Ideas to keep preschooler busy while nursing new baby?

Bride2b2004

In 17 days or less, our new baby will be here!  Our DS is almost 4 and I suspect that he will be all over me when I am trying to nurse the baby.  Any ideas on how to keep him busy?

I have heard some people put together a basket of toys/etc that comes out only when nursing.  Any suggestions on what to put in the basket? 

veloelle

I posted this last week, the women gave some good ideas.

 https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/35171363.aspx

 

Glendi2.0

Def. put together a nursing basket filled with toys s/he can ONLY play with while you're nursing... the off-limits aspect alone will get him/her excited to play with whatever's in there. Throw any type of toy/activities you'd throw in a bag for an airplane or road trip... activity books, little action/play figures, stickers, puzzles, etc. And mix in new things every few days. And don't be afraid of a little extra tv in the early days either. It's all about survival those first couple of months.

Another thing to keep in mind... you'll get REALLY good at nursing on the go... DD#1 was not quite 19 months when DD#2 was born and super active, and it was pretty rough in the beginning, but got so much easier once I got good at nursing while moving around. (I actually had no choice- DD#2 never took a bottle- so I was forced to get really good at it really fast. You will too!)

ETA:

Just noticed how old your DS is... I'd def. be talking to him about it, since he'll be able to somewhat understand. Explain the nursing basket, so he can start to get excited about it now, and tell him you guys will always do something cool/fun after you're done nursing the baby.

Good luck!

juniper19

TV.

I know it isn't ideal, but it works.  My dd watched so much TV the first few months of #2's life.  But she didn't turn into a TV monster and when #2's BFing needs decreased the TV watching decreased back to its pre-baby levels.

jen5-03

When DS nursed for longer, I'd wear him in a sling so I could take care of DD too. But he got fast at nursing a lot sooner than DD did.

In the beginning, DD wanted to be with me while we were nursing, so I'd sit on the couch and DD would sit sideways in my lap and "hold" DS while he nursed.

Sometimes we play games like "picnic" or "puppetshow" that consist of her bringing me every single piece of play food or stuffed animal that she owns, one at a time and we talk about them. I just pile them around me and keep nursing. Or she'll bring in her cars to show DS.

I've never been much of a scheduler, and I can't really imagine dragging out a basket of toys everytime DS nurses, but that's me. Maybe if it's something you can reach from your rocker or wherever you usually nurse from it'd work better.

DD does have a shelf of toys in DS's room and brings in other toys all the time. Plus she's quite happy to get to play with his toys.

mrshutch

In addition to some of her regular toys like puzzles, magnetic puzzles, etc. I spent some great cuddling time w/ DD when DS first came home w/ my laptop out watching short clips from the Sesame Street web site. I didn't have to feel guilty about lots of t.v. and it kept her occupied enough that I could also focus on DS. She was also old enough (almost 3) that I could explain that DS was eating and needed a little bit of space. She didn't love that but she's been pretty good. Actually, right now I'm nursing DS while she's creating a total mess around me w/ her toys. That's the only downside- the mess to clean up after the nursing is done

MediaBride

juniper19:

TV.

I know it isn't ideal, but it works.  My dd watched so much TV the first few months of #2's life.  But she didn't turn into a TV monster and when #2's BFing needs decreased the TV watching decreased back to its pre-baby levels.

This, exactly.  Now it's no big deal at all, but those first few months DS2 was nursing like crazy and it was the ONLY way I could keep DS1 busy and not hanging on me (or pulling on little brother) for a few mintues.  We all survived!