PSA: My daughter's brain is rotting

cooker71

I feel so bad...she's been watching too much TV lately. And I know that will change as Miles gets older and isn't feeding so much, but still!! That's not going to be for a while.

Moms of two, when did you find you could do more with DC No. 1 and not have the electronic babysitter on so much???

cooker71

Oh. And obviously things will get better once I am cleared to drive, which should happen next week...

august0605bride

I'm not going to lie to you: ?He watched too much TV for at least 6 weeks. ?Maybe he still does. ?Our part time nanny helped cut down on the TV babysitter's hours, too.?

AnnapolisLari

I am still using it too much. That will change once we are out of my mom's place, and once the weather is a little more consistent and we can spend more time outside.

Jodi&Joe

PSA to new moms of two:  Watching TV never hurt anyone.  I promise.  And I also promise that there will come a day soon when you are able to find a new normal, which doesn't include so much TV.  But until that happens, no worries!!!!!!!  Your older child will be perfectly fine!! 

sugarp

Aw, don't feel bad, we've all been there! I think by the time baby #2 was about 3-4 months was when we kind of (and I'm using that term very lighlty) got a schedule going, and got out of the house a bit more, so the tv wasn't on as much.

Zenya

hmm - maybe a week ago?  My baby is 6 mos.

We had a month without a car though.  That totally set us back.... And she was born in October so there were a lot of colds, etc that kept us home.  Like they were sick and I didn't want to deal.

camrude

It took about a month for. Maddie will watch a couple of Dora episodes (like right now) while I feed and clean up Jack for the day. When I feed him the rest of the day I try and have her do other stuff, but if he's fussy and I'm needing to spend more time with him, I'll let her watch a show, or even put in a movie.

Don't feel bad. I don't think TV is the antichrist like some do. Everything in moderation right?

cooker71

OK this makes me feel better.

Andrewsgal

DS started feeding a lot less around 8 weeks. At four months he was feeding every three hours and it was smoothe sailing. Leaving the house made things a lot better. I could take DD to the park, mall play area etc and nurse DS while she played. I noticed a remarkable difference around 8 weeks! Good Luck it goes fast.

mamarazzi

I'd say it started getting a little better last month.  Andersen's to the point now where I can put him in the swing and go play with Law in his room or he'll lie on a blanket on the floor while Law and I do something.  I still don't pay nearly enough attention to Lawrence, though...and he still watches a substantial amount of t.v.  I try not to feel too guilty about it, though.  I remind myself that he had nearly two years of uninterrupted attention, which is something Andersen will never have.

I agree that you'll feel better about it when you can drive.  I do try to get out of the house with the boys on my days off.  Even just to go to the grocery store for a gallon of milk or something.  Just yesterday, I took the kids to HyVee even though I didn't really need anything.  As dumb as it sounds, a car ride is stimulating for Law -- we sing songs and point out trucks and cars of different colors.  And at the grocery store, we talk about different fruits and veggies and count them as we put them in the cart.  I do feel bad I don't spend more time at home doing "activities" but he doesn't really like me up in his business when we're home anyway.

AggieCouple

I usually tried to sit down with ML and read to her while I nursed TB, or have her play with her toys, with me on the floor with her. ?I figured there would be times when the TV was absolutely necessary so when I could try to not resort to it, I would try other methods first, and for the most part, we avoided it pretty well. ?Actually now that he's older, I let her watch TV while I put him down, since he's more easily distracted by her and I can't have her in the room while I'm putting him to sleep. ?But back then, since he was pretty oblivious to her, I could do a lot with him while letting her play/read. ?Now she really only gets TV while he's going down.

shouldbeworkin

I used the bjorn a lot and that helped.  I'd put the baby in the bjorn and walk to the park with #1.  The baby slept the whole time and #1 got lots of attention.  I did this at the mall play area too. 

But, the first 3 weeks are rough with the constant growth spurts.  Maybe you can arrange some playdates or for some friends or family to take #1 out for some fun?  I had #1 in daycare FT for the first 2 weeks, so that helped out a lot.

Kapalua

We watch way too much...but hey-he knows an amazing amount of Spanish from Dora & Diego!!  =p  The days when the weather is nice are a lot less TV filled.

lisa&mike

Glad to see that so many of us use the electronic babysitter!!!  Makes me feel better too :)  It helps so much when the younger one is fussing, etc.  DS #2 is 10 months now and I still use it a little too much, we've been cutting back now.  In the beginning though, it was the only thing that would really keep DS #1 occupied enough to not get into anything when I was nursing.  Now, I use it in the evenings if I'm home without DH and have to do bedtime for both boys - DS #2 goes down much earlier and while I tend to him and get him ready I usually throw on a movie for DS #1.  Then we'll have some one on one time before he goes to bed.

But, we try to stick to what I like to call more "interactive" shows - things like Mickey Mouse clubhouse, Dora, Wiggles, etc.  Ones where they ask the kids questions - so funny to see DS #1 answering these now!!!  lol    And he learned a ton of nursery rhymes from watching the Pop go the Wiggles DVD almost daily for a good stretch (Wiggles are not my fave. though).

Sulla

Have you tried the "nursing basket" thing?

Fill a basket with special toys, stickers, treats, whatever, that only comes out when you're nursing...gives one alternative.

JulieRNbride

DS #1 watched "Finding Nemo" on repeat for the first 4-5 weeks of his little brother's life....he does not have any lasting scars from too much TV.

We all vow that we're not going to do it, but when you are trying to feed a fussy newborn and have a toddler wanting play doh and markers....ehhh. Not a big deal.

AngelaSue

My older two have been watching way too many movies/tv. But this crappy MN spring we have had, we haven't been able to get outside much and play, but our backyard is completely fenced in and comes right to the house so they can go out the backdoor and play in the fence and I can check on them. Which has been nice now that its warming up! They also sit at the kitchen table and play play-doh, watercolor paint or cut paper w/ safety scissors and glue while I'm feeding the baby.