what does your toddler do whilst you bf newborn?

[pamelat]

have 9 day old ds and 2.4 year old dd

dd is fairly high maintenance and already asking why daddy cant feed ds instead

he breastfeeding hour and halfly in day constantly in early eve but sleeping like dream at night. this is all well and good but gives me roughly 40 mins "off" between feeds all day.

what do you do with your toddlers?

No personal experience yet although DD will be 2.5 when new baby arrives so keen to watch for advice.

Friend who has 4 children says her secret is making sure she gives them less attention in the few weeks leading up to birth of new baby, by being busy doing housework etc, then they don't associate lack of attention with new baby. Sorry bit late for that in your case.

What also seems to work with her is lots of new noisy books, new sticker/activity books, jigsaws and DVDs. All quite easy to do with toddler while baby feeding.

Try to manage the head squeezing, ear pulling, body part ripping ... one handed whilst trying to engage him in stories, songs etc. He's not daft though and doesn't appreciate the attempt to be mollified. It does wear off though (and the baby does survive the torment).

No personal experience, sorry, but read on MN once about a special bf toy bag full of new (or second hand but new to the toddler!) and exciting toys that only comes out when baby is feeding.

Or cbeebies! There is a fab cartoon in a bf book called 'The Food of Love' entitled 'The Good Mother' of a mum bf her newborn whilst toddler watched tv amid house in total chaos!

cbeebies - although by the fourth feed you can get a bit sick of watching big cook little cook AGAIN!

I asked my mum about this the other day as i was the youngest of 4 girls. The oldest was 6 when i was born.
She said she turned bf into story time/colouring in time ect. This meant that my sisters felt like this was there time with their mum and i just happened to be there. I guess this might only work when the feeding is not for so long and so close together.
She also said she mastered the art of bf while moving about. You could maybe try a sling with a bf position?
Congrats by the way!

I've got three dc and I always used bf in the daytime to read to the older child/children, to the point where they enjoyed it so much that they'd want the baby to be awake and hungry so they got their special "cuddly story time" with me and the baby. Fantastic for bonding between sibs as well.

Stickerbooks, stories, trainset, dolls, playdoh, colouring, etc. Basically anything I could do one handed, normally whilst sitting on the floor. Also made sure that DD1 had snack, drink, etc before I started. When all else failed, cbeebies or a DVD! It does get easier, DD2 is 8mths and it feels like a lifetime ago! Congrats and good luck.

A direct answer to the OP's question would be "wees on the carpet while I watch helplessly." Actually it hasn't been that bad for a while. DD is now 17 weeks so feeding less frequently and 2.8 year old DS is better than he was! I try to do stories or sing songs although the down side is that they now distract DD from the job in hand.

Nowadays DS usually just potters or we do a puzzle or something.

My DS had just turned 2 when my 2nd DS arrived. It was hardwork to entertain but gets easier once the baby gets more efficient feeding.

I must admit in the early weeks Cbeebies was on a lot but as I got more confidence and energy would do stories, puzzles, play doh, drawing, sticking.

I would also try and get out to the park regularly as my Ds would enjoy running around whilst I sat on a bench to feed ( well normally it was chasing the 2 year old with the baby latched on! )

I did find using a sling in the house helped alot too as I could concentrate on activities my DS was doing.

They soon forget the time it takes to feed and soon start shouting their brother/sister need feeding to keep them quiet!