What Do You Do When Feeding Your Baby?

R.,

I know what you mean. I used to fall asleep while breast feeding in the middle of the night and wake up on the couch with my infant 2 hours later in time for another feeding. He'd be asleep on my breast.

It always screwed up our sleep and our schedule, but it's hard to be up and down all night and if you're like me, you can't get back to sleep immediately when you DO get back to the bed, so just when you feel like you've gotten to sleep it's time to get up and run again.

I found that watching TV worked out for me. And strangely it helped get him back to sleep when he wanted to be up all night. Now, I don't condone letting kids watch TV under age 3 really, there have been studies that it's not good for their development, but during the first months until she's sleeping through the night, it really can come in handy.

Now as she gets more used to solid foods and goes down to one nighttime feeding, you can start cutting her off of the eating part. At that point she'll be getting plenty of calories during the day. I used to just rock my son back to sleep when he was 7 mos old and woke up for a 4 am snack.

Eventually I could just pick him up, hug him and put him back down. Then once the thrill of feeding went away, and then the rocking, and then the cuddling, and after a few nights where I just let him cry it out, he slept through the night.

I'm an advocate of scheduling babies. I was a stay at home mom for a year and I needed the naptimes for me as much as him. Sounds like you could use a little more rest too. You'll have a lot of people telling you to bond during the breast feedings, but there are plenty of breast feedings going on that you can take a few and concentrate on yourself.

Never lose yourself or your marriage in pursuit of being the best mom.

The best moms are well rested.

Another idea is to go to bed early and let your husband take the last feeding of the evening or sleep through the first feeding of the early morning and let him take that one. If you breast feed, this means pumping, and if you formula feed, it's a piece of cake.

This gives him a chance to get some of that "bonding time" while you recharge.

Hope this helps.

C. C.

1 mom found this helpful

Reading out loud to your infant while breast feeding is great! I'm assuming you have the child in a snuggler ie papoose type pouch while she is nursing... You could wash/fold laundry, organize a desk/drawer, ...

I read a lot out loud and really enjoyed it. My first son was a marathon nurser, sometimes 45 minutes a side... so a good book was essential.

That was also the period of time that I got hooked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns. ha!

- have fun and enjoy it.

I was able to nurse my son until he was 9 months old (when he decided to quit, cold turkey, much to my consternation!). He was always a sloooooooow nurser, so if I'd spent that entire time staring dreamily into his eyes, I'd have gone nuts! I learned how to balance him so it was comfortable for both of us and I had a free hand, and I usually read while I was nursing. Maybe that's why he loves books so much now! :-)

My daughter refused to take to the breast, no matter what I tried, so we shifted her to bottle feeding at 2 months. That means no more free hand, but I've found that if I hold her so that she's looking at me, she spends all her time smiling and trying to play with me instead of eating! So I usually shift her so she can look around (including at me, if she wants), and watch TV while she eats.

That's not to say I don't interact and enjoy the moment with them--I've also sung to them and talked to them and just reveled in holding and feeding my child...but if that had been all I'd done for 45 min 12 times a day when I first started nursing my son, I'd have lost my mind.

i read a novel or play a game on my phone or text people...normally...sometimes thought i just watch him eat

you know, if you are sleepy while nursing, have you tried nursing lying down on your side? this was so comfortable for me and my son, it takes some maneuvering, but is really nice. lets you cuddle closer.

Congratulations on your baby! Sleep while you can. I napped as much as possible with both of my kids and it made a big difference overall.

Feeding my baby is one of my favorite times of the day. My first son nursed until he was a year and my youngest is 10.5 months and still nurses 4 to 5 times a day. I think its such a bonding time wiht them and i just like to talk to them and sing to them. Sometimes we just stare at eachother or hold hands or play with his hair. If he's too sleepy, i just lay back and relax too. Don't try to make it a busy time. Read to her as another activity during the day. just relax and enjoy such a sweet bonding time with your baby. It doesnt' last very long.

i do my bible study lesson, read the bible aloud to our son (who is 4 months) or maybe watch some tv. i also have a 2 1/2 yr. old so sometimes i'm helping her go potty, reading her stories or just talking with her while nursing as well.
congrats on your sweet baby.

Take advantage of the time and sleep. My little guy would sometimes marathon nurse for 45 minutes or more, and it felt good to catch a few zzz's. You know the release of oxytocin when you nurse is what is making you sleepy. Give in, give in.

Honestly? I just watched T.V. After about 3 minutes into BFing, the flow would hit me and as my kids are getting fed, I doze off. I tried reading and doing little things, but I couldn't stay awake long enough. Watching T.V. with my feet propped up so they wouldn't roll off my lap was about it. LOL
With formula it's no big deal, but BFing, the hormones hit and it's nighty-night!

My 3 daughters are now in their teens and pre-teens, with my youngest about to turn 12 this coming April. I've heard it been said that every child is different and it definately holds true for me and my girls. My oldest (who just turned 16) breast fed till she was 2. I actually had to tell her mommy's "milk factories" were broken in order to get her to stop feeding on my sore, tired, craked, and almost bleeding breasts. Don't let that image scare you, if I could go back and do it all over again I would. My 2nd daughter (now 13) didn't like the breast (maybe she sensed my previous experience) and decided bottle feeding will do her just fine. And my 3rd daughter did a combination of both bottle and breast. No matter how they were fed, I would look at their beautiful little faces and talk to them, sometimes I would sing, but mostly I would talk. Like I said If I could go back and do it over, I would. They grow up so fast and even though my girls love being around me, their attention is on much more important things than just being with "good ol' mom". So put the palm pilot down, and gaze into those big beautiful eyes and sing to her the praises a daughter not only deserves to hear but needs to hear. If you read to her, make sure it's a positive book and not some trashy romance novel (personally, I read to them at a different time). Talk to her, fill her mind with positive affirmations, tell her that she is smart and beautiful and strong so she grows up listening to you and beleiving what you say to her and not all those negative crazy influences that will bombard her life later on. Soak in how precious and peacful she looks, engrave that image into your mind. Children are such a blessing no matter what their age is. But I miss holding them the way I used to when they were little. I've tried but then my legs fall asleep from their weight ;-). I don't know if you are a religious person, but teach her your beliefs early on because if you don't someone else will teach her their beliefs and you never know what those beliefs are and what influence they might have. Most of all, cherish her, enjoy her now before she learnes how to walk and say "NO!" and love on her like you've never loved on her before.

From what I read when my daughter was that age, you should try to make eye contact with the infant and speak encouragingly to her while she feeds... Helps promote bonding and overall sense of security. Lots of articles on the web if you search for something like 'eye contact, infant, nursing, breast feeding' etc...

I would talk softly in gentle tones to her. Think of how you like your dinners to be when eating with a freind. Do you like it when the other person is singing while you're trying to eat? I too felt like I was going to fall asleep. Breastfeeding can make you feel very sleepy. It's such a short time that you get to have this closeness with her. I would soak up every minute and just enjoy talking softly to her. I know if I'm in a restaurant and the music is too loud or fast I feel like I get indigestion. I think our babies feeding time should be relaxing for them.Good luck!!

Four years ago I would have been horrified at your post, but then I finally got to breastfeed my third baby (the first two were in the NICU a long time before they came home wanting the bottle only- I really couldn't do anything while bottle feeding.)

My first breast feeding experience- I was having lots of problems nursing and so I read a much better nursing book then had previously read WHILE I was nursing and it really saved our breast feeding experience. I was in SOOO much pain and absolutely miserable- the book gave me hope and a distraction to keep from giving up all together. When things got better in a couple of months I did nothing but pay attention to my little one, that is until I had to start parenting the others while nursing. So I read book to the girls, sang, ect.

Now that I'm nursing my fourth, second breastfeeding experience, it's a little different. She turns 1 this month. At night when she was waking to nurse I slept while I nursed her. During the day I: have school with the girls, read a magazine, watch tv, check my email....Honestly she isn't really paying attention to me while eating and contorts her body in all different ways, it's not a social time for her, just an eating time. She'd much rather interact with me playing a game or singing a song then while she's eating. People are all different- my husband doesn't like to interact with people while he's eating either!

S., mom to four girls ages 1-5

When our girls were 3 1/2 months old, I would lay down and nap when they nursed b/c you are usually very tired b/c they don't sleep all through the night at this age. Be sure what you are reading out loud is information you want logged in her mind and spirit the rest of her life b/c you are forming synapses in her brain. Garbage in, garbage out - just a thought. For all I know you could be reading about how the wild west was won, but if not, then just consider.

I used to make all my phone calls. Lord knows with a newborn it's hard to stay caught up with the family. So I used to call my mom or my mother in law or whoever I hadn't gotten back with it made it easy to stay awake and I didn't have to wory about making all those phone calls during the busy day.

Congratulations on your little one! I enjoyed reading parenting books while nursing and sometimes talking on the phone with friends and family.

Hi R.,

My 3 1/2 month old has decided he really likes side-lying nursing so sometimes I do fall asleep while nursing him and we both get in a good nap. I also stroke his head and cheeks, check his ears for ear wax, tell him over and over how much I love him, read a book, talk on the phone, check email, and just space out or think about what I'm going to eat next...:)

When my kids were babies and still nursing my most favorite thing to do was read Mothering Magazine, or The Complete Mother! They are the best! When it seems no one around supports you in breastfeed or other natural parenting the moms in Mothering and Complete Mother are there for you!

Our culture is very good at developing "human doings" rather than human beings. Nursing, or feeding your little one, is the time to slow down to a stop. Research shows that one thing an infant needs to thrive is eye contact during feeding. Try some deep breathing, listen to some soothing music, rest your body and mind. Believe it or not, your baby can feel when you are there but not really THERE. These early bonding experiences are one of Nature's methods to make sure we don't strangle our kids when they become nasty teenagers. It sounds cheesy to say that this time in your baby's life is all too short. Try to remember that some day you will want to tell your child how much you loved rocking her when she nursed - probably while watching her nurse your first grandchild. Good luck!

R.,
Congrats on your baby girl!
With my first I pretty much did what you listed :-) except I took a nap almost every day for 6mos or so. I didn't work outside the home or have any other kids to take care of, so why not?
With my second, I still email and read (!) a lot. I've read several parenting books and many inspirational fiction books. At this point, what happens about half the time is I put him in my ring sling and continue whatever I was doing while he nurses. If you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one. I sell them for $30, but you can find them on e-bay, craigslist or most any store that sells baby stuff. I recommend ones that do not have padding in the rails, and have a 'fan tail' as opposed to a taper tail. Here's a link to one on ebay that is as I described:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beautiful-Papoose-infant-Wrap-ring-sl...

Since you're nursing, a great resource is La Leche League. It's nice to get out and get together with other women who have chosen to nurse. There are 2 Far North/Round Rock groups and one that meets in Georgetown.
http://www.lllaustin.org/

HTH
K. H, mama to
Catherine, 4y
Samuel, 14m

Sounds like you've really got your act together already! I never thought of doing anything but just holding the baby. There were a FEW times when it was dinner time and the baby thought it was ALSO dinner time and I nursed while I ate. Reading is great, especially since you're doing it out loud, also singing. Maybe your child will know computers before starting school. Anyhow......sounds like you've got it going on. I did those other things (you mentioned), just didn't think to do them at the same time as nursing. I did sit in a rocker a few times, but didn't want my babies to think they had to be rocked each time they ate or before going to bed.

In a few months you won't have to worry about this. My baby is 10 months old now, and her nursing sessions are about 5-10m. long now. I remember going insane with boredom while she was nursing. I would watch tv, read magazines or listen to my ipod.

Savor every moment and stare into your babies beautiful eyes, study every eyelash and feature. These days go soooooo quickly. You'll never get them back. I'm a mega-multi-tasker and understand your desire to do something during those quiet feeding moments. Give yourself permission to simply adore your baby and count your blessings!

Well if your little one is anything like mine it won't be too long before you will have keep yourself low key so as not to distract her. Before you know it she will be after your book, grabbing for your keyboard and pulling off the breast if something other than you catches her attention! When my little guy was her age I think I just relaxed and smiled at him and just let him nurse. Sometimes we would nurse in bed and both fall asleep. Usually I just watched some program on TV which is actually what I still do. Nursing of course is a wonderful time to just look at your little one, smile and snuggle her while she is eating. It sounds like you have a good handle on nursing so I say just enjoy this time that you can do things while nursing because it may not last too long :)

Wow, I remember those times of nursing as wonderful, restful times. I just tried to enjoy watcing my little infant. Sometimes would nap or sing to my baby. My advice is to just enjoy it. It passes much too quickly. My son is 19 and daughter is 15 now.

Well,I am no longer breast feeding my children. They are all in school now. But when I did, I had to learn that this was as much my time with baby as it was with me. I would begin with a caressing time for baby at the beginning of feeding. Be sure to make this a nurturing time for her. As a first time mom I didn't realize how I wasn't as nurturing during this time with my first as I was with my second child. With the first I was focused on completing the task correctly. With the second, I new what to do and was confident and focused on playing, cuddling, during this time. This is not to say that I didn't do this with the first, but I developed this skill late in the process. Once you give a good five to ten minutes of this mommy and me with baby, do the reading, television watching, or knitting you want while feeding. Don't ever hesitate to nap with your child. You need this rest too. Let you house go during this time. You don't need to explain yourself to anyone. These moments with baby will be gone in about a year, and you will not cross this road with her again. I hope you will enjoy learning how to slow down and to live in this fleeting moment.

R.

I used to talk on the phone because that was the only time she was quiet! Always have a bottle of water beside you too to stay hydrated. Good for u for nursing!