Why would we women want to keep that older child busy while we're breastfeeding? Gosh-Golly-Gee, besides feeling exposed to our increasingly curious child, there's the million frustrating questions that pepper off one after another while this is supposed to be peaceful time for your newborn! I have a few successful ideas to share, and then a few suggestions for when nothing deters that curious little cat.

My experience revolves completely around knowing "the schedule". By "the schedule", I mean the one dictated by your newborn. Knowing when the littlest member is going to eat next is your best defense! Prior to feeding time, set your older child up with the most entertaining toy she/he has, then turn a favorite movie on nice and loud to attract his/her attention when interest in the toy is lost. If you can manage to set all this up before your baby is louder than the TV, you should be in pretty good shape! Quietly sit somewhere behind your older child and nurse your baby in the same room, because as we all know, a youngster is much more comfortable knowing you're still in the room. All you've done is made something else more interesting that what YOU are doing!

A sure-fire plan is to allow play with something really messy. I can get a good 20 minutes out of my son with play-dough or finger paints. Again, I suggest staying nearby so your absence doesn't detract from the fun! Commenting occasionally on a fine painting or sculpting job will keep that artistic fuel burning.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, that curiosity just can't be stopped and you've got some answering to do. Some women are perfectly comfortable explaining the birds and bees to their small children, I'm a bit more conservative. If you lean my way on this, I found that keeping somewhat covered with a blanket helped me to feel more comfortable, as though I'm not "flashing" myself to my 5 year old son. One of his frequent questions was "why can't I eat there anymore?". He and I quietly discussed and backtracked how he eats now to a time when he DID get fed the way his new brother does, and I explained that I will train the new baby to eat like a big boy exactly like I already trained him. To my surprise, he never asked me about that again after that conversation.

As the months slip by, your older child will become accustomed to your nursing habits, and will be less and less interested. Eventually, you won't need to work so hard to distract those adorable little eyes, because it will be "old news". While it was a difficult and frustrating time, I do feel it was a good experience for my older child to grasp what these body parts are made for. I can only hope he'll remember their purpose upon entering the teenage years and his curiosity won't get him into trouble at that time!

Learn more about this author, C.A. Watters.
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