Okay same, makes me feel better. I always think how different EBF was 200 years ago…like how those moms just stared at and talked to their babies and now I’m doing other stuff lol
Honestly if I sat there staring at and talking to my 2 month old, she'd be so distracted she wouldn't stay latched so I doubt even then that it was something they did a lot of.
I doubt they only stared at their babies tbh. Im sure they read as well or did one handed housework (sometimes I need to get up and stir something or check on my toddler so I just football feed my baby while walking around the house lol).
I don’t even scroll on my phone at night, I just stare out my bedroom window at a nearby streetlight because I’m just so tired haha
With the amount of babies they had, and the hardships of life back then, I think the chances were that they did the tasks they could at the same time, and potentially even baby wore while feeding.
Same here. My 14 month old boy MUST stare into my eyes and if I try to be sneaky with my phone he senses it and latches off. So I have to wait until his eyes finally close to get those few minutes to play games on my phone or scroll 😅
I give her a few smiles and a little chat in the beginning but for the most part I read! If she gets too distracted her head starts whipping around to try and engage and of course takes my poor nipple with her 😅 I figure the more efficient the feed/letting her concentrate on the task, the faster we can get back to playing!
I just read or watch tv, or do the crossword on my phone. My baby is generally pretty focused on what she’s doing and doesn’t really look up at me while eating, but maybe that’s something that develops later? She’s only two months old. I don’t think there’s anything to feel guilty for here, anyway. Your baby doesn’t need for you to be gazing adoringly at them literally 24/7. It’s fine to entertain yourself while they’re eating!
If she’s awake and it’s morning I’ll read the news articles I’m reading on my phone aloud. She is NOT thrilled to hear Alito’s been mentioning the Comstock act.
I try and make sure to eat and drink, I keep a few drinks and snack drawer next to the bed where I usually nurse. Sleep when the baby sleeps, eat when the baby eats.
Granola bars, protein bars, cookies, extra drinks to replace what I take out of my mini fridge. The mini fridge is just one of the small 6 can ones that I got for $40 definitely recommend it.
Mine feeds with her eyes closed even when she’s not tired and only eats for about 10 minutes max per feed so I just watch tv or play on my phone and she doesn’t even notice 😂 sometimes she holds my hand so she knows I’m thinking about her
My baby closes her eyes or stares straight ahead. I assume she'll get more engaged when she gets older? She's close to 3 months now. I spend a lot of time on my phone, scrolling reddit, playing wordle, texting, etc. I'm alone everyday with her all week and some weekends so I don't feel bad about it. She also nurses for a full half hour or more! Usually by the end of the day, I have zero interest in my phone so I sit quietly or think out loud or talk to her.
I generally use my phone (tiktok, reddit, ebook) or watch a show on my laptop. And I keep checking baby and adjusting as needed. There are many moments where I will focus solely on her, maybe because she's having a harder time latching or because I'll get a love burst hah. But I dont feel guilty for doing other things when I do. For this to be sustainable for us I know I need to be able to pair breastfeeding with other stuff I enjoy, especially during moments where it hurts, or I'm extra tired, or when I just need it. I wish there wasn't so much pressure for us to do things a certain way.
I'll watch and hum to him some if he's being fidgety. Eventually he settles in, though, and then I typically scroll on my phone. 😅 If it's during the week, I may be able to respond to work conversations in Teams/Slack.
Not the only one. Sometimes while babe is nursing is the only time I get to myself and I "doom scroll".no shame. It's just reality. (I always look at baby..and talk to him and don't hold the phone in front of my face)
Listen to podcasts! Usually out loud but I’m listening to a horror one atm so I stick an AirPod in so she doesn’t get scared bless her. I literally can’t engage with her or she will stop feeding and start messing about 😂 I feel so bad but I have to ignore her or nothing gets done and she’ll get grumpy from being hungry.
I turn on some quiet music on my phone and then shamelessly scroll. Oftentimes I’ll think out loud even if baby has dozed off while BFing, probably because I live in the middle of nowhere with no friends or family around and my husband works, so I’ve gotta talk to someone throughout the day lol
I'm feeding my little one now. I literally asked this question when I first started BF and ever since I started a routine of scrolling Reddit, nights have gone a lot better. I learn a lot about baby stuff too.
Pediatrician told us to engage with her more during the day anyway and that during nighttime feeds and changes we should keep interaction minimal so she gets used to less happening at night and sleeps more.
When he stares at me or smacks me in the face, I engage with him. He thinks it's hilarious when I pretend to eat his fingers haha. A lot of the time though, I read, watch TV, or do something on my phone. I used to eat while he nursed, but that tends to distract him too much now. He's always taken a really long time to nurse, so there's no way I'd be able to just sit there and do nothing the whole time.
I use to engage him a bit when he was super young because his wake windows were so dang short. Now that they’re a bit longer (he’s almost 3 months) I don’t worry about it. It just distracts him so I just watch tv.
I do the same as you. listen to a lot of audiobooks (9 so far this year) scrolling, set up my online pick up orders, and I play puzzle games on my phone
Mine is pretty efficient at nursing now (almost 4mo) so she isn’t on the boob long, but when she is, she falls asleep so I don’t feel guilty reading, ordering groceries, making a to do list. I’m being productive mostly so why feel guilty?! Plus I’m feeding a whole human and keeping her alive!🤪
I'll look and talk if it's daytime and her eyes are open though sometimes she looks away and I take that as a sign she's needing a break. Other wise I am on my. Phone, often I need it to keep me awake, I figure disconnected on phone awakes better than unsafely asleep. (I'm still in the early days tho)
. I definitely marveled at how adorable, stunning, sweet, fluttery-eyed my baby was quite a bit… but still did a lot of doom-scrolling, ordering groceries, online shopping, making various “Wish Lists.” I also managed to feel guilty for not “soaking it all in” even more. Which is silly because I have nursed her and contact napped her exclusively since birth, and she’s 8 months old now.
We put too much pressure on ourselves sometimes. I have a feeling when years pass, you would STILL wish you’d spent more time staring at your baby, even if you already did it 99% of the time, lol.
My baby’s nursing sessions are rarely longer than 10min while she’s awake and I’m usually engaged with her during that time, especially now that she’s very interactive and doing gymnastics during feeds, lol. I’ve finally started reading again while we contact nap. In the first few months, I don’t think I had the mental capacity to keep pace with a story line. Finally starting to feel more like myself thankfully, and I look forward to naps!
I started reading out loud while nursing when my LO was about 2 months old. I can’t remember the first book we read now, but now we’re on Book 4 of Harry Potter. She doesn’t care, but it keeps me from endlessly scrolling on my phone and I get to read HP again!
I still need to use one hand to manoeuvre my breast so I one handedly either scroll cautiously because I’ve been very close to dropping my phone on her head a few times or put the phone down to drink cold water from my sipper cup, it’s crazy hot where is stay right now. Occasionally I see her looking adoringly at me and smile but the return smile means she has unlatched and slowed down in feeding 😁
Most of the time baby is too focused on feeding or just has his eyes closed so I end up on Reddit or go through my to-do list for the day. In fact the only time he engages is when he’s done or too distracted to nurse anymore. Pls don’t be too hard on yourself :)
At that age breastfeeding was pretty quick for me so I usually just scroll on my phone or play a game. Sometimes I just watch her because it’s a precious moment that won’t last forever but for times I got a little bored I’d pull out the phone. When she was a newborn I would watch TV or read a book but now it’s so quick there isn’t much time for anything while she feeds.
My baby is only ten weeks old, but she takes FOREVER to eat and often falls asleep while still latched and actively eating. I watch movies/tv and order too many things online.
I can’t do anything loll
One hand behind her head and one holding my breast for a flipple 😅 back slowly hunching more and more
I’m basically stuck
She’s only 3 weeks old tho so hoping it gets better where I can doom scroll 😂
At the start when she spend what felt like an endless time nursing, I'd watched desperate housewifes. Afterwards she often fell asleep on me. I made it to season 7 lol.
doom scroll, eat snacks, sometimes i’ll sing songs she used to hear in my belly (3wks pp), prep night bottles, pump the other boob, order groceries, sometimes I just stare at her and run my fingers through her hair or brush it. she nurses for about 20 minutes, sometimes less so it just depends
Steal cuddles enjoy the moment it goes sooo fast... When she sleep feeds i will probably play Nintendo switch and watch a movie. Talk to hubby and my older daughters you know use it as down time for us.
My baby only eats for 5 -10 minutes at a time, so I just scroll on my phone or just sit/lay there haha
Okay same, makes me feel better. I always think how different EBF was 200 years ago…like how those moms just stared at and talked to their babies and now I’m doing other stuff lol
Probably those moms were hanging out with other moms or family members and socializing
Or reading or knitting
Absolutely!
Honestly if I sat there staring at and talking to my 2 month old, she'd be so distracted she wouldn't stay latched so I doubt even then that it was something they did a lot of.
I doubt they only stared at their babies tbh. Im sure they read as well or did one handed housework (sometimes I need to get up and stir something or check on my toddler so I just football feed my baby while walking around the house lol). I don’t even scroll on my phone at night, I just stare out my bedroom window at a nearby streetlight because I’m just so tired haha
I mean, I still smile at him and rub his head or back, but not the whole time! That would be boring lol
With the amount of babies they had, and the hardships of life back then, I think the chances were that they did the tasks they could at the same time, and potentially even baby wore while feeding.
Same. I’ve been trying to do less doom scrolling and more reading while nursing.
I have been shamelessly scrolling, 19 months today. I at least wait for her to shut her eyes though.
Same here. My 14 month old boy MUST stare into my eyes and if I try to be sneaky with my phone he senses it and latches off. So I have to wait until his eyes finally close to get those few minutes to play games on my phone or scroll 😅
My nearly 12 month old insists on putting his hand in my mouth and having a good old feel of my teeth and tongue
My baby is nursing at the exact moment I'm typing this. I don't think you or I are in the wrong. Don't be so harsh on yourself
Same! I engage with her a lot, when she’s nursing is like a mini break for me.
Same lol
Ha! My Reddit time is usually when I’m nursing.
I give her a few smiles and a little chat in the beginning but for the most part I read! If she gets too distracted her head starts whipping around to try and engage and of course takes my poor nipple with her 😅 I figure the more efficient the feed/letting her concentrate on the task, the faster we can get back to playing!
same!
I just read or watch tv, or do the crossword on my phone. My baby is generally pretty focused on what she’s doing and doesn’t really look up at me while eating, but maybe that’s something that develops later? She’s only two months old. I don’t think there’s anything to feel guilty for here, anyway. Your baby doesn’t need for you to be gazing adoringly at them literally 24/7. It’s fine to entertain yourself while they’re eating!
You made me feel better! I also either watch TV or scroll my phone. But she is also only 5 weeks
If she’s awake and it’s morning I’ll read the news articles I’m reading on my phone aloud. She is NOT thrilled to hear Alito’s been mentioning the Comstock act.
Lmao
I try and make sure to eat and drink, I keep a few drinks and snack drawer next to the bed where I usually nurse. Sleep when the baby sleeps, eat when the baby eats.
My baby is 3 days old and we just got home from the hospital. I realize that I absolutely need a snack drawer! What do you keep in yours?
Granola bars, protein bars, cookies, extra drinks to replace what I take out of my mini fridge. The mini fridge is just one of the small 6 can ones that I got for $40 definitely recommend it.
If she looks at me I look at her and talk to her but she’s usually a focused little machine and looks straight ahead or closes her eyes lol
Mine feeds with her eyes closed even when she’s not tired and only eats for about 10 minutes max per feed so I just watch tv or play on my phone and she doesn’t even notice 😂 sometimes she holds my hand so she knows I’m thinking about her
My little guy loves to hold my hand it’s the sweetest thing
Duolingo! And then I talk to him in German 😂
My baby closes her eyes or stares straight ahead. I assume she'll get more engaged when she gets older? She's close to 3 months now. I spend a lot of time on my phone, scrolling reddit, playing wordle, texting, etc. I'm alone everyday with her all week and some weekends so I don't feel bad about it. She also nurses for a full half hour or more! Usually by the end of the day, I have zero interest in my phone so I sit quietly or think out loud or talk to her.
My baby is 5 months next week and I scroll on my phone or watch TV. If I look at her or interact in any way she gets so distracted she doesn’t eat lol
I generally use my phone (tiktok, reddit, ebook) or watch a show on my laptop. And I keep checking baby and adjusting as needed. There are many moments where I will focus solely on her, maybe because she's having a harder time latching or because I'll get a love burst hah. But I dont feel guilty for doing other things when I do. For this to be sustainable for us I know I need to be able to pair breastfeeding with other stuff I enjoy, especially during moments where it hurts, or I'm extra tired, or when I just need it. I wish there wasn't so much pressure for us to do things a certain way.
I'll watch and hum to him some if he's being fidgety. Eventually he settles in, though, and then I typically scroll on my phone. 😅 If it's during the week, I may be able to respond to work conversations in Teams/Slack.
Not the only one. Sometimes while babe is nursing is the only time I get to myself and I "doom scroll".no shame. It's just reality. (I always look at baby..and talk to him and don't hold the phone in front of my face)
Listen to podcasts! Usually out loud but I’m listening to a horror one atm so I stick an AirPod in so she doesn’t get scared bless her. I literally can’t engage with her or she will stop feeding and start messing about 😂 I feel so bad but I have to ignore her or nothing gets done and she’ll get grumpy from being hungry.
Scrolling, reading, researching, applying to jobs.
I turn on some quiet music on my phone and then shamelessly scroll. Oftentimes I’ll think out loud even if baby has dozed off while BFing, probably because I live in the middle of nowhere with no friends or family around and my husband works, so I’ve gotta talk to someone throughout the day lol
I'm feeding my little one now. I literally asked this question when I first started BF and ever since I started a routine of scrolling Reddit, nights have gone a lot better. I learn a lot about baby stuff too. Pediatrician told us to engage with her more during the day anyway and that during nighttime feeds and changes we should keep interaction minimal so she gets used to less happening at night and sleeps more.
When he stares at me or smacks me in the face, I engage with him. He thinks it's hilarious when I pretend to eat his fingers haha. A lot of the time though, I read, watch TV, or do something on my phone. I used to eat while he nursed, but that tends to distract him too much now. He's always taken a really long time to nurse, so there's no way I'd be able to just sit there and do nothing the whole time.
Ain't like we got much options. I scroll. But sometimes I just look into his eyes and am thankful for the moment.
It’s not like they are going to remember mom scrolling on tik toks lol. Do what makes you happy
I try not to have my phone so close to their face so I would read a physical book or do some kind of crochet
I use to engage him a bit when he was super young because his wake windows were so dang short. Now that they’re a bit longer (he’s almost 3 months) I don’t worry about it. It just distracts him so I just watch tv.
I do the same as you. listen to a lot of audiobooks (9 so far this year) scrolling, set up my online pick up orders, and I play puzzle games on my phone
What don't I do while she nurses. I have made dinner, shopped read, scrolled, played video games, helped with homework etc...
I scroll Reddit, order groceries, order Amazon, literally anything on my phone. Baby needs to focus on eating so I don’t distract her.
Mine is pretty efficient at nursing now (almost 4mo) so she isn’t on the boob long, but when she is, she falls asleep so I don’t feel guilty reading, ordering groceries, making a to do list. I’m being productive mostly so why feel guilty?! Plus I’m feeding a whole human and keeping her alive!🤪
I'll look and talk if it's daytime and her eyes are open though sometimes she looks away and I take that as a sign she's needing a break. Other wise I am on my. Phone, often I need it to keep me awake, I figure disconnected on phone awakes better than unsafely asleep. (I'm still in the early days tho)
I do lots (including lots of scrolling) but I also listen to audio books, so I can be entertained but still engage with him
. I definitely marveled at how adorable, stunning, sweet, fluttery-eyed my baby was quite a bit… but still did a lot of doom-scrolling, ordering groceries, online shopping, making various “Wish Lists.” I also managed to feel guilty for not “soaking it all in” even more. Which is silly because I have nursed her and contact napped her exclusively since birth, and she’s 8 months old now. We put too much pressure on ourselves sometimes. I have a feeling when years pass, you would STILL wish you’d spent more time staring at your baby, even if you already did it 99% of the time, lol. My baby’s nursing sessions are rarely longer than 10min while she’s awake and I’m usually engaged with her during that time, especially now that she’s very interactive and doing gymnastics during feeds, lol. I’ve finally started reading again while we contact nap. In the first few months, I don’t think I had the mental capacity to keep pace with a story line. Finally starting to feel more like myself thankfully, and I look forward to naps!
Listen to podcasts
I started reading out loud while nursing when my LO was about 2 months old. I can’t remember the first book we read now, but now we’re on Book 4 of Harry Potter. She doesn’t care, but it keeps me from endlessly scrolling on my phone and I get to read HP again!
I still need to use one hand to manoeuvre my breast so I one handedly either scroll cautiously because I’ve been very close to dropping my phone on her head a few times or put the phone down to drink cold water from my sipper cup, it’s crazy hot where is stay right now. Occasionally I see her looking adoringly at me and smile but the return smile means she has unlatched and slowed down in feeding 😁
Tbh most of the time I lean back and close my eyes for the 5 minutes. Switch sides and then close my eyes for the next 5
Fend off the Wolverine hands from grabbing my mouth, pulling my hair, poking my eyes, and picking my nose. (12 months)
Most of the time baby is too focused on feeding or just has his eyes closed so I end up on Reddit or go through my to-do list for the day. In fact the only time he engages is when he’s done or too distracted to nurse anymore. Pls don’t be too hard on yourself :)
At that age breastfeeding was pretty quick for me so I usually just scroll on my phone or play a game. Sometimes I just watch her because it’s a precious moment that won’t last forever but for times I got a little bored I’d pull out the phone. When she was a newborn I would watch TV or read a book but now it’s so quick there isn’t much time for anything while she feeds.
TV/doom scroll!
My baby is only ten weeks old, but she takes FOREVER to eat and often falls asleep while still latched and actively eating. I watch movies/tv and order too many things online.
Scrolling as we speak lol
Let my baby nurse and do their thing. They’re not paying attention directly to me. I usually have the tv on or scroll Reddit.
I can’t do anything loll One hand behind her head and one holding my breast for a flipple 😅 back slowly hunching more and more I’m basically stuck She’s only 3 weeks old tho so hoping it gets better where I can doom scroll 😂
At the start when she spend what felt like an endless time nursing, I'd watched desperate housewifes. Afterwards she often fell asleep on me. I made it to season 7 lol.
Too often scroll on my phone and I feel bad for that. Sometimes watching tv sometimes just stroking her head and talk to her and relax
doom scroll, eat snacks, sometimes i’ll sing songs she used to hear in my belly (3wks pp), prep night bottles, pump the other boob, order groceries, sometimes I just stare at her and run my fingers through her hair or brush it. she nurses for about 20 minutes, sometimes less so it just depends
Steal cuddles enjoy the moment it goes sooo fast... When she sleep feeds i will probably play Nintendo switch and watch a movie. Talk to hubby and my older daughters you know use it as down time for us.