how can i amuse 2 yr old while I'm breastfeeding newborn?

[Sara79]

hi, i'm currently pregnant with my second child and got a 2 year old already. I'm planning on breastfeeding when the baby's here, but I can't see that my toddler will allow me to sit down for half an hour at a time to do this! I remember with DD1 that sometimes I'd be feeding her for most of the day!
I wonder if anyone has any tips on how they coped? what did you do with your first child while you were feeding? did you have any toys that you found useful to keep them amused?
Thanks in advance
Sx

I always found it was a great time to read to my toddler. They would choose the books and settle down next to me turning the pages. Also great time to talk talk talk!

Ooh will watch this with interest as I'm in the same boat! DC2 due in December when DS will be 2 yrs 3 months.

Many , many verses of sleeping bunnies.

There was a comprehensive thread on it some time back.

Marking my place for tips as this will be me too before too long. I was thinking reading and also a ring sling that hopefully I'll master breastfeeding in, leaving hands available for toddler entertainment.

Have you considered feeding in a sling? then you can be out/about with 2yo and still BF new baby...

books, cbeebies.
ds was already 3 but really enjoyed the special reading time.

Marking my place also as DC2 due in Dec when DD will be 2.8.

I was also thinking of books and as it will be winter maybe a weekly trip to library to get different ones might be a good thing to do. She loves dolls so I was wondering if she might play feeding her dolls etc whilst I feed baby Or do jigsaws on floor although she usually wants me to get down and help her do them. Maybe one of those water draw thingies? Or telly/DVD if all else fails?

What about setting up somewhere to nurse in dining room or similar? Then toddler could sit at table and do drawing/sticking/playdough/painting etc whilst you feed. Unless they try and paint the baby's head or something. Or do what DD does and run round with painty hands so you have to grab her quick to wash them... Ok, maybe not painting. But playdough would be ok.

Was also wondering about getting a sling although in early days I seem to remember having to take lots of time to latch DD on and off again so I envisage sling as easier when they know what they're doing a bit more.

My dd is 2 weeks old and ds is 2.4. We read books, watch tv, play on i-phone games/watch youtube songs. He doesnt always sit with me anyway, lots of times he will just be playing in the lounge/garden. I also just feed discreetly wherever we are...on a bench at the park/out walking while he plays, sat on the drive while he rides his bike etc.

Its hard to imagine but you will quickly adapt and find what works for you.

Tassells on the spare tit? Seriously though, having observed friends do this, reading to them and singing seemed to be the best things to do.

Thanks so much for the helpful suggestions. I think that i'll stock up on a load more books, and like the idea of feeding near a table so she can draw and do playdough etc. I guess we'll all get into our little routine when the baby comes, but it's nice to be a bit prepared!
thanks again

TV. Breastfeeding always made me really sleepy &relaxed and I'd nod off much to ds1's annoyance whilst reading him a story.

I sometimes feed sitting on floor with big v-shaped pillow - then i can help with jigsaws (DS aged 2.6 currently obsessed!) or play snap. We also watch much more TV....
I really worried about this when I was pg - but DS was 2.3 when DS2 came along and he adapted much more quickly than I gave credit for and has always been quite patient with me feeding. I also found what helps is to explain, we'll go to the park/play trains/ feed ducks etc after DS2 has his mummy milk. It's sometimes knackering but I think if the older child feels like he is getting a bit of quality play time with you he will be quite accepting of baby's needs. You will also find, amazingly, baby fits around you and older child much more readily than was ever the case with your first! I can remember having days where even making a sandwich for myself for lunch felt like mission impossible when I was bf my first baby, and getting out of the house before 10 required military preparation the night before. But the learning curve has been much less steep 2nd time around IME and we have just somehow got on with things without the amount of faffing I was expecting.
Good luck - having two is great fun!

My hv recommended having a bag of special toys to bring out just for feed times, so that they become a treat. Kind of like a lucky dip.

Never needed it in the end but might be a fun thing to plan for?

Going from one to two is a breeze compared with the shock of none to one IME - have fun!

New Dvd's, stories and a bag of special 'feeding toys' which I picked up from the charity shop to try and keep her happy while I was feeing.

I am currently breastfeeding an 8day old and trying to entertain a 17month old toddler.

We took a trip to waterstones and he picked out a couple of books (a 3rd bloody copy of Aliens Love Underpants as first 2 have been thoroughly read and ruined). A few days ago, I gave him a shoe box, an old magazine and a stick of glue and I sat at the coffee table with him (whilst bf actually lol) whilst he ripped up the magazine and stuck the pieces to the box.

His books and a few 'special' things I've picked up along the way (a large pinecone, some feathers, a few large beads on a long piece of thin rope, some weird and wonderful stones etc) have all gone in his box which now only comes out when I'm feeding his baby brother.

Once we've sat and read his books, the rest of the box keeps him amused just long enough to finish feeding.

And if all else fails, there is always cebeebies.

I have a 6 month old and 2,5 yr old. I found songs, books, role-play toys, pretend teapot n tea cups, visits to mates with kids the same age and letting the toddlers play, singing at the library, visits to granny's, pee-bo using a book/piece of paper are all good... and lots of cuddles, lots when baby's asleep, but also with baby at boob and toddler on the other knee - it is possible!

Also, colouring, playdough and if all else fails, as lifeas3plus one says... cbeebies, and getting the kids classics out - jungle book, dumbo, mary poppins, the gruffalo etc, which are just about right when you're knackered!

Believe me, you will become the queen of multi-tasking, and playing with your toddler whilst feeding the new bub will soon become second nature!

Best to get the older child interested in things he or she can do herself, or you will be expected to provide entertainment on tap every time. Especially in the beginning, you may need both hands for latching, burping and positioning, and reading may require hands that you just don't have available.

There's no need to feel guilty about devoting attention to the baby when feeding; this is what you did for the older baby too after all.

I found DD1 loved playing mummy with her own little doll, buggy, cradle and baby equipment (one of those bottles that 'empties' when you feed, doll nappies, feeding the doll with her tea set, making pretend baby food in her little pots and pans). I also got her to make lavish meals with her little pretend oven and she would 'feed' me mouthfuls. Plus the playdough (also made many meals), blocks, colouring and chalk and short videos and TV, a bit of reading by me if she really got fed up entertaining herself.

DS loved playing mummy too when DD2 came along, but by then DD1 was firmly in charge of entertainment for the family.

I have a 4 week old and a 2.5 year old. So far, it's not as bad as I thought, and dd2 feeds for HOURS sometimes.

More ideas:

Make a den with chairs and a throw when toddler is napping and when they come down they get a nice surprise and hopefully will spend ages there "sleeping", having a tea party with their dolls, etc.

Look at family photos, printed or on your laptop.

Stickers - dd1 spent hours the other day sticking In the Night Garden stickers to everything.

Dd1's present from the baby was a family of little wooden dolls and bedroom furniture for a doll's house (can't afford the doll's house itself). These have been very useful for hours of roleplay.