Do you use your phone whilst BF?

[Pennylapea]

Hi all, my MIL scolded me today for being on my phone whilst BF my 1 month old.

I'm nearly always on my phone using the Internet whilst I hold my LO and BF, never thought about radiation or potential risks. I guess sometimes my phone is close to their head, I don't consciously hold it far away from them.

Do most people limit phone use when holding their baby? I'm a FTM so sorry if this is a ridiculous question!

The older generation have some weird ideas. I'm on my phone all the time. Don't worry about it!

I used mine while I fed. She'd be there for ages and would often fall asleep during. The worst thing that happened was dropping it on her head, she's 9 now and there's no lasting damage.

Eh? I think you're fine to carry on as you are 😄

I used my phone for scrolling MN during the night feeds. I couldn't have just sat in the dark, I'd have fallen asleep which would have been much more dangerous for baby!

I always said I don’t know why they don’t put it on that big list of BF benefits! I used a bottle once because I had expressed milk that would have gone to waste and man it was boring without a free hand!

Yes, it's great for catching up on digital tasks like food/clothes shopping, life admin, work emails, etc. I have dropped it a couple of times on her too...

It's been years but my baby used to grab my hand or hair when he fed so we could have very intense eye contact. It's funny to remember now but I'd have loved to have gone on my phone (especially with the invention of pop sockets so you don't drop your phone on them)

I used to use the baby as a prop for my arm so I could hold my phone easier. Especially when baby was on my left boob. Used to have to get a cushion out to prom my arm up when I swapped boobs.
Got to level 4 billion on candy crush due to breastfeeding 💪

Strange thing to say. I use my phone when breastfeeding

Back in the early days when my baby was glued to me 21 hours a day? I didn't sit and stare at the wall!

I mastered how to bottle feed my babies and use phone in other hand

No, I never did - I either went on the PC, watched TV or read. I remember being told not to by someone, checking the stats, not being convinced either way and it stuck. My youngest is 11 though.

I did constantly. I think it kept me sane.

I did so that it forced me to stay awake! Much safer to be on my phone and alert than to fall asleep holding baby.

He’s a bright little chatterbox at 2yo now, so I don’t think it did him any harm!

No. Because I’m aware of the studies about the importance of parental gaze and interaction on a baby’s bonding, attachment, synapse development and that phone use may have an impact on this.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8500426/

But I also get if it keeps you sane then that’s also important

Nice casual ageism

Fwiw I have small children and grand children and am a MIL and use a mobile whilst bf (my child not the grandchildren or else that would be strange). We're not all full of weird views.

I'm still night-time breastfeeding my 3.5 yo. So hell yeah! Sometimes she even helps me go online shopping 😆

@Ronnie887 sorry I worded that wrong. I don't at all mean ALL people of an older generation. But this person was of an older generation, and I have heard similar said by several older people. And it is a weird problem SOME people of an older generation than the op have with using phones. And they make a point of sharing them/judging.

But when breastfeeding my kids (which I have for 3 years now) they always have their eyes closed!

Definitely have loads of chatting/eye contact the rest of the day though (am also writing this whilst baby has a comfort feed whilst she's 80% asleep!) 🤣

Bf my 3rd and yes absolutely! Don't want to make eye contact as want him to go to sleep.

Hope your MIL is not going to suggest other weird things.

Currently scrolling through mumsnet with the phone balanced on the baby…

Are you supposed to sit there and coo at your baby the entire time even if it’s a go to sleep feed. I would try my best not to make any kind of eye contact with my baby when trying to get her to sleep. A feed then yes I would as she’d be active. I guess we will find out about the radiation aspect of it but my eldest is 14 with no issues

Mine was bf pre smart phones

Being somewhat large of nork, child would mostly disappear to the dark side of the boob and no great bonding gaze experience or whatever was possible, so I often just read a book. Would so have also just read MN or Twitter or whatever quite happily if they had been around.

Like most things there is a Goldilocks zone I reckon!

Mine bf up to 8 hours/day at the start, otherwise screamed, I couldn't have coped without a phone to keep me awake and distracted from the pain/aversions. I'd have loved to read a book instead but couldn't get the angle/light. Did about 900 levels of bubble pop in 2 years of bf and had to wear a support on my overworked phone wrist 😂 Toddler is fine. I believe the benefits of bf are evidenced, risks of phone not afaik, so I'd say do it if it helps you bf.

Genuine question: don't/didn't you get bored?

I relied on phone/telly a lot in the early days, and remember wondering how mums in previous generations didn't go out of their minds with boredom before the days of kindles/phones/Netflix.

These days, I am trying to use my phone less in front of ´my daughter. And trying to let her see me reading books. But if I'm up in the night with her (thankfully rarely) I'll usually at least listen to a podcast and probably be scrolling a bit too