In my previous post about preparing for a sibling, reader Sparkles mentioned how she set up a basket of things for her older daughter to play with while she was nursing. It never occurred to me that I had a toddler who would need to be occupied during this time, and I really liked this idea.
When I had Drake we lived in a one level condo and I preferred nursing in the bedroom on the bed. I could stretch my feet out and have the TV running to keep me entertained (Drake would nurse for hours sometimes), as well as have the option of shutting the door to keep the pets out if I didn’t want them coming so close to the baby. In our current home, our bedroom is upstairs and Drake’s playroom is downstairs in the family room. Since I think I would still prefer the option of laying on the bed to nurse as well as keeping the pets out, I would need to keep Drake in the room with me so I could still supervise him and nurse Chocolate baby.
After reading Sparkles’ suggestions I have started creating my own nursing basket of things kept in our bedroom solely for the purpose of occupying Drake when we are there. I plan on telling him that these toys stay only in mommy and daddy’s room and that they are special for when mommy feeds the baby. Sparkles recommends quiet toys which makes sense, and for the most part I have stuck with that idea. Here are the things I have set aside for now:
1) Books – Drake loves books so new ones always interest him and keep him happy. Since he will be looking at the books mostly by himself, I opted to get more pop up ones where he can lift the flaps and play with the pages without me having to read the story every time. (Lick, Deep Sea Dive, Bunny’s Garden)
2) Little People Barn – Drake loves animals, especially farm animals. He has a Little People Zoo at my mother’s house and he loves taking the little animals and lining them up when we eat dinner. He also hides them and we find them all over the house. I think he is at the age where imaginative play is growing and little figurines spark this kind of play, so I’m sure he will love the farm animal figures
3) Duplos – I stashed a birthday Duplo set upstairs as well. They’re not the quietest toy, but they do occupy him when he is in the mood for building. And since he has Duplos downstairs, I can offer him some of the same toys he would have downstairs if he complains about coming upstairs, so hopefully there is less toddler protesting.
4) TV – If worse comes to worst and I can’t get him upstairs, at least Dora can. He is used to watching some TV in my room already since I sometimes use the same bribe to get a quick shower in. I’d rather he play, but I’m sure some days it might be easier to just let him have his TV so I can get what I need to get done too.
5) Coloring Book and Crayons– Drake likes coloring a lot recently so I bought a fresh batch of crayons for him and new coloring books with animals inside them. All his crayons downstairs are pretty beat up from his constant use, so I’m sure a new fresh pack will entice him for a little while. Once they get dull, I’m thinking of giving him a few new crayons to entice him to want to color upstairs.
6) Sticker book– Drake went through a phase where he loved stickers. He would wear a bunch on his hands and want new ones added everyday. He got this Melissa and Doug sticker book with these reusable stickers and changing scenery for his birthday where he can move the stickers around and make up little stories. It’s something new he’s never tried before, so I hope that will spark his interest for a little while.
7) Memory Game– This was also a birthday present that I quickly hid for the nursing basket. It’s a basic memory game but since Drake hasn’t played memory games much except on my phone, I am hoping this will be something new as well to interest him. He has a very good memory and I’m sure practice will only help hone it.
8) Puzzles- Drake is a big puzzle stage recently and really I don’t think you can have too many of them, so I added a few to our collection he hasn’t seen yet. (Melissa and Doug Self-Correcting Number Puzzles, Melissa and Doug Self-Correcting Letter Puzzles)
Did you have a set up like this when your second came along? Should I add anything else to help keep Drake happy while we are upstairs nursing?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Great tips!
guest
I do most of my daytime feeding downstairs were we have la-z-boy chair. My older daughter liked to put the foot rest up and sit there while I was breastfeeding our younger daughter. She would watch TV or play with her toys there while I was breastfeeding.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
this is a great idea. I don’t plan to get pg until J is 3-5 years old, so hopefully he’ll be able to more readily entertain himself but even for that age it’s a great idea.
guest
Great ideas! I used a nursing basket too. My firstborn was a rambunctious 2.5 y.o boy when my second bub arrived – who was a VERY fussy feeder. We needed quiet time during feeding sessions so I did rely on tv quite a bit (which was a big treat in our house so that worked well). I also used some educational apps on the iPad so I didn’t feel too guilty about letting him play with it while I nursed. My big tip is to pre-prepare little snack cups of food (cut up cheese, fruit, whatever Drake likes for little snacks) and have them easily accessible so you can easily hand him a healthy treat while you’re nursing! Also keeping a spare water bottle or sippy cup in the nursing basket can help. I also wrapped up lots of tiny inexpensive “presents” (matchbox cars, little dinosaurs) in tissue paper and Timmy got to choose one to open and play with. Worked a treat and he quickly learnt to be quiet and calm during the trickiest nursing sessions and settling sessions!