Nursing is a large commitment and though I think it is relaxing, I was worried about what I could do with Gemma while nursing her younger sister. I talked to a few moms about this and researched a little bit, but ultimately it took just living through these past few months to figure out what activities were good ones for Gemma. While I was pregnant with Summer, I organized a little basket to hold “nursing activities” so that I would be ready at the drop of a hat with some good activities. Here is a list of 15 things that have been working.
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1. links jewelry
2. dry erase board drawing
3. flashcards
4.puzzles
5. books
6. dress up bin
7. stickers
8. dolls — Gemma takes care of her baby doll while I nurse Summer
9. coloring
10. favorite show, worst case scenario or at the end of the day it might be time for a little Curious George together
11. snack time
12. object sorting
9. coloring
10. favorite show, worst case scenario or at the end of the day it might be time for a little Curious George together
11. snack time
12. object sorting
13. tablet game
14. cuddling
15. magnets on a baking sheet; here is the tutorial for this cute rainbow magnet game
What did you do with your older child while nursing the younger one?
pomegranate / 3212 posts
DS will be 15 months when LO #2 arrives. Definitely following this! Great tips/ideas so far!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
LO was 16 months and nothing worked so she sat RIGHT next to me for a couple of months.
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
DS will be 13 months when LO shows up. Bookmarking this for ideas. This is so helpful. This is one of the areas that has been stressing me out the most in thinking about baby 2’s arrival!
kiwi / 645 posts
Thank you for these great ideas! I was just telling my husband about these nursing baskets, but haven’t started gathering ideas yet.
GOLD / nectarine / 2884 posts
This is totally awesome!
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
It is looking more and more like I will have an older toddler by the time we have another, so I am hoping he will be better with independent play. Love these ideas!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
I really like the magnet game
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
that looks like a new version of a magnadoodle- i loved that as a kid!
blogger / pomelo / 5361 posts
Awesome! Definitely going to refer back to this if we have another LO someday.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
This is awesome, thank you!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
These are great ideas. The thought of nursing a baby with a toddler around scares the bejebes out of me!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
This is such a good idea! I have to admit that I never thought about details like this. You’re so smart to have planned ahead.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
My daughter always wanted to by me no matter what when I nursed… it was tough to keep her preoccupied. Good ideas here!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
Great ideas! I couldn’t have imagined nursing a newborn and trying to corral a toddler! Huge props to you
blogger / kiwi / 675 posts
@Mrs. Chocolate: Gemma loves it! I found it on pinterest and my hubby and I made it for the kids when I hosted our co-op and it really wasn’t too hard. Sometimes Gemma puts the pom poms all over the fridge its a funny alternative game.
blogger / pomegranate / 3300 posts
Great ideas. My three boys would just run around going bonkers!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
I love this! I never had to deal with this issue but it is always great to have ways to distract a toddler.. So mommy can go to the bathroom! I love that magnet rainbow game!
cherry / 175 posts
These are awesome ideas! My LO will be 20 months when the new one arrives so I’m definitely going to add some of these to the nursing time list. Thanks!