Breastfeeding a newborn with a 17 month old running around?
7 January 2010 9 Responses
A Parent asks, I nursed my first baby and want to nurse again. My daughter will be a toddler of 17 months when my next baby is born. Any tips, advice or stories about how to do this with an older baby running around?
While I support extended breastfeeding, a child of 6 that can eat a steak is way too old to be nursing.
Sarah W, you are NOT a terrible mother!
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i haven’t done this myself, but a friend had two with a similar gap. my friend said she often used to sit on cushions on the floor to feed so she could kind of play with the toddler at the same time or at least be on their level and talk to them etc. she said if she sat on the sofa, the toddler was kind of out of reach and would get into mischief, whereas if she was on the floor, the toddler was less likely to play up.
my daughter has just had a baby. her other baby is the age of 14 months. when it is time for her to breast feed my daughter puts the other on a potty chair, the kind that has a tray on it. she will give the older one some toys to play with or food on the tray.
I gave my daughter (just 2 at the time) a doll when her brother was born and she would treat the doll like I treated the baby. so when I changed the baby, she would put a doll diaper on her baby, when I breastfed, she pretended that she was too. I just answered her questions honesty, – yes, this is how tiny babies get milk – and I was so positive with her. I always praised her good behavior and made sure she was involved. By the way, I had three in three and a half years – and they are so close (teens) now. Congrats!
You might call me a terrible mother, but I put my 18 month old son in a super yard (big play gated area) in front of the tv with a movie on. I nursed the baby in the other room.
I have a ten week old and an 17 and a half month old, and a little girl just turned three… I’m busy, Haha. One thing I can guarantee is that you older baby will demand attention when you feed the new one. But some things I can suggest… Prepare a snack box for your older child so that when you are nursing she can get the snack without you having to interrupt the feed. Also use the feeding time as all round quiet time. Story time or singing is great to help this. It doesn’t require much but still allows you to feed your newborn and interact with your toddler. Have her sit next to you on the couch and turn the pages of a story book while you read to her. (Good for the newborn too!) Sing songs and nursery rhymes… Tell her stories etc. Make sure that you give her lots of positive reinforcement when she is good during a feed that way she will be more likely to continue this then to play up. Also when you are finished give her the chnce to kiss, cuddle or pat the baby on the back as aa way of ‘helping’, and giver her plenty of cuddles too, so she knows yoy love her. Have fun
My kids are 21 months apart, and we had some jealosy issues when my son was born. My daughter had weaned during pregnancy because it became painful to nurse her (honestly, I think that is nature’s way of telling us its time to prepare for another baby!).
But after the new baby was born, I found that it really helped her realize she was not being replaced if she nursed after him. As a baby, his needs always came first. But it prevented major temper tantrums if she knew she could have a couple of minutes to nurse too after he was done. What she really wanted was one-on-one time with me, and that is just how it worked out for us during those first few months.
I’ve dealt with this issue with my last 2 kids. I have 3 girls ages 5, 2, and 4 months and it seems that every time the little one latches on somebody inevitably needs to go to the bathroom or must have a drink. At first it was hard because my 2 year old was a little jealous but i just tried to include her or distract her as much as possible. Now that 4 months have gone by it has gotten much easier…I’ve mastered the art of nursing and cooking dinner at the same time, the girls have mastered the art of waiting 10 minutes for a drink and the baby forgives me when I have to stop nursing for a second to wipe a tushy! Good luck!
Puppets! Get some hand puppets and you can play one-handed with your toddler while nursing your baby.
My kids also liked to take little figures of their favorite characters and play “hide and seek” around my Boppy with them while I was nursing.
Have a basket of books near you. Teach the older child to sit beside you and turn the pages while you read to her and nurse the baby.
Get her a baby doll of her own to care for while you are taking care of the baby.
Talk to her about how she nursed when she was a baby. Read books about babies to her before the new baby arrives.
Have a little table near you with puzzles, playdough, crayons, Color Wonder markers, etc. that your older child can work at and you can reach with one hand to help if needed.
Pop in a DVD or turn on PBS Kids for a little while to entertain the oldest while you nurse.
Have sippys of water prepared ahead of time where she can get them herself if needed. Have a basket/box/shelf of approved snacks that she can get for herself if you are busy with baby. (Maybe a bowl of dry cereal or crackers that you keep near your nursing spot.)
Nurse sitting in the floor with your back against the couch/bed/wall and play blocks or cars or something with her.
Hey, I’ve been there too.!! I liked to sit on the couch or somewhere were our daughter could sit beside me,she’d look at books, play with toys,or sip her zippie cup, she was OK with it as long as she was right there !!! It might be tough at times,…but I did it…so can you…!!!!! Congrats! /God Bless!
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