So - yes, dad-life is somewhat unfair ... boobs ... they are no longer yours.